Luiz Felipe Scolari has warned Chelsea’s rivals that he won’t pull any punches in the Premier League title fight.
Scolari has never been afraid to deliver a knockout blow on or off the pitch and the Brazilian was quick to emphasize his street-fighting credentials as he set his sights on English soccer’s heavyweights.
The 59-year-old is a shrewd operator who knows exactly what buttons to push to get the best out of his players. But he also has a fiery temperament that occasionally flares in spectacular fashion.
PHOTO: EPA
Scolari’s most famous eruption came during his time as Portugal coach when he punched Serbia’s Ivica Dragutinovic following a touchline clash in a Euro 2008 qualifier.
As a newcomer in the Premier League, Scolari could have opted to keep a low profile while he finds his feet.
But although he insists he has the utmost respect for his opponents, he won’t be standing on ceremony when he goes head to head with Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger and Liverpool’s Rafa Benitez.
“Am I still a fighter? Maybe! I’ve been involved in situations like other coaches. It’s normal,” Scolari said. “I fight for my beliefs. But I respect other people. The other coaches, the fans. I respect them.
“I know some referees make mistakes, because everyone makes mistakes,” he said. “Sometimes these mistakes are important but, afterwards, there will be no problem. The last time was difficult to explain. I’m now friends with the boy we had the fight with, Dragutinovic. But no, I’m not friends with Javier Clemente [Serbia coach].”
Scolari doesn’t suffer fools gladly, but his desire transmits to his players with impressive effect.
He commanded total respect from the Brazil squad he led to 2002 World Cup glory, while several of the Portugal team he took to the Euro 2004 final regard him as a father-figure.
He is determined to foster the same kind of rapport among the millionaire egos at Chelsea.
“Until now, everything I have fought for and tried to achieve I have done. Even when it was very difficult, I got there and my team is the same,” he said.
“Maybe in this season we will have many difficult moments. But we will arrive there, sure. I am determined to do that. I coached in Saudi Arabia, at Gremio, Palmeiras, it was the same. We arrived where we wanted to be,” Scolari said. “It is impossible for me to say if we’ll win this championship or that one because I will try to say to the players, after tomorrow, one year, we will play the League Cup the same as we play the Champions League.”
Jose Mourinho is cast from a similar mould to Scolari and his Chelsea reign ended because couldn’t maintain a working relationship with Roman Abramovich.
Yet the Brazilian has no intention of being a yes-man for the the Blues owner either.
“I am the coach. It’s my job to say ‘this player is the best; this one isn’t the best,’” Scolari said. “I clarified with Roman. He said that I have control of the numbers. If somebody comes, somebody has to go. They’re okay with this.”
“All of the players at the club I haven’t chosen because I arrived three days ago. But if I believe that they are the best for Chelsea, I’ll put them on the field. No problem. In the future? It is my decision to put the players in the field or not,” he said.
Scolari conceded there will be plenty of changes as he trims Chelsea’s over-sized 32-man squad down to no more than 25 players. He insisted Frank Lampard will stay for at least a year, but several others including Didier Drogba look set to leave.
Those remaining will come under the watchful eye of psychologist Regina Brandao, who Scolari uses to compile profiles of his players.
“When Regina is free, I will invite her to come here and visit us,” Scolari said. “She gives me the profile for the players. She tells me, for this player you need to follow this way. And in the group, what I need to correct.”
Ten months after Mourinho departed, it seems Stamford Bridge will be top of the bill for touchline drama again.
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
The famously raucous Hong Kong Sevens are to start today in a big test for a shiny new stadium at the heart of a major US$3.85 billion sports park in the territory. Officials are keeping their fingers crossed that the premier event in Hong Kong’s sporting and social calendar goes off without a hitch at the 50,000-seat Kai Tak Stadium. They hope to entice major European soccer teams to visit in the next few months, with reports in December last year saying that Liverpool were in talks about a pre-season tour. Coldplay are to perform there next month, all part of Hong Kong’s
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
Marcus Rashford’s first goals for Aston Villa on Sunday inspired a 3-0 win against Preston North End that sent his side into the FA Cup semi-finals for the first time in 10 years. Rashford struck twice in the second half at Deepdale to end Preston’s stubborn resistance before Jacob Ramsey wrapped up Villa’s long-awaited return to the last four. Villa are to face Crystal Palace — 3-0 winners at Fulham on Saturday — in the semi-finals at Wembley Stadium in London. Revitalized since joining Villa on loan from Manchester United during the January transfer window, Rashford is beginning to show the form that
RSS