Sao Paulo, Aug 28: Brazil's road to the 2006 Word Cup finals begins Sept. 7 in Colombia with Carlos Alberto Parreira hoping to leave behind a rough start in his return as coach of the five-time world champions.
Parreira - who is in charge of leading Brazil to one of the five spots available to South American teams in the 2006 tournament in Germany - has struggled since replacing 2002 world cup winner Luis Felipe Scolari in January.
Since the coach's return to command, Brazil has won only two of its last seven matches.
The Brazilians had a dismal performance in Fifa's Confederations Cup, being eliminated in the tournament's first stage after a 1-0 loss to Cameroon, a lackluster 1-0 win over the United States and a 2-2 draw against Turkey.
In Brazil's four friendly matches this year, the team's only victory came against Nigeria in June. Earlier in the year, Brazil drew with China, Portugal and Mexico.



Despite the uninspiring record, Parreira - who led Brazil to its fourth world title in 1994 - is confident the team can get off to a good start against Colombia in Barranquilla.



"We are on the right track," he said. "I had a chance to observe some players and now I know who I can count on."



The experienced coach already knows he won't have one of Brazil's top stars available for the opening match.



FC Barcelona's Ronaldinho was red carded in Brazil's draw against Turkey in the Confederations Cup and will not be eligible to play against the Colombians.



The star midfielder - one of Brazil's main players at the 2002 world cup - will be only be available for Brazil's Sept. 10 match against Ecuador.


Bureau Report