Former Brazilian national team coach Carlos Parreira admitted for the first time that he made mistakes in preparing his squad for the 2006 World Cup in Germany, in a published interview on Monday.
Parreira, now the national coach of South Africa, said he regrets having taken his star-studded squad to the Swiss town of Weggis for training instead of staying in Brazil, and complained of the festive atmosphere.
”It was not at all what we expected. The world turned the Brazilian squad into pop stars. The players got there like celebrities,” he told Brazilian sports daily Lance. ”It was very difficult. To train with [an audience of] 3 000 people morning and afternoon was not easy.”
Brazil crashed out of the 2006 World Cup in the quarterfinals, losing 1-0 to France after being widely considered favourites to win their sixth title.
”Before the 2006 World Cup we did not come to Brazil … It was a technical and medical decision … Today I would do it differently. You have to come to Brazil, even for two days, to feel the temperature, go to Brasilia,” Parreira said.
Parreira also blamed Brazil’s failure in Germany on the physical exhaustion of his players after a long season in European football, citing Barcelona’s Ronaldinho as an example.
”He did not have a break in order to get himself together,” Parreira said. ”Ronaldinho got [to the Brazilian squad] with little gas, and he has not recovered fully to this day.”
The former Brazilian coach also stood by his decision to keep Ronaldo in the starting lineup, calling the striker — currently on the bench at Real Madrid — Brazil’s ”most important player, the one who scored most goals, the one who disturbed” rival defenders the most.
Ronaldo became the most prolific goal scorer in World Cup history after scoring 3 goals in the 2006 campaign to bring his total tally to 15.
Parreira’s current squad, South Africa, will play host to the 2010 World Cup. — Sapa-dpa