Coach: Vanderlei Luxemburgo

Vanderlei Luxemburgo, presented as the new trainer of Real Madrid Discipline, unity, hard work and professionalism. These are the four premises of Vanderlei Luxemburgo, new trainer of Real Madrid. The Brazilian, 52 years old, comes to take the post of Mariano García Remón, who will remain linked to the Club with Arrigo Sacchi. Luxemburgo doesn't promise titles, but “I work to make successes come”. On Friday, the last session of 2004, he will take the reins of Real Madrid for the first time. The Brazilian, who has signed for one and a half seasons, will come accompanied by his second trainer, Marco Teixeira and his physical coach, José Melo. One week ago, Arrigo Sacchi was presented as the new Director of Football. Seven days later, the press room of Santiago Bernabéu once again received the media to witness the presentation of Vanderlei Luxemburgo as new trainer of Real Madrid for the next 18 months. The Vice President and General Sporting Director, Emilio Butragueño, who emphasized that the “there was absolute receptiveness and his interest in joining the club was absolute”and the Football Director, Arrigo Sacchi acted as his host in his first hours as Madrid´s coach. back to start

Emilio Butragueño clarified how this change on the bench had happened: “Since the match against Seville we decided to give ourselves some time to think, due to our preoccupation about the situation of the team. We spoke on Monday night, and then we had a meeting on Tuesday in Madrid, we decided that the best thing be to change coach, and we told this to the President. The next person to know was García Remón, who we told in person”. The decision to hire Vanderlei Luxemburgo was made, unanimously, by the board of directors, with Florentino Pérez in the chair .Also, we informed the captain of the first team, Raúl González, about the situation on the bench. Roberto Carlos and Ronaldo, confirmed that the new coach, was traveling along with their new trainer, although Vanderlei did not wish to give an evaluation of the team because of “a lack of information”. The Vice president of Real Madrid clarified that “we would like to thank Mariano for his professionalism and his loyalty to Club doing these months. They understand that it has not been easy, but García Remón will remain at Club, because Arrigo asked for this ”. The director of football himself confirmed this modification: “he's a very competent and professional person”. Vanderlei Luxemburgo: "with work, results will come'" For 30 minutes, Vanderlei Luxemburgo talked to the media and expressed his intentions clearly: “I come to work, I'm very happy to be here. I know that it's a very big responsibility, but that allows one to experience great moments. I have four fundamental values: discipline, unity, hard work and professionalism. Now I have to speak with the people who have worked before to respond to the problems”. Little by little, he set out his methods and his wishes for this Real Madrid. Subsequently, he explained how the contacts happened: “In 24 hours it was done. During my career I prepared myself to work with Brazil and in Europe, and I believe I'm prepared, it isn't a surprise. His first match will be short but special: “I don't think anybody has played a seven minutes match, it will be a new experience, but we will prepare to the maximum”. He didn't want to describe himself as a hard trainer: “No I'm just professional. Thier duties begin when mine end. We come to win. And to do this work is necessary, I doesn't promise titles, only that I'm going to work very hard for them to come. It's not possible to promise that the League and the Champions will come. I doesn't like winning nothing or losing. The first step will be to get to know the group”. Before saying goodbye, he evaluated the options of Real Madrid in the league, in Europe and in the Copa del Rey: “We cannot look down on the Championship because with 3 point victories you rejoin immediately. And in the knockout rounds everything is evenly matched. I doesn't like mentioning names Morientes? He's a great player, but we'll see. Robinho? As we are seeing, es he's very young and adapting to Europe is a difficult step”.

