Rivaldo leaves Cruzeiro after coach fired
28/02/2004
Rivaldo leaves Cruzeiro after coach fired
|
RIO
DE JANEIRO, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Brazilian World Cup winner Rivaldo walked out
on Cruzeiro on Saturday after less than two months at the club in solidarity
with coach Vanderley Luxemburgo who was fired the day before.
"I
took the decision overnight," he told reporters in a media conference broadcast
on Brazilian television. "I haven't got (another) club, nothing like that. At
the moment, I'm being faithful to the coach who brought me here."
Rivaldo failed to settle at the Brazilian champions, who he joined after
spending most of the previous 18 months warming the substitutes' bench at
Italy's AC Milan.
He
played only 10 competitive games for Cruzeiro, who have made an indifferent
start to the season, and scored only two goals, both in last weekend's 7-1 win
over Mamore.
He was
frequently jeered by the Cruzeiro supporters.
Cruzeiro spokesman Valdir Barbosa said the club had accepted Rivaldo's decision
even though he had signed a one-year contract when he joined on January 5.
But
the episode raises doubts about the future of the 31-year-old former Barcelona,
PSV Eindhoven and Deportivo Coruna forward, who has barely played club football
since helping Brazil win the World Cup in 2002.
Rivaldo joined Milan immediately after the tournament in Japan and South Korea
but barely got a look in and described his spell there as the worst of his
career.
He
also stands to lose his place in the Brazil team, which he has kept until now
despite his lack of club football.
RIVALDO'S MENTOR
Luxemburgo, Rivaldo's mentor earlier in his career, was fired on Friday, barely
three months after leading the Belo Horizonte-based club to their first
Brazilian championship.
The
controversial former Brazil coach, who had been in charge since mid-2002,
offered his resignation on Friday morning, changed his mind in the afternoon but
was fired when the directors refused to allow him to reconsider.
Rivaldo played under Luxemburgo at Palmeiras in the mid-1990s and in the Brazil
team that won the Copa America in 1999.
"I
didn't sleep well after Luxemburgo's sacking. When he left, I preferred to leave
as well," said Rivaldo. "It was my decision because I consider Luxemburgo to be
a special person."
Asked
about his poor form since joining the club, Rivaldo said: "A player should be
judged at the end of the competition and not at the start, after just a few
games. I was happy here, getting better game by game."
By
Brian Homewood
