2023-04-22 10:16:16
Cuca
Swiss student (13) abused – fan protests against new coach in Brazil
Brazilian top club Corinthians are causing a stir with their new coach Cuca. The 59-year-old was convicted in Switzerland in 1989.
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Alexi Stival, known as Cuca, is the new manager of the Brazilian football club Corinthians. During his time as a player, he was held in custody in Bern for around a month and was later convicted.
IMAGO/Sports Press Photo
“A girl came into a hotel room where I and other players were. That was my only role – I didn’t do anything and I’m completely innocent, »explained Cuca when he started in São Paulo.
AFP
Cuca has coached several of Brazil’s top sides in recent years, including now-Arsenal star and Xhaka team-mate Gabriel Jesus.
imago/Photoarena
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The appointment of the new coach at Brazil’s top football club Corinthians has sparked protests from fans.
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Cuca, now 59, was sentenced to a suspended sentence in Switzerland in 1989.
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The allegation at the time: raping a 13-year-old student with three teammates.
Two-time Brazilian champion, cup winner and winner of the Copa Libertadores, the South American Champions League – 59-year-old Alexi Stival, known as Cuca, is a famous Brazilian football coach and has worked for almost every major Brazilian top club during his career. On Friday, Cuca was unveiled as the new coach of Corinthians São Paulo amid angry protests from fans. The reason for this lies in Switzerland.
In the summer of 1987, Cuca was with his former club Gremio Porto Alegre as a player in Bern for the Philips Cup. For Cuca and his teammates Eduardo, Fernando and Henrique, participation in the tournament ended in around 30 days of custody. “Four Brazilian soccer stars arrested in Bern – schoolgirl raped?” was the headline in “Blick” on August 1, 1987. The then 13-year-old victim spoke to the newspaper about the incident that she had bought autographs and souvenirs from the Brazilian football team at the team hotel in Bern footballers and was finally escorted to a hotel room. The four footballers then threw themselves on her, held her and raped her, the student said. The next day the footballers were arrested as part of a large-scale operation and released on bail at the end of August 1987.
Conditional prison sentence for indecency with a child
In 1989, the four footballers were convicted by the Swiss court. “Der Bund” wrote at the time that three players, including Cuca, were given a conditional prison sentence of 15 months for indecent assault with a child. The fourth defendant was sentenced to a conditional term of three months for being an accomplice to fornication.
At the time, the 59-year-old coach was already married to his current wife and has two daughters. On Friday he commented on the protests by Brazilian football fans and the conviction: “It’s a sensitive issue, a personal issue of mine that dates back around 30 years.” He had already worked for various Brazilian clubs and had never been asked about it before. “I was in my early 20s and only have vague memories. A girl came into a hotel room where I and other players were staying. That was my only role – I didn’t do anything and I’m completely innocent, “explains Cuca.
“Why should I apologize?”
“People say there was a rape. But the penalty that was imposed was a sexual act with a vulnerable person,” the coach continued. “My mistake was that I didn’t defend myself. First, I had no money to defend myself, and second, I didn’t even know I had been charged.” He then played in Spain about two years later, not far from Switzerland, and there were never any consequences. “They say I have to apologize to society. Why should I apologize if I haven’t done anything?”
Corinthians president Duilio Monteiro Alves is sticking with the new coach despite the protests but admits the women’s football department was shocked when the name of the new manager was announced. “We did extensive research and consulted with the legal and compliance departments before I reached an agreement with the coach,” Alves said. The board had come to the conclusion that the victim at the time did not recognize Cuca as her attacker.
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