Brazilian soccer coach Carlos Alberto Parreira announced on Wednesday his decision to retire. The 67-year-old previously declared that he moved back to Brazil to be closer to his family in Rio de Janeiro.
After returning to Brazil at the conclusion of the 2010 South African World Cup, Parreira was bombarded with offers from national teams and international teams. However, the coach decided to take a rest from the sport for the remainder of the year, resisting the command of teams like Flamengo and the Chilean national team.
In his 43-year career, Carlos Alberto Parreira led five national teams into six World Cups. He coached Kuwait in 1982, the United Arab Emirates in 1990, Brazil in 1994 and 2006, Saudi Arabia in 1998 and South Africa in 2010. He won the World Cup with Brazil in 1994, ending the country' s 24-year dry spell.
South Africa's head coach Alberto Parreira of Brazil reacts during the 2010 World Cup opening match against Mexico at Soccer City stadium in Johannesburg June 11, 2010.
In Brazil, the coach led Fluminense to win the 1984 Brazilian Championship and saved the team' s dignity by crawling out of the third division (Serie C), winning the tournament in 1999. While at Corinthians, he led the team to win the 2002 Brazilian Cup as well as the Rio-Sao Paulo Tournament in that same year.
Although no longer wanting to coach, Parreira is expected to continue in the sport working in another area. Corinthians is actively after the now ex-coach to fill the place of Mario Gobbi as the director of soccer. Parreira is only interested in considering his multiple offers after the New Year.