Brazil Coach Hit By Claims Of Plagiarism

Brazil Coach Hit By Claims Of Plagiarism
6/5/2005 3:21:00 AM
‘A Folha De São Paulo’ ran claims that Carlos Alberto Parreira’s book ‘Evolução Tática e Estratégias de Jogo’ (‘Tactical evolution and game strategies’) copied whole chapters of ‘Soccer Tactics and Teamwork’, a 32 year-old tome written by one Charles Hughes while working for the FA. If true such claims could mark a premature end to Parreira’s career, the implication being that Brazil is now being trained according to methods scabbed from an ageing English textbook. Goal.com’s Aaron Marcus examines whether Brylcreem, pork-chop sideburns, half-time pints of Watney and Hamlet cigars will be making a comeback on the Brazilian football scene...
Carlos Alberto Parreira enjoys a reputation as a theorist; a calm renaissance man of letters in contrast to ex-professional ‘bruisers’ such as Felipão. He himself has cultivated this image, always having time to explain technical advantages of anything from general tactics to specific training methods, proving himself to be erudite and informed and naming photography and reading amongst his hobbies. He used this reputation to commercial effect by launching his first book to date: ‘Evolução Tática e Estratégias de Jogo’ (‘Tactical evolution and game strategies’).

The idea was to launch a book that reflected a Brazilian school of thought that counted Parreira amongst its leading exponents, therefore validating the new wave of Brazilian coaches and wiping out past images of Brazilian coaches as fairly disposable spectators. It was slated to be used as the principal textbook for the ‘Escola Brasileira de Futebol’ (‘Brazilian Football School’), the educational wing of a partnership between FIFA and the CBF. What wasn’t dreamt in anybody’s wildest dreams was the idea that Parreira had plagiarised whole chunks of an English textbooks published close to a third of a century ago.

Parreira has always said that he intended the book to be more of a practical handbook than an original work, and that he had used many other authors as ‘inspiration’. On close examination of his book it appears that Parreira’s definition of ‘inspiration’ is remarkably similar to the dictionary definition of ‘plagiarism’. These ‘inspirations’ were ‘inspired’ almost verbatim into Portuguese for large swathes of text. To give an idea, 50 of the book’s 68 pages (index and buttock-smooching dedications included) are copied from Hughes’ book, and as Parreira’s named on cover, sleeve, spine and protected by (of course) copyright – it would seem that he’s passing other people’s work off as his own.

The chapters about tactical formations are identical twins, and Parreira was apparently either stumped for words or found his twin soul in Hughes as he uses the first paragraph of ‘Soccer Tactics and Teamwork’ word for word, dismantling the English to rebuild it perfectly in Portuguese. Rather disappointing coming from a man who loves having his intellectuality preened and admired by others. And potentially liable to a jail sentence of up to two years; this being the punishment under Brazilian law for plagiarism – and either Hughes or his publisher have the right to demand action if they should choose.

Perhaps the funniest thing is that nobody noticed before. After all, the whole idea is so ludicrous – the 2005 Brazilian team being guided by a book written in Blighty before Mark Bolan had tried to fuse minis and oak trees, back in the time when players sneaked a cigarette or two to pep them up at half time and perhaps a shot of Captain Morgan’s as a hair of the dog. It does give credence to Ronaldo’s claims of tiredness – he’s probably been ordered by Parreira to dress in acrylic safari suits and platforms, chug 8 pints of Bitter, 4 treble Scotches, scoff a chicken vindaloo, honk it all up behind Stringfellows, get in a fist fight with somebody who was ‘looking at me funny’ and disappear on the arms of a couple of mystery blondes.

