Source: Daily_Mail
Give me a job at Newcastle - Shearer's the wrong man for Toon Army, says Brazil flop Mirandinha
Trailblazer: Mirandinha turns out for Newcastle in 1987
Mirandinha was not the Messiah, and the first Brazilian to play in England sees a fellow false god in Alan Shearer.
The 49-year-old, now coach of Brazilian second division club Fortaleza, spent two turbulent years at Newcastle that divided opinion before he left in 1989.
He still holds a torch for the Toon Army, even if he fears interim coach Shearer is not the man to save them from relegation.
'With all due respect to what Alan Shearer has done for the club and for English football, he was an unfortunate choice and it was not the right time for him,' he told Brazilian website Globoesporte.com.
'He had never coached a team and found Newcastle in a delicate situation.' Mirandinha will be closely following Newcastle's crucial clash with Middlesbrough, knowing that defeat for either side could well spell doom.
'I was very happy to go to Newcastle and now I am very saddened by their situation: their risk of relegation,' he said.
'I follow their matches and I hope that it doesn't happen. Relegation would be horrible for a city that lives for football so intensely.
'Now they must win the derby against Boro. I played in big wins and hope that everything will work out in one of the great derbies of northern England.'
Backing: Alan Shearer has support, but does he have the experience?
Despite criticising Shearer, Mirandinha understands the draw of the Toon Army and admits he would also like to return to the club for which he has occasionally done some scouting since returning to Brazil.
'Every professional has dreams and I have mine,' he said. 'I been close to going to Newcastle before, to work with the youth teams, and I still have this desire to be a coach at the club.'
