Vitor Pereira is set to be announced as the new manager of Corinthians today after missing out on a role at Premier League giants Everton, as reported by Globo Esporte.
As Everton unveiled Frank Lampard as Rafael Benitez’s successor last month, Pereira must have felt like he was suffering a rather vivid case of déjà vu.
He’s been here before of course.
Pereira was overlooked in favour of Roberto Martinez when Everton were preparing for life without David Moyes in 2013. He held talks with the Merseyside club in 2019, too, before Farhad Moshiri fell under Carlo Ancelotti’s grandfatherly charms (Guardian).
This time around, Pereira only really had himself to blame.
If he could turn back the clock, one suspects the former Fenerbahce and Porto boss may have had second thoughts about going on Sky Sports in a desperate attempt to curry favour with a suspicious group of Everton supporters who had already dubbed Pereira ‘Moshiri’s Man’.
That Pereira is represented by Kia Joorabchian, the agent upon whom Moshiri appears to be strangely beholden, hardly worked in his favour either.
Did Everton hire the right man in Frank Lampard?
Just four days after Pereira’s interview was made public, Lampard was signing a two-and-a-half-year deal at Finch Farm.
Though the well-travelled 53-year-old hasn’t had to wait too long for another door to open. According to Globo Esporte, Pereira will take over at Brazilian giants Corinthians on Wednesday.
He will sign a two-year deal, replacing former Arsenal and Manchester City defender Sylvinho. Corinthians are also eyeing up Wolves boss Bruno Lage. But the Portuguese has shown no desire to walk away from Molineux after less than a season at the helm.
Recently, Joorabchian insisted that reaching an agreement between Pereira and Corinthians would be easier said than done. ‘Very difficult’, he said.
In the end, things seem to have progressed far more smoothly than Joorabchian might have expected. Then again, after his client was turned down by Everton for the third time in nine years, you can probably understand his pessimism.
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