Maybe it’s just a sad echo of a lack of new ideas over the past 32 years; final proof that all this blathering on by middle-aged men in tracksuits and sheepskin coats was actually what we thought in the first place – bull****. We’ve been sidelined by high-flying explanations and extensive justifications for this season’s ‘innovation’, soon to be last year’s passing fad. Louis Van Gaal pulled this crush-you-into-submission-with-statistics-models-and-theories tactic off for years, mesmerising a gullible Camp Nou into the supposed infallibility of his system. His response was clear; if the team lost it was the players’ fault, if the team won it was the system’s virtue. But – aren’t we fans and followers the ones who encourage this endless loop-tape of tactics? Admit it; we want explanations, we want the bonnet lifted and the bit that isn’t working pointed to, we want to know the secrets. We want to know that our team is safe in the hands of some enlightened visionary with his own particular (flow-charted) science of winning; a coach to be idolised.

So, Parreira is merely following what the public wants – giving a view of football that can be explained in pictograms; with arrows and impressive-sounding pseudo-medical terms. What can you expect from a football professional who came into the sport via physiotherapy and fitness training? The first group of students to grace the ‘Escola Brasileira de Futebol’ (‘Brazilian Football School’) will be using the book as their footballing bible after parting with the R$180 signing on fee – roughly 80% of the current minimum wage in a country where most people are on it or below it. The ones lucky enough to afford the gate fee will have Carlos Alberto Parreira as a visiting teacher.

His book still contains no mention of Charles Hughes other than as ‘Recommended Reading’; not even quoting the author in his text. “We have taken an important step forward in the evolution of football in Brazil” said Parreira during the EBF inaugural speech. This is true – we all applaud measures to help footballers grow, partly out of a selfish desire to see better players in our future teams, but generally for all the positive spin-off it generates in reducing crime; including that of playing like something that rhymes with anchors. Still, it’d be nice if Parreira came clean and gave Hughes his share of the credit. After all, it’s just not cricket, what?



Aaron Marcus
Goal.Com

Presumably if Brazil are copying Englands 70s tactics now then in about 10 years they will have moved on to long ball tactics

Instead of guys like Pele, Ronaldo etc i suppose we can look forward to future legends like Peter Crouchinho

Originally Posted by Stezagud

Presumably if Brazil are copying Englands 70s tactics now then in about 10 years they will have moved on to long ball tactics

Instead of guys like Pele, Ronaldo etc i suppose we can look forward to future legends like Peter Crouchinho

....and scrapping prayer cessions for nightclub brawls.....

Wonder what Carlos Alberto will feel of a Brazilian 'Midget' Michael Owenlinho or nicknamed 'The Midget'.

...and the deeply religious Paul Gazcinho...

Football has got to be the weirdest sport ever.

..... the weirdest sport ever coz most of people of the whole wide world love it very much! even residents in small island, they know what football is ..... heh heh heh.... ;-)

Que vergonha hein pé-de-uva? Vai ser burro, anta, retardado, idiota! hahahahah

That shame hein foot-of-grape? It goes to be donkey, tapir, delayed, idiotic! hahahahah

Originally Posted by Roger Nolli

foot-of-grape?

GrapeFruit?

Originally Posted by Roger Nolli

Que vergonha hein pé-de-uva? Vai ser burro, anta, retardado, idiota! hahahahah

That shame hein foot-of-grape? It goes to be donkey, tapir, delayed, idiotic! hahahahah

Nothing beats the fool-proof translations of Bablefish

Originally Posted by Henrik

Nothing beats the fool-proof translations of Bablefish

Oh god bablefish! That's what you get when things are free on the internet!
Well actually not really. There are some neat freebies on the net. You get charged through SPAM and all that.

foot-of-grape? I don't no how to say, one tree with grapes, in Brasil says PARREIRA!

Originally Posted by Henrik

....and scrapping prayer cessions for nightclub brawls.....

HAHHAHAHAHHAHA... and getting arrested in obscure island holiday resorts after groping waitresses

Originally Posted by Henrik

...and the deeply religious Paul Gazcinho...

nah, he would just be known as Gaza.

Gaza or Gazza?

I think it's Gazza...