FIFA : Life is never easy for the coach of the Brazilian senior side, and current incumbent Mano Menezes would have known that full well on taking the reins back in 2010. His mission on his appointment? None other than producing a perfectly-running Seleção machine in time for the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™ and, if possible, leading his charges to a first ever gold at the Men’s Olympic Football Tournament London 2012.
And having just missed out on the latter objective, with Brazil taking silver after final defeat to Mexico, the already huge pressure that comes with the Canarinha job has been cranked up still further. Before said Olympic campaign had concluded, FIFA.com enjoyed a long chat with Menezes, who discussed a range of issues including some of the general aspects of his role, the style of football that has taken Spain and Barcelona to the top of the tree, and how coaching Ronaldo and Roberto Carlos at Corinthians has helped him in the Brazil hotseat.
FIFA.com: In 2010, you stepped up from club football to become a national-team coach. Was there any area of your new role that took you by surprise?Mano Menezes: We still have a few difficulties caused by Brazil’s domestic footballing calendar, which really makes the life of the Seleção coach much more problematic. The main issue is the lack of longer periods to spend with the players, particularly during a [transitional] phase like we’ve been in up until now, with few established players. We’ve had to assemble a squad and scout new players. We couldn’t afford to just stick with the same guys as before, as they probably won’t be on the scene come 2014. So, having to do all that in a short space of time, with very few opportunities to spend lengthy periods with the players, was and still is the hardest part of the job.