They say that a World Cup can either make or break a player's reputation. Tuesday's sacking of Brazil coach Mario Zagallo (right) confirms that the tournament is the cause of an even higher rate of attrition among team coaches. Zagallo became the 17th coach from France 98 to vacate his position in the aftermath of the world's biggest football competition when Brazil sacked him and his entire management staff. He joins the managers of France, Argentina, Norway, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Paraguay, Italy, Bulgaria, South Korea, Holland, Tunisia, US, Romania, Columbia, Jamaica and Japan as coaches who have either resigned or been sacked since the beginning of France 98. That's over half the teams in the competition.

Carlos Alberto Parreira, who coached Brazil to their 1994 World Cup triumph but who was fired by Saudi Arabia, has emerged as the leading candidate to step into Zagallo's shoes. Funny old business, football.