Parreira: Still no deal with South African federation (Extra)

Rio de Janeiro - Brazilian coach Carlos Alberto Parreira confirmed Thursday that he was holding talks to train South Africa again into the 2010 World Cup, but he stressed that there was no deal yet. 'I am not allowed to comment, but there is no deal yet. There is an interest, but nothing has been agreed,' Parreira was quoted as saying in the sport website Lancenet. Initial talks with the South African Football Association (SAFA) had reportedly taken place in Rio de Janeiro. Parreira admitted, however, that he is most likely to return to the job he gave up more than a year ago for family reasons, but he stressed that final arrangements are yet to be made. 'We still have to define a few things. The (SAFA) leadership changed, it's a different situation. They told me they are going to make a decision by Saturday. Pressure there is very great,' he said. Parreira, 66, is regarded as the most likely replacement of fellow-Brazilian Joel Santana, who had in turn replaced Parreira last year but was sacked Monday in the wake of some very poor results in friendly matches. In the first interview he gave since being sacked, Santana was resigned. 'Football is like love. If a woman no longer loves you, what can you do? I would like to go on, but I couldn't,' he told Brazilian website GloboEsporte. Santana said he is happy about the work he did in South Africa. 'I am satisfied, relieved, calm,' he said. 'I don't regret anything.' He blamed poor results on the fact that South Africa played tough rivals to prepare for their home World Cup. 'Everything I did was done thinking of 2010,' he stressed. 'I would do it all over again.' Santana said he did not know who would be taking over the job, but he admitted he favoured Parreira. 'I it was Parreira, as they're saying, I think that would be good to pursue further the work we were doing,' he said. In the World Cup, Santana plans to cheer 'for Brazil and for South Africa.' 'I would have liked to play a World Cup, but God did not think this was my moment,' he said. 'It's not the end of the world, one has to stay calm.'