Ronaldo could lose spot on Brazilian Cup roster

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil — Three-time FIFA Player of the Year Ronaldo could be replaced on the Brazilian national team if he refuses to play in the Confederations Cup.

Coach Carlos Alberto Parreira said Friday that all Brazilian players must be willing to make personal sacrifices if they want to play in the 2006 World Cup in Germany. Otherwise, he’ll find someone else.

“No one is irreplaceable,” Parreira said Friday.

The warning was seen as a response to Ronaldo, who complained this week that he wants to rest this summer instead of playing in the Confederations Cup on June 15-29 in Germany.

“It would be very prejudicial to me,” the Real Madrid striker said in an interview Wednesday with the Brazilian newspaper Folha de S. Paulo. “There will be a World Cup next year. That means I’ll be without vacation for two years.”

But the argument doesn’t sway Parreira.

“I don’t accept ‘rest’ as an excuse,” he said. “If you want to be world champion, you have to go through all this sacrifice.”

Parreira knows what it takes to win a World Cup – having won one in 1994.