And so it goes. Brazilian football management proves
once more that it is no country for level headed, if slightly ponderous, middle-aged men.
Those who thrive in this most machista of
spots are the chest-beaters, the big talkers and the mud-slingers – in short,
the loudest barkers. It’s a good ol’ boys club, for the most part; its upper
reaches patrolled by the same formidable junk yard dogs – the Scolaris, the
Muricys, and the Luxemburgos. In the face of these fearsome mutts, timid, more studious
types (such as bookish Caio Junior, who once sprouted stubble in an attempt to
shake off his Harry Pottertag) are
just so much roadkill.
Never was this more evident on Friday, when Mano
Menezes was forced to walk the plank while CBF chiefs José Maria Marin and
Marco Polo del Nero hooted from the rigging, and chief selector Andrés “I voted
to keep him” Sanchez skulked down in the galley...
The rest of this piece can be read on The Independent website by clicking here. The wonderful charicature of Mr. Menezes was drawn by J. Bosco, more of whose work can be found here.
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I enjoyed your article, regradless of disagreeing with the following:
ReplyDelete- C Alberto Parreira was soft spoken, and studious; yet lasted for over eight years and two world cups as Brazil's head coach.
- Menezes did recreate a team after 2010, but so did Dunga after 2006 (only to bring back the big names after he'd already won a Copa America with lesser players than Menezes had from the get go).
I agree with everything else you wrote, and have one prediction to make: the previous CBF prez was no angel but knew better than to meddle with team and coaching staff incessantly. I am thinking that CBF is actually much more amateurstic these days. This is unfortunate, and I can't believe that most Brazilian sport journalists couldn't figure out from the beginning that Marin would be worse than Teixeira on all levels.
Thanks for the comment Gritty Poet. You're right about Parreira, I'd forgotten about him (I think most people had until Wednesday afternoon). But the big dog culture seems to be getting worse these days. Incredible how Emerson Leão, for example, stayed at São Paulo for so long. And yes, our friend Jose is looking like he's going to make Teixeira seem like a saint!
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