Carlos Alberto Parreira is set to resign as coach of 2010 World Cup hosts South Africa, Brazilian press reported on Friday, and help his wife recover from major surgery.
Leila Parreira told Brazilian daily newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo her husband had decided to return home 15 months into a contract due to expire only after the quadrennial international football showcase is staged in Africa for the first time.
“I cannot comment on this report until further notice,” Parreira told AFP in Johannesburg.
South African Football Association spokesman Raymond Hack said: “I have no comment to make now but will speak on the issue next week.”
But a close friend of the 65-year-old Brazilian, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Parreira is quitting because he misses his family desperately and spends a fortune phoning them.
Parreira dashed to Brazil in February when his wife underwent undisclosed surgery and she told Folha her husband intends leaving South Africa next month.
“He has already made his decision and is set to return to Brazil at the beginning of next month,” she said of her husband.
After a slow start with Bafana Bafana (The Boys), Parreira was hailed last month when South Africa thrashed Paraguay 3-0 near Pretoria in a friendly.
The much-needed win came after they were eliminated in the group stage of the African Nations Cup in Ghana earlier this year.
South Africa are only 71st in FIFA's world rankings.
Parreira guided his homeland to the World Cup title in 1994 and has coached a number of other national teams, including helping Kuwait and Saudi Arabia qualify for World Cup finals.
