By Tim Vickery

Would a player, seeking to undermine the position of his coach, deliberately miss his spot kick in a vital penalty shoot out?

It has been one of the main talking points of the last few days in Brazilian football.

The answer must surely be no � it can only be hoped that no player would betray his profession in this way.

But the mere fact that the question is being asked is indicative of two facts.

First, that, as expected, former Argentina captain and coach Daniel Passarella is having a hard time in charge of Corinthians, Brazil's best supported club.

Second, that the coach in Brazilian football is permanently in a position of extreme vulnerability.

The National Championship started two weekends ago � it might be expected that this early season period would be one of relative stability.

The competition is a long haul � all the way through to December.

Only three rounds have taken place. It is surely too early for panic measures. But in the last 3 weeks 8 clubs - over a third of the first division � have changed their coach.

And after a week of disaster, at any moment Corinthians could be the ninth, or tenth, or eleventh, depending on what happens elsewhere.

Some two months ago Passarella took charge of the club and its expensively acquired collection of players, the fruit of a controversial partnership with a shadowy group of international investors.

There were some promising early signs.

After a heavy debut defeat his team went 10 games unbeaten as the S�o Paulo State Championship came to a close.

Two weeks ago he was applauded by the fans before Corinthians' opening game in the National Championship.

But the interval between honeymoon period and potential divorce has come quickly.

Corinthians have fallen off the wall, Passarella may not be around long enough to fit the pieces back together

A disappointing home draw with Juventude was followed by away defeat to Botafogo.

And then the walls started caving in.

Defeat brought all the festering dressing room sores out into the open.

Passarella lost patience with his flamboyant but unreliable keeper Fabio Costa, who was controversially dropped.

And relations with talented but spoilt playmaker Roger had never been smooth, the player frequently complaining of being substituted or left on the bench.

Last week Corinthians had a big game in the Brazilian Cup, an important competition because it offers the easiest route to qualification for the Copa Libertadores, South America's Champions League.

Two goals up from the first leg against unfashionable Figueirense, Corinthians let their lead slip, and lost the tie on penalties.

Roger, who had only come on for the last few minutes, sent his shot miles over the bar.

The way in which he missed gave rise to the speculation that he had messed up on purpose � speculation which Roger was quick to deny.

The best way, of course, for the team to show that they are behind the coach would be to pull together and put in a solid performance in the next game.

Sunday's local derby at home to S�o Paulo gave Corinthians an excellent chance to do just that.

Instead, they caved in and lost 5-1.

The supporters went berserk. There were pitch invasions and violent terrace protests.

Passarella's problems were predictable for three reasons.

Firstly, because the general view in Brazilian football is that foreign coaches are not needed.

Secondly, because there would inevitably be friction between his collective Argentine mentality and the more individualistic outlook of some of his players. And third, because of the nature of the squad he inherited.

Corinthians paid out a fortune on a host of big name players, and such spending inevitably brings pressures and expectations of success.

But there was no footballing vision behind the signings policy.

Instead there was an orgy of mindless consumerism, players bought with little thought as to how they would fit together.

Now that Corinthians have fallen off the wall, Passarella may not be around long enough to find a way to fit the pieces back together.