Ja: Reggae Boyz to jam to a samba beat?

IT COULD be déjà vu for technical director Carl Brown when Brazilian Sebastiao Lazaroni arrives to work with the national football programme.

According to a source close to the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF), Lazaroni will be heading to Jamaica as the man in charge of the Reggae Boyz' 'Road to Germany' campaign, resurrecting memories of the 1998 'Road to France' run when Brown was reduced to a mere spectator by another Brazilian, Rene Simoes.

Ironically, it was Brown, who had reportedly suggested that the JFF invite Lazaroni to work with the national team as a consultant. However, he had hoped to retain his title and authority as technical director.

Lazaroni had spent a short time with the Reggae Boyz in 2000.

Such a move would be a blow to Brown but it could get worse for other members of the coaching staff as another JFF source told The Gleaner "Lazaroni will arrive with his own staff which includes two assistants".

With Lazaroni and his assistants in command, the position of Brown, who took over after the sacking of Clovis de Oliveira in 2001, could become unclear.

It has been suggested by some close to the programme that Brown could find himself further down the pecking order as "the Brazilians normally operate as a clique and only work closely with their countrymen in who they have a lot of faith and trust".