WANDERLEY LUXEMBURGO Heading into his first full European season with Real Madrid, Wanderley Luxemburgo is still a newcomer to many fans outside Brazil. Many Merengue hopes and dreams in 2006 will be riding on the sharp-dressed, steel-rimmed Brazilian standing on the sidelines. Brazil correspondent Aaron Marcus gives Goal.com readers a thumbnail sketch of a Coach capable of winning the Brazilian league five times with four different clubs... Although more popularly known nowadays as Wanderley, Vanderlei was the name by which Luxemburgo was known during his undistinguished career as a left-back. Mostly based in his native Carioca state league, Vanderlei was an average player, passing through Flamengo and dipping south via Internacional-RS before returning to Rio and hanging his boots up at Botafogo after a knee injury forced him to call it a day. This apparent misfortune, as apparent misfortunes occasionally are, was a blessing in disguise as Luxemburgo swapped kit for shell suits and smart suits before starting what would turn out to be a far more outstanding career as a Coach. Rio de Janeiro’s Campo Grande was his 1983 starting point, although it would take him another six years to become well-known. From Playing Days To Better Things His almost manic club rotisserie routine began to take shape as Wanderley went to Espirito Santo’s Rio Branco for the 1983-1984 season, before zipping back to Rio for a brief stint at Friburguense, then a lucrative stay with Saudi Arabia’s Al Ittihad Jeddah followed by a return home to coach Mineiros Democrata in 1985-1986. From 1986 to 1988 saw an almost unparalleled stability for Luxe; only interrupted by a 1987 appearance at Rio’s América. It was to be the nineties that were to see Luxemburgo explode onto the national scene first, then emerge as an international Coach of some repute – and disrepute. Zebras Bragantino were to be the first to be guided to glory by a maturing Wanderley, hoisting the Paulista 1990 and catapulting their flamboyant tactician to the heights of first division Paulista team Guarani. This was somewhat of a let-down for the Coach, seemingly unable to work with a squad that wouldn’t unquestioningly do as they were told. Similar negative vibes were felt in the 1991-1992 season at Flamengo and the following year Luxemburgo headed back to Campinas only to flop again at Ponte Preta. Some observers began to write him off as a damp squib. After three seasons in the comparative wilderness, Luxemburgo was signed by Palmeiras to helm an ambitious project funded by Italian foodstuffs giant Parmalat. A ‘dream team’, following the term applied to Johan Cruyff’s Barça the year before, designed to put an end to years of subservience to the other Paulista greats. First step was the Paulista trophy; hauled back to the Palestra Italia after seventeen years of disappointments. The same year saw the conquests of the, now defunct, Rio-São Paulo tournament and on to the ultimate triumph – the 1993 Brasileirão. Suddenly Wanderley Luxemburgo was a household name across Brazil; the new face of a new coaching generation. >> Fact File Name: Wanderley Luxemburgo da Silva D.O.B. 10/05/1952 (?) Birthplace Nova Iguaçu (Rio de Janeiro) Titles: Espírito Santo State League: 1983 / Brazilian League (2nd division): 1989 / São Paulo State League: 1990, 1993-4, 1996, 2001 / Brazilian League: 1993-4, 1998, 2003-4 / Rio - São Paulo Tournament: 1993, 1997 / Guanabara Cup: 1995 / Intercontinental Cup (Toyota Cup): 1996 / Copa America: 1999 / Pre-Olympic Tournament: 2000 / Minas Gerais State League: 2003 / Brazilian Cup: 2003 back to start

The next season confirmed his good fortune as Palmeiras were steered towards their second Paulista and Brasileirão trophies in a row; good news only undermined by the elimination from the Libertadores Cup by Rai’s São Paulo. This saw a return to Rio, but Luxe found himself at loggerheads with Romário (still today there’s no love lost between the two) and left after losing the state title to Fluminense. His time at Paraná Clube was more of a stopover than even a visit, and Wanderley made things up with the Palmeiras management before returning to the Parque Antártica for his second stint in command. This was less productive than his previous work with the Verdão, and the season was only saved by the Paulista trophy. The next destination was Santos’ Vila Belmiro where Luxemburgo added another Rio-São Paulo title to his resume. He didn’t endear himself to Peixe fans for long, however, walking off to arch-rivals Corinthians