W'Cup win fails to revive Brazilian championship

Brazil's World Cup triumph has failed to help the country's beleaguered championship which gets under way this weekend amid the usual grind of financial difficulties and administrative chaos.

If anything, Brazil's fifth world title has helped speed up the seemingly endless exodus of top players abroad.

Belletti, Dida, Luizao, Gilberto Silva, Juninho and Edilson have all joined the foreign legion since the 2-0 win over Germany in the World Cup final on June 30.

Only seven members of Brazil's World Cup squad will be taking part in the tournament, where they will join an army of lesser-known players who are all dreaming of making an impact -- and then earning a move to Europe themselves.

Brazilian football enjoyed a brief flirt with prosperity at the end of the last decade when foreign-based companies moved in to set up partnerships with some of the leading clubs -- including Flamengo, Corinthians and Palmeiras.

Most have now departed, scared off by the chaos which dominates Brazilian domestic football to leave the clubs in an even worse state than before.

Flamengo, the most popular team in the country, and Gremio, twice former winners of the South American Libertadores Cup, are among the worse hit.

Flamengo have been in a state of almost perpetual boardroom turmoil for years as various factions struggle for control of the club, which is now one of the most indebted in the country.

CONGRESSIONAL INQUIRY

President Edmundo Santos Silva, recently the target of a Congressional inquiry into corruption and maladministration, has been kicked out for alleged misuse of funds but is now trying to fight his way back.

The chaos has been felt on the field with five different coaches employed in the last year.

Lula Pereira, the latest incumbent, will have to do what he can with a squad of inexperienced, young players -- the best the club can afford at present.

Brazilian international Juninho became the latest big-name player to leave the club when he returned to England for a third stint at Middlesbrough.

The situation is also grim at Gremio, where club president Jose Alberto Guerreiro has told his players -- including World Cup defender Anderson Polga -- to brace for lower wages as he attempts to cut costs.

Veteran captain Zinho left by mutual consent after being told the club could not afford to honour his contract and the tense atmosphere also led to a training ground clash involving Anderson Polga.

Vasco da Gama, champions in 1997 and 2000, also look set to struggle, after being forced to offload veteran striker Romario, top scorer in last year's Brazilian championship and still one of the country's top forwards at the age of 36.

Their problems have been worsened by an 18-month long feud with Globo television during which the network has cut off its cash supply -- effectively Vasco's lifeline -- to the club.

WAGE ROW

Romario, meanwhile. has joined Rio de Janeiro rivals Fluminense but his arrival immediately sparked off a wage row after it was announced the he would be paid with money from a sponsorship deal.

His future team mates, who said they had not been paid for four weeks, argued it was wrong for the new arrival to be paid immediately while they would be kept waiting.

With so many traditional teams in trouble, less fashionable sides from outside the main soccer centres have taken the chance to fill the void.

Atletico Paranaense, from the southern city of Coritiba, won the title last year while Sao Caetano, who were only founded 12 years ago, have been beaten finalists for the last two seasons.

They are joined by Paysandu, who hail from Belem on the mouth of the Amazon river and won the Champions Cup, a 16-team tournament, held in July.

Other favourites include Corinthians, led by Brazil's 1994 World Cup-winning coach Carlos Alberto Parreira, after they won both the Rio-Sao Paulo tournament and the Copa Brasil in the first half of the year.

But even Corinthians have their problems.

The club have already returned goalkeeper Dida to Italy's AC Milan and appear set to sell playmaker Ricardinho, much to Parreira's displeasure.