Carlos Alberto Parreira, head coach of Brazil's national team
criticized on Tuesday FIFA's choice of Italian defender Fabio
Cannavaro as World Player of the Year.
"He is not the best in the world and cannot be compared to
players like Ronaldinho or Kaka," said the coach.
According to him, the main reasons for the choice were the title
won by Italy in Germany World Cup, as well as other players' weak
individual performances at the competition.
Cannavaro represents a moment in soccer. He was the highlight of
a World Cup in which squads prevailed for their collective skills,
stressed Parreira, who added that, if technical quality were the
main criteria, there would be no room for competition with
Brazilian players.
Still exulting his country's soccer, he praised local club
Internacional on their victory over Barcelona on Sunday, when they
won the club World Championship in Tokyo.
Barcelona did not lose. Internacional won. That was a great
demonstration of the strength and power of the Brazilian soccer, he
said.
The head coach also made comments on his role in the command of
South African national team, a position he will take over in
February 2007. He said that he has preparing team directors and
fans for possible defeats on their way to play FIFA World Cup 2010,
which South Africans will host.
"We will have some obstacles, the African Cup, tough friendly
games, and we will certainly not win them all," he warned.
Parreira coached Brazil in two Cups, in 1994, when the team won
their fourth championship title, and in 2006, when they were
frustratingly eliminated in the quarter-finals by France.
(Xinhua News Agency December 20, 2006)