The Coaching Pool Grows

I mentioned in the Brazil-Italy post that Luis Felipe Scolari is looking for work these days. Scolari is now the second high profile Brazilian manager this decade to have made the jump overseas only to fail spectacularly, with ex-Real Madrid and current Palmeiras manager Vanderlei Luxemburgo being the first. I did believe that Scolari got a raw deal at Chelsea. They were still challenging in all competitions. Injuries had decimated the squad. He inherited an aging, overrated team and was given little funds to bring in his own players, especially in comparisons to his predecessors at Stamford Bridge.

Undoubtedly, should Dunga have a series of poor showings in qualifying, the pressure will be intense for CBF President Ricardo Teixeira to bring Scolari back. Although Dunga’s seat is no longer as hot as it was a couple of months ago, a quick change in fortunes could lead to an equally quick change at the top. Moving forward into next month’s qualifying, fans of the Seleção should keep a list in the back of their minds of suitable replacements, just in case we have another dip in form during this next round of qualifying. Most of us wish nothing but success for Dunga and team, but let’s face it Dunga is still Dunga.

Here is who might be on a potential short list, IF a change eventually is needed to be made:

1. Scolari, There are not many times you can find a World Cup winning manager looking for work.

2. Muricy Ramalho, Muricy is the undoubtedly the best domestic coach in Brazil. He has presided over an impressive three consecutive Brazilian championships for São Paulo. He made it well known following the last campaign that he was interesting in coaching the Seleção.

3. Vanderlei Luxemburgo, He is the one who I dread the most. I would keep Dunga before him. This would be his second go-around as manager. Luxemburgo knows how to dress and can charm just about anyone. In my opinion he is the Fernando Collor of Brazilian football managers (Collor being the charming, well dressed, and disastrous former President of Brazil). His first stint as manager was awful, and I can’t imagine the second being any better. However his name always comes up with this job whenever there is a potential opening. I will give him credit for doing a good job at Palmeiras, but his first stint with Brazil was that bad.

4. Paulo Autuori – He is the former Peruvian national team and São Paulo manager. He won the Copa Libertadores and FIFA World Club Championship in 2005. He is now coaching in Qatar for the club Al-Rayyan.

5. Rogério Lourenço, He is one of Dunga’s current assistants and is the manager of the Under-20 team that just won its 10th South American title. His team was entertaining and successful during the tournament. He could be a potential dark horse.

6. Zico, The legendary for midfielder is coaching CSKA Moscow. He was the manager of the Japanese national team in 2006, and the Champions League quarterfinalist Fenerbahçe last year.

Hopefully the team will perform and a coaching change will not be necessary, however keep an eye on these names should it happen. Not many saw Dunga being hired, so Ricardo Teixeira could once again pull a fast one on us. Later this week, and for the next four weeks, I will start a breakdown of the team position by position looking at our strengths and weaknesses.

I stumbled upon this video earlier today, I heard this guy is a good manager: