Zico formally named as new Japan coach
Former Brazil international Zico was formally named as the new coach of Japan by the Japan Football Association (JFA) on Saturday.
New JFA President Saburo Kawabuchi confirmed that Zico would sign an 11-month contract on Monday and accepted responsibility for hiring the 49-year-old Brazilian, who will be taking full charge of a team for the first time.
"It was my decision to appoint Zico as coach and I accept the responsibility that goes with it. It is my job to select the right coach for the Japan team, so the buck should stop with me," Kawabuchi told reporters.
Zico, who has been at J-League champions Kashima Antlers in either a playing or a coaching capacity since 1991, takes over from Philippe Troussier after the Frenchman guided co-hosts Japan to the second round of the World Cup last month.
Asked if he would fall on his sword if Zico failed to produce results, Kawabuchi snapped: "I am not going to resign if Zico fails. It is not normal policy for the president to resign, is it? Zico said he expects to be fired if he is not successful."
Kawabuchi, who took over from Shunichiro Okano as JFA president earlier this month after more than a decade as chairman of the J-League, urged Japanese clubs to co-operate with Zico for the good of the national team.
"Zico has to be able to have a close relationship with all the J-League clubs in order to build a better Japan team," he said. "Zico knows the system, so we think the ties between the J-League and the JFA will strengthen further."
However, Kawabuchi admitted that he had been worried about getting Zico to accept the offer from the JFA.
"I didn't think Zico would be interested, so it was a surprise when we found out he really wanted the job," he said.
Zico, who had initially wanted only a co-ordinating role, confessed last week that the JFA's interest had caught him off guard.
"I haven't got much experience as a coach, so it was a big surprise. I always said the last thing I wanted to be was a football coach but in life you can never say never," he said.
Zico, who is scheduled to arrive in Japan from Brazil on Sunday, was part of arguably the best team not to win the World Cup when Brazil went out 3-2 to a Paolo Rossi hat-trick for Italy in 1982.
He played alongside another former Japan coach, Falcao, in the Brazilian midfield at the Spain finals.
Zico officially takes over as Japan coach on August 1 and will get his first taste of international management when the Asian champions take on China in Beijing on August 22.
The JFA were also thought to be interested in Aime Jacquet, who masterminded France's World Cup triumph in 1998, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger and Bora Milutinovic, available after taking China to their first World Cup.