in mid-contract. The reason was financial; after Palmeiras’ success with Parmalat, Corinthians were emulating the partnership scheme with U.S. investment fund ‘Hicks & Muse’. In spite of rattling to no less than five defeats on the Timão bench, Wanderley was given enough credit to continue. The result was a vice-championship in the Paulista leading to an eventual Brasileirão victory that was celebrated like it was the first time by a Coach determined to succeed wherever he went. This led to him being called up by the CBF to head the seleção, at first part-time, but then on a full-time arrangement. Selected For The Seleção In opinion polls of the day (Datafolha), up to 69% of the Brazilian public actively approved of Luxemburgo’s appointment to the national squad. His debut was on the 3rd of September 1998 – taking over from Mario Zagallo after Ronaldo’s alleged pre-match fit and the infamous final – in a bland one all draw with Yugoslavia. He was to lead the Canarinha through 32 games in all: 20 wins, 7 draws and 5 defeats averaging out at a 70% haul of all points available. This even seems like good work, but is fundamentally misleading. Most of the good performances were against rivals such as Thailand, Japan, New Zealand and Saudi Arabia, all of which – no offence – are hardly a match for Brazil. In the WCQ Brazil lost for the first time in history – and with an embarrassing lack of style. The 3-0 and 2-1 losses to Chile and Paraguay respectively were acutely felt. Wanderley’s style was heavily criticised. His wrought explanations of everything ended up with cartoons of Luxe dressed up as a Martian from ‘Mars Attacks’ and gabbling “At!-At!-At!” appearing in the national press. During the first six games of his rule Brazil couldn’t even score, and many blamed that on Luxe’s continual tinkering with the attacking line-up. This drought was eventually ended against Bolivia with a 4-1 win that needed the grudging return of Romário and his hat-trick. Despite this, and the Baixinho’s public admission that the Olympic Games were his dream, Luxemburgo left the number 11 in Brazil alleging that he only wanted to take players under 23 along to Sydney. This turned out to be a big mistake, and Brazil suffered from a horrible blend of inexperience and immaturity that cost an unbeaten run of 19 games (14 wins, 5 draws) in Olympic competition. Samuel Eto’o’s Cameroon kicked the misfiring seleção out, and Luxemburgo followed suit; two years to the day since he made his debut. Legal Matters A Lot What made the cries for his dismissal all the more vitriolic was an off-pitch manner that had begun to acquire tones of arrogance and high-handedness. Luxemburgo was being investigated for tax evasion, illegal involvement in the sale of players, adulteration of birth certificates and alleged cocaine addiction. In a country where football is –recently some journalists, in the wake of Lula’s latest scandal, also argued that corruption is – almost synonymous with the national identity; this was seen as a disgrace. Other incidents have stained Luxemburgo’s reputation apart from the accusations made by his ex-secretary Renata Carla Moura Alves. In 1996, when at Palmeiras, manicurist Cláudia Laudineide Machado Cavalcante accused him of sexual harassment, but the case collapsed due to lack of proof (like her statements regarding alleged use of cocaine) The next year saw the start of Luxe’s long-term run-in with tax collectors of all size and shape. Renata Carla Moura Alves became a target for a Federal Police investigation into tax evasion; at the time Ms. Alves was Wanderley’s personal secretary. She confirmed buying various houses and cars for the coach at a number of auctions. The clincher was an admission that Luxemburgo used her to do the dirty work so as not to get caught. Wanderley denied it all, blaming the disclosures on media persecution that public figures in Brazil have to endure. Not satisfied, the authorities got permission to access his accounts. These gave sufficient indices of guilt – in the eyes of the law – for Luxemburgo to be formally accused of tax evasion; namely breaking the 2nd article of law 8137, 1990. His ex-secretary chose the same moment to strike, taking Luxemburgo to the employment tribunals to get recognition for her work at the auctions, and therefore pension and social security rights. Wanderley was found guilty and fined around $500,000. Then came a steady stream of complaints that Luxe had received commission in the sale of players that he would recommend; a