Brazil's striker Romario, member of the 1994 World Cup winning team, will play for and coach Vasco da Gama in the South American Cup's semifinals on Wednesday, announced club president Eurico Miranda on Monday.

The decision was released to the press only two hours after the announcement of the removal of team manager Celso Roth from his position.

"Roth did a very good job at Vasco, but we scored only five points in the past few games (in the Brazilian league)," said Miranda, using Vasco's current position in the national league to justify his decision. The team is ranked 12th on the list of 20 teams.

"Romario will take the responsibility over this match. He will play and be the coach," announced the Vasco president, adding that the striker will only do that in the game on Mexico's Club America, on Wednesday in Rio. On Thursday, Miranda stressed, a new manager will be announced.

Romario, 41, expressed his interest in coaching a team after he scored his 1,000th goal as a player in May. However, he does not have a professional coaching license, and Vasco's physical trainer Mauro Brito will need to officially back him up in the semifinal game, signing the formal papers.

The local press speaks of several possibilities of names as Roth's definitive replacement. The most rated of them is Antonio Lopes, who coached Vasco on several other occasions, winning three state championship titles, a regional title, a Brazilian League title (1997) and a Libertadores Cup title (1998).

(Xinhua News Agency October 23, 2007)