São Paulo – A former ace player for the Flamengo team, Zico may be the next coach of the Iraqi national team. According to news agency Reuters, Zico’s brother, Edu, has been contacted by a representative of the Iraqi Football Association with whom he has worked in the past. Zico confirmed the contact, but is still awaiting an official proposal from the Iraqi association.
The Iraqi Football Association means to hire Zico to coach the team during the third stage of the eliminatory phase for the World Cup 2014, due to be held in Brazil. Iraq is in the A group of the Asian eliminatory rounds, alongside China, Jordan and Singapore. In the overall ranking of teams of the International Federation of Association Football (Fifa), Iraq ranks 108th, after countries such as Sudan, Bahrain and Jordan.
Zico stated that he and his brother have already analysed the Iraqi national team and concluded that it has good players. The problem with the team, Zico believes, is the fact that many athletes play for foreign clubs. He also claimed that the fact that he and Edu are Brazilians may aid in the team’s performance in case it qualifies for the Cup.
A member of the Iraqi Football Association, Kamel Zeghyar told Reuters that the country is interested in having the former Brazilian player as its coach. He also stated that Zico should travel to Iraq in order to attend a local championship match on Sunday (14th).
Zico was one of the top players in Flamengo during the 1980s. After retiring, he dedicated himself to a coaching career. He has coached CSKA, from Russia, Bunyodkor, from Uzbekistan, and Fenerbahçe, from Turkey. He won championship titles for them all. He coached Japan through the World Cup 2006, in Germany. His last coaching job was at Olympiacos, from Greece, last year.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