serious accusation for the boss of the seleção as it would provide a murky explanation for his arm-length call-up list since being appointed. The last straw was information in the 04/09/2000 issue of Brazilian current events weekly ‘Epoca’ that claimed that Luxe had falsified his date of birth. This was supposed to have been on documentation handed to Flamengo in his short-lived playing days at the Gávea club. If this stands up to closer inspection then Wanderley may face article 299 of the penal code. Aside from all that stands the case concerning his disappearance from the 1997 Elias Comidinhas & Bebidinhas deal. Wanderley’s record is still lilywhite, although the sheer number of problems has thrown the sort of mud that sticks at the Coach. Life After Brazil In the wake of his dismissal at national level, the Parque São Jorge welcomed Luxemburgo back to Corinthians for the 2001-2002 season, but the old magic just wasn’t there any more. Wanderley couldn’t step back into the shoes he’d left for Oswaldo Oliveira to win the first FIFA world club cup in. A title-free season led to another one of Wanderley’s wanderings, Minas Gerais being the backdrop for his new adventure with Cruzeiro. Wanderley rose from the ashes of his bitter seleção experience to be a phoenix that would make his Parmalat and Hicks-Muse days fade from memory. Within two years at the Belo Horizonte club, Wanderley brought home an impressive array of silverware; the São Paulo State League (Paulista) 2001, Brazilian League: 2003 & 2004, Minas Gerais State League (Mineiro) 2003 plus the Brazilian Cup of 2003. The partnership came to a bizarre end with Luxemburgo bagging Rivaldo, starting a season, then getting booted out for apparently asking for a bigger slice of the Brasileirão-winning financial pie than the Perrella brothers thought was reasonable. Rivaldo followed him – to the airport, before heading to Greece. Luxemburgo lay low for a couple of months before replacing Leão at Santos: this provoked a split between the two as Emerson felt Wanderley had been angling for his job. Wanderley steered the backbone of Leão’s 2002 squad to the 2004 Brasileirão title, pipping Atlético Paranaense at the post in the last rodada to lift the trophy. As Real Madrid were heading towards a sobering second year running with no conquests, rumours began to abound that Luxe was bound for the Bernabeu. Initial point-blank denials were slowly replaced by more positive statements until Luxemburgo fulfilled his boyhood dream and went to Coach in Europe. This year’s 2005-2006 season may see something special as Luxe adds Robinho and Julio Baptista to his arsenal. The rest, as they say, will be history. Aaron Marcus

Luxemburgo: “Technique and quality have to be combined with discipline” He has only been Real Madrid's coach for a few hours but he has very clear ideas. He wants to base his work on discipline unity hard work and professionalism. “.Technique and quality has to be combined with discipline. The staff are excellent”, confirms the Madrid coach to Realmadrid Televisión and RealMadrid.com. Vanderlei Luxemburgo brims with optimism and willingness to work. -I'm sure that your arrival at Real Madrid is one of the most important days of your career. -I'm aware that it is a very important day. I'm very happy and very excited. - Your previous club had offered you a renewed contract but it's very difficult to say no to Real Madrid - During the last week there have been negotiations with Santos. It was an opportunity in my professional life and they completely understood. They haven't made any problems about my move to Real Madrid. - You have reached the highest level as coach, first directing the Brazilian team and now the biggest club in the world. -My career is important. First as selector for the Brazilian team, a very important role in football in my country; and second, Real Madrid, is a team which all the coaches in the world would love to be on. The two things are very important. -What did you talk about with the new Director of Football, Arrigo Sacchi? - We have talked about the quality of the team and the things which need to be done. There is a lot of work to do. With the quality of this team we should be thinking about winning always. We have to form a co-ordinated team which is always thinking about the good of all. My first impression is that the team is very good. -You will be trying to achieve good results accompanied by good playing which has characterised your teams. - My footballing culture is that of