WORLD CUP USA '94 / THE FINALS : Spotlight : NO, I WANT TO LOSE

WORLD CUP USA ’94 / THE FINALS : Spotlight : NO, I WANT TO LOSE

By HELENE ELLIOTT

July 15, 1994 12 AM PT

The dumbest question of Thursday--and perhaps of the tournament--was asked of Brazilian Coach Carlos Alberto Parreira after his team’s practice.

Referring to Sunday’s final against Italy, one reporter earnestly inquired, “Do you want to win the game?”

Parreira, who speaks English well, couldn’t believe his ears. “What kind of question is that?” he asked.

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Olympics

Helene Elliott

Helene Elliott was with the Los Angeles Times’ Sports department from 1989 to 2024, first as a staff writer and then, starting in 2006, as a columnist. She became the first female journalist to be honored with a plaque in the Hall of Fame of a major professional sport as the 2005 winner of the Hockey Hall of Fame’s Elmer Ferguson Award, awarded to writers “who have brought honor to journalism and to hockey.” A native of Brooklyn, N.Y., and graduate of Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, she has covered 18 Olympics.

WORLD CUP USA ’94 / THE FINALS : Spotlight : NO, I WANT TO LOSE

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