The Duniyah Cricket Blog

On July 1, one of the world’s most famous managers, Luiz Felipe Scolari, will be taking over at Chelsea.  His record speaks for itself having won domestic championships in Brazil, the Copa Libertadores (South American Champions League) and of course the World Cup with Brazil in 2002.  So of course when his appointment by Chelsea was announced recently, fans in West London began to anticipate a new era.  However, Scolari does face many new challenges which we will have to overcome if he is to establish himself as a legend in European football.

Before 2002, Big Phil was relatively unknown outside South America.  But his appointment as the manager of Brazil placed him firmly in the world’s spotlight and he has certainly relished it.  When he took the job in 2001, Brazil were in a slump and he had 5 games to prevent the ultimate humiliation - failure to qualify for the World Cup.  This he did with Brazil finishing 3rd in the qualifying group although in Scolari’s books, this was by no means a major achievement.  Big Phil quickly got to work with his preparations for 2002 booting the influential Romario out of the squad and allowing Ronaldo to return in spite of his lack of match fitness. This instinct was to become one of the hallmarks of Scolari’s management and Ronaldo went on to become top scorer in the competition netting 8 goals.  On the eve of the tournament, captain Emerson was injured leaving a hole in midfield.  This did not hinder Scolari’s plans and he decided to play an open attacking strategy with 3 forwards - Ronaldo, Rivaldo and Ronaldinho (another hallmark of his tactics).  As they say the rest is history and Brazil swept aside all competition to win the tournament.

Following this great triumph, Big Phil took over as manager of Portugal with the aim being a successful Euro 2004 which they were to host.  His side made a disastrous start losing the first game to lowly Greece and criticism poured in.  Scolari acted quickly and decisively axing established players who had not performed such as Fernando Couto, Rui Costa and Paulo Ferreira in favour of the improving Ricardo Carvalho, Deco and Miguel.  This proved to be the correct policy as Portugal went on to win their next 4 matches in a row.  One of these matches was the quarter final against England which was tightly in the balance going into the last few minutes.  Against all logic, Big Phil took off the Portuguese legend and captain, Luis Figo, and brought back Rui Costa who was to score in extra time.  This killer instinct once again was decisive in Scolari’s team’s success.  However, in the final Portugal were once again stifled by the organised and attritional Greeks showing potential chinks in Scolari’s armour.

In the coming years Scolari was to steer Portugal to a World Cup semi final in 2006 and a Euro quarter final in 2008.  Critics will say that he failed to climb the final hurdle when managing Portugal but it is clear that he did help to create one of the most successful Portuguese teams ever.  Some of the features in his management down the years have been a courage to axe big names, influential substitutions, a positive 4-3-3 formation and wearing his heart on his sleeve.  This last point was most prevalent went he punched Serbian player Drago on the touchline last year after being slapped.  Big Phil has also been known to be a motivator and this was prevalent when he distributed copies of ‘The Art of War’ to his Brazilian team during the World Cup.  All of these characteristsics have made reporters compare him to former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho and it will be very interesting to see how the Chelsea players respond to him.

However, it must be said this could be one of Scolari’s biggest challenges to date.  Scolari has never managed a European club side, Chelsea are one of the most ambitious clubs in the world (Champions League Runners-up was met with the sack for Avram Grant), Scolari does not speak English and he does not have much time to learn the language before he starts.  Although there are many obstacles to overcome, Scolari is one for a challenge and the way he approaches his task will be intriguing (many are already expecting an intense rivalry is Alex Ferguson).  He has already brought in Deco and Bosingwa from Portugal (which should help him to settle in) and is looking to sign the talented Robinho.  In my opinion the big problem for Scolari is the speed at which he can deliver success. Will one year be long enough? It is difficult to say in a world dominated by money but I do feel he has the charisma to unite the Chelsea team just as Jose did and I expect him to rise to the challenge.