Brazilian football based on technique and quality. But this has should be accompanied I discipline, the way of playing etc. the team has to be strong and play football well, but this requires a lot of work. - Have you set yourself short-term or immediate objectives? - We are starting to have meetings about these subjects. We have to go slowly as we can't do everything at once, but with some very intense work. The first thing we have to do is get ourselves back into the League, and also to prepare ourselves for the Champions League. - You have commented that you like discipline, unity, hard work, and professionalism. Are these the basic lines of work which you would like to institute? -It's essential. These four factors cannot work alone, only together. I am sure that I am going to put these four pillars into practice. The players are football professionals and there won't be any problem at all. We have to stand together to win. -What can you tell us about the workers you are bringing with you, that is the second coach and the physical coach? - That´s right, I come here with an assistant and a physical coach. But it isn't necessary to change everything because the people who are already here can help us a lot. -What is your opinion of the Real Madrid team which has as many stars as the Brazilian team could have? - This isn't a problem. There are many players from the Brazilian team who play in European football. It's better to play with great players than not to have them. The important thing is always to work with respect. Players have to be committed to the club. back to start

- It will make your work easier having fellow countrymen on the team who you have also already trained, such as Ronaldo and Roberto Carlos. - Yes. I trained Ronaldo at Palmeiras when he was a very young lad and also on the Brazilian team. I have a very good relationship with him. But professional relationships with Ronaldo, Roberto, Beckham, Figo… don't depend on nationality. My professional relationships now have to be with everybody. - Is it possible to catch up with Barcelona in the League? - In the lest year I spent a month in Spain watching games and Barcelona was bad. But they started to win games and went up. In football everything is possible. It is necessary to work in order for your chances to increase. The players have to understand now that they have to put in 100 percent of themselves to win. Pelé: "Luxemburgo is one of the best coaches in the world" -What references do you have for Vanderlei Luxemburgo? -I have all the possible references in the world. I know him long time ago, I worked five years ago with him, when I worked at Santos Club and my son was the goalkeeper there. From then on, I´ve known his work. I followed his career, and everywhere he worked, he won. Fortunately, he was also a champion with Santos. There´s something he never says: When I was finishing my career, he was playing at Flamenco, though he wasn´t one of the best players. From then on, I knew Vanderlei. He´s much better coach than player. -Do you think his sign-up is a wise move? -Without doubt, in my opinion he´s one of the best coaches in the world and surely, the best coach of South America. Football is full of surprises and anything can happen, but as coach he is a very good decision by Real Madrid.

Meet the new boss in Madrid... Real Madrid are convinced they have found in Brazil what Chelsea found in Portugal: a coach capable of making them winners. As José Mourinho did at Stamford Bridge, Vanderlei Luxemburgo has arrived at the Santiago Bernabéu to a raised level of expectation. A big difference, though, is that Luxemburgo's appointment was a well-kept secret. Just after Christmas, Roberto Carlos and Ronaldo, on their way back to Spain, met him at Sao Paulo airport and asked: 'Are you going on holiday to Europe?' He replied: 'No, I'm flying to Madrid to be your new coach.' Since then, Luxemburgo has moved fast. In barely two weeks the Brazilian, who became Real's fourth manager in a year, has changed the mood and the working environment. Los Galácticos now train twice a day and have lunch together at Las Rozas, before gathering for a retreat on Fridays. Luxemburgo, 52, has said: 'Many players forget they are paid to play the game. They should always be available to the demands of coach and club.' back to start

