Mario Zagallo, coach of Brazil at three World Cups, is to come out of retirement to take charge of the Brazilian team to play South Korea in a friendly in Seoul later this month.
Brazilian federation president Ricardo Teixeira announced that Zagallo will take charge of the five-times world champions on an interim basis until a successor to Luiz Felipe Scolari is appointed in the new year.
Zagallo, 71, has been in retirement since leaving Flamengo last year. He said he has since declined offers from five different clubs to return to coaching.
Zagallo, nicknamed the ‘Old Wolf’, played for Brazil at the 1958 and 1962 World Cup, and was coach in 1970 and 1998. He was also assistant to Carlos Alberto Parreira in 1994.
Oswaldo Oliveira, coach of championship leaders Sao Paulo, and former national coach Vanderlei Luxemburgo, are the favourites to succeed Scolari in the long-term.
Brazil lost 1-0 to Paragauy in August in their only game since the World Cup.
