SIMOES
HAMILTON, Bermuda (CMC):
RENE SIMOES, the Brazilian who coached Jamaica's Reggae Boyz to the 1998 World Cup finals, has put his hat into the ring to become the Bermuda Football Association's new technical director, the Royal Gazette newspaper reported yesterday.
New England Revolution assistant coach Paul Mariner, the 54-year-old former Ipswich and England striker, and Jamaica-born former Liverpool and England star John Barnes, whose interest in the post was reported earlier by the Gazette, have also applied for the US$125 000-a-year post. The 55-year old Simoes is best known for guiding Jamaica to the World Cup in France nine years ago. They were the first English-speaking Caribbean side to ever qualify for the World Cup.
He has also previously coached Trinidad and Tobago and Iran's Under-23 side.
Decision a surprise
The Gazette said news of Mariner's intentions would have come as a surprise as he has seemingly enjoyed good relations with Revs head coach, Steve Nicol, a partnership that bore fruit earlier this month as the Major Soccer League (MSL) outfit, featuring Bermudian Khano Smith in the side, lifted the Open Cup with victory over FC Dallas in the final.
Mariner's career in England began at non-league side Chorley before he progressed to Plymouth Argyle in 1973.
Three years later the former striker joined Bobby Robson's Ipswich where he netted 97 goals in eight seasons and won FA Cup (1978) and UEFA Cup Winners Cup (1981) titles before moving on to Arsenal and eventually ending his playing career at American Professional Soccer League outfit San Francisco Bay Blackhawks in 1992.
"Football is in my blood and I always look to be involved no matter what level it is," Mariner told the Gazette in a 2005 interview.
Mariner made his England debut in March 1977 and went on to earn 35 caps and score the winner against Hungary which qualified his country for the 1982 World Cup finals after a 20-year absence from the tournament.
Scoring run
Along with former Tottenham, Chelsea, West Ham and AC Milan striker Jimmy Greaves, Mariner is the only other striker to score in six consecutive matches wearing an England jersey. Mariner was an assistant coach at Harvard University before he joined Nicol at the Revs.
Past Canada senior national team coach Stephen Hart of Trinidad and Tobago, and FIFA instructor and British Virgin Islands technical director Ben Davies are also among the 25 to 30 applicants for the BFA post, the Gazette said.
Richard Todd and Keith Tucker are the only two Bermudians that applied for the post last held by former West Ham striker Clyde Best.
Earlier this week, the local football governing body announced that a shortlist of six or seven applicants would be contacted in the near future.
"Once we have contacted those on our short-list we hope to start the interviewing process as soon as possible," BFA technical committee chairman Mark Trott said.
