Scolari not ‘afraid’ of mammoth task

Brazil manager eyes a second World Cup title.

BARCELONA:

Luiz Felipe Scolari insists he is not afraid of the task of managing Brazil as he puts his status as a legend on the line when he takes the host nation’s side into the World Cup.

“If I feared challenges, I wouldn’t have achieved anything in my career,” said the 65-year-old in an interview with The Guardian.

“The players know they will have to win the World Cup. We can’t play a tournament in Brazil and think that second place will do.” Scolari is looking to become only the second man to win two World Cups, after Vittorio Pozzo, who oversaw Italy’s consecutive triumphs in 1934 and 1938.

He managed the Brazil side that won the World Cup for a record fifth time in Japan in 2002, and he is confident of doing it again on home soil in July.

Scolari knew what he was walking into when he accepted the chance to return to the national side in November 2012, after Mano Menezes was sacked.

It is a big responsibility for Neymar: Pele

Brazil legend Pele is adamant that superstar Neymar will play a crucial role in Brazil’s bid to win their sixth World Cup title, but he feels that the youngster, only 22, has to shoulder a big duty to carry his team.

“It is a big responsibility for Neymar,” said Pele in a recent interview. “This is his first World Cup and nobody knows exactly what is going to happen.

“People must not forget he is a lad of 22. Nobody that young can shoulder such big expectations, but his experience in Europe will certainly help him.” 

Published in The Express Tribune, May 12^th, 2014.

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