The coach who led his native country to the title four years ago was abruptly sacked by Saudi Arabia on Saturday after their early elimination from the World Cup finals.

He will not even see out the tournament, Mohammad Al-Kharashi taking charge of the team for their last Group C game against South Africa next Wednesday.It is an undignified departure for a man who has coached four different countries in World Cup finals, a feat matched only by globetrotting Yugoslav-born Bora Milutinovic.

Milutinovic, now in charge of Nigeria, has maintained his proud record of never failing to reach the second round. Carlos Alberto, by contrast, has seen all his teams eliminated in the first round except for Brazil in 1994.Carlos Alberto came under fire even when taking Brazil to their fourth title, critics at home constantly sniping that they failed to play withsufficent flair.

Never a professional player, Carlos Alberto was a physiotherapist to the brilliant Brazilian team of 1970. He watched at first hand as Pele and company swept to victory, capturing the hearts of the world with their thrilling style.

He then became a coach in his own right, working in Ghana and the Middle East. He was in charge of Kuwait when they played in the finals in Spain in 1982, emerging with credit as his team picked up a point from a draw with Czechoslovakia.

In 1983, Carlos Alberto had his first stint as coach of Brazil but left after a chastening year which gave him a feel for the problems associated with one of the hottest seats in sport.

Parreira returned to the World Cup stage in Italy in 1990, taking charge of the United Arab Emirates after close friend Mario Zagallo was sacked.Ironically, Carlos Alberto had coached Saudi Arabia in the qualifiers only to see them lose out to UAE. The UAE, with less than 3,000 registered players, faced a tough draw against Colombia,Yugoslavia and West Germany and lost all three games.

He then returned home and took over the National side in 1991 after former international Falcao was sacked. He continue to roam after the World Cup, coaching Spanish club Valencia, Brazilians Sao Paulo and finally the Metrostars in the US.

Last December he was hired to lead the Saudis, their ninth coach in three years as the oil-rich state sought to replicate its surprisingly good showing of 1994.