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Ex-Bafana Bafana coach hospitalised with life-threatening illness

Brazilian coach Carlos Alberto Parreira, who led South Africa and Bafana Bafana’s historic 2010 World Cup campaign, is now fighting for his health in a Rio hospital.

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Former Bafana coach hospitalised

The 83-year-old, who remains the only coach to have participated in six World Cup tournaments with different countries, has been suffering since 2023 from Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a cancer of the lymphatic system.

Parreira was “admitted to intensive care due to a lung infection,” according to the Rio de Janeiro hospital where he was admitted on Wednesday.

Also see: Hugo Broos breaks silence on Brandon Petersen’s World Cup omission

The facility said he is on a ventilator and that his condition is stable.

The Brazilian holds the record for the most World Cup appearances as a head coach. In addition to his two stints leading the Selecao in 1994 and 2006, he coached Kuwait in 1982, the United Arab Emirates in 1990, Saudi Arabia in 1998 and South Africa in 2010.

Parreira’s 1994 victory came in the United States, where the World Cup is presently being co-hosted along with Canada and Mexico.

– AFP

Originally published by Soccermag.

Also see: Watch: Bafana legend slams double standards against South Africa

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