His words will resonate at Real, where some of the players, including Ronaldo, are reputed to be reluctant trainers. Luxemburgo has already said Ronaldo may suffer under his energetic stewardship, adding to speculation about their relationship. They fell out after the coach, while in charge of Brazil, made Ronaldo travel to Australia for two friendlies in 1999. Because Inter Milan gave permission for the striker to play in only one match, Luxemburgo upset Ronaldo by not using him. Roberto Carlos, on the other hand, says: 'I've known him for 15 years and he's like a father to me. I think he'll have a long life here and be a champion with Real Madrid.' The new coach may be little known on the international club scene but Real did not bet on a Brazilian untested in Europe for nothing. 'Real changed coaches many times recently but I came here to stay and I will be a winner,' Luxemburgo said last week, echoing exactly the sort of confidence for which Mourinho has become renowned. His contract is for 18 months. His job started in earnest with a 2-1 victory against Real Sociedad, a match that began under the old regime in 2004 and, because of a bomb scare, ended with the final six minutes being played last Wednesday. The coach locked away his team for 90 minutes and put them through a lengthy warm-up before the mini-match, in which Ronaldo scored the decisive goal. Luxemburgo started with Fernando Morientes in place of Michael Owen, and he has said he wants to keep Morientes. But reports from Spain yesterday suggest that Real will nevertheless sell him to Liverpool. Luxemburgo, who is already being praised for bringing pas sion back to the club, was born in Rio de Janeiro in 1952. For many years, Vanderlei was Wanderley. His father obtained a second birth certificate, changing the spelling of his name and reducing his age by three years to help with his early career. 'They tried to finish with me but I made a comeback, facing my adversaries with strength that comes from inside me,' he says in his book É Campeão (Is Champion). Luxemburgo is married to Jo, who, according to close friends, is the real boss. 'She has the final word on everything,' says one. They have three daughters. As a modest left-back, Luxemburgo was always second choice to the 1982 World Cup star Junior. As a manager, success started when he took Bragantino to their first and only Sao Paulo state championship title in 1990. In 33 years since the national championship started, no one has matched his record of five Brazilian titles: with Palmeiras (1992 and 1993), Corinthians (1999), Cruzeiro (2003) and Santos (2004). In 1998, after Brazil's defeat by France in the World Cup final, Luxemburgo became national coach. He triumphed in the 1999 Copa America but after bad results in World Cup qualifiers and early elimination at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, he resigned. Luxemburgo was the coach when Brazil played a 1-1 draw at Wembley in 1999, Owen scoring for England. 'He always mentions England with a lot of respect,' says the Brazilian media consultant Ingo Ostrovsky, who co-wrote Luxemburgo's book. Earlier, as a TV pundit when Beckham and Owen made their mark at the 1998 World Cup, Luxemburgo commented on Beckham's accuracy and it was from one of his crosses that Owen scored against Brazil at Wembley. 'Beckham and Owen are highly rated by Real's new coach,' says Jaeci Carvalho, who knows Luxemburgo well. But he also feels the Englishmen 'need to get more tactical awareness'. As for Sven-Göran Eriksson's England, Luxemburgo told Carvalho: 'They are strong, pass much more on the ground now and have players with great technique.' The Brazilian is seen as a perfectionist who will do any thing to achieve success. Once, he wired up two of his players with electronic devices to pass instructions to them. 'I was just trying to improve the communication on the pitch, which was pretty bad,' he said. With his confidence and self-belief, he bears an obvious resemblance to Mourinho: 'I am a star. I've become an example and the new coaches are inspired by me,' Luxemburgo once said. He can be unconventional. Before a cup final, he gave a nappy to a young player and told him: 'If you are scared, you can wear it now under your shorts.' Like Mourinho, Luxemburgo has strong ideas about 'the profile of a winner'. His messages include: 'The fear of defeat takes away the desire to win.' He elaborates on this as he considers his own task at Real: 'If we focus on happiness, joy, achievement, then fear gives way to courage. I was born to win, I always wanted to win and I always say to my teams, "We will win".' · Pedro Redig, a Brazilian journalist, has worked with Vanderlei Luxemburgo in his TV career