Vieira: I'm the right man

A day after Pim Verbeek declared his interest in the Socceroos job, Jorvan Vieira has become the second man to throw his hat into the ring for what's fast becoming a desperate search for the next Socceroos coach.

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The 54-year-old Brazilian led Iraq to an upset triumph at the recent Asian Cup and with an extensive background in Asian club and national football claims he's the right man to lead the Socceroos to South Africa.

Speaking exclusively to SBS from his home in Morocco, Vieira said that with just over two months before the World Cup qualifiers begin it's essential the FFA appoint a coach with Asian experience.

"I'm available and I'm ready. I know what is needed to succeed in Asia," he declared.

"You see, with Iraq nobody expected I could win anything and I took Iraq in the same conditions that Australia is now in."

"It was exactly two months before the competition that I took Iraq and we made a great job with the support of the players, and this is what is great about the Australian players. I'm sure they want to erase, what in my view, was their poor participation in the Asian Cup."

Vieira stressed that the unique challenges posed in potential visits to locations such as Ashgabat, Muscat or Damascus can only be solved by a man with experience on the ground.

"The Asian Cup was a big and great experience for Australia. It's my personal point of view that they didn't know well about the Asian continent and Asian football competitions," he remarked.

"Everybody in Asia expected a little bit more and better from the Australian national team, because they know the quality. I'm sure the FFA and the players want to prove the Asian Cup was just a small slash from Australian football."

Aside from the recent Asian Cup triumph, Vieira has coached in Qatar, Oman, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia - all potential stumbling blocks in what is a long road to South Africa 2010.

"Now in Asia there is another level and you see in many Asian clubs and national teams they have coaches from many different nations and different continents. It's important for Australia to be in direct contact with this kind of level to progress," Vieira added.

Vieira revealed that he had been offered a job by the FFA in August to work alongside Dick Advocaat, but preferred to coach on his own terms.

He's currently mulling over a 'big money offer' from a Russian club and several other Asian suitors, but declared he knows and respects Australian football.

"During the 2005 Confederations Cup I was working with a Moroccan TV station and I was their chief analyst for Australia - I studied in depth about the players, their clubs and national performance," he explained.

"I know the work the FFA is doing to promote youth football and in Australia and I see a country with great potential."

Vieira also said he would live full-time in Australia and scoffed at claims he wasn't 'high-profile' enough for the job.

"I have a profile as to what I can do as a coach. I know many coaches who have a high profile. Sometimes they have a name and they got a good job and we never see the results."

"Football is a time, a moment and we cannot judge people for a very high profile, we judge people by their work, what they have done and proved on the field."

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