Home > Football > Scolari and Chelsea - all roads lead to Roman
by Ed Bottomley on 14 June 2008
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Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich clearly doesn't really want his team to play the gorgeous attacking football that he claims he does.
After passing on Jose Mourinho, a pragmatic and self-confident manager, moving on to Avram Grant, someone whose remit was to "sex up" Chelsea but who basically copied Mourinho chapter and verse, the Russian oligarch has now moved back to a headstrong character in Luiz Felipe Scolari.
This man is a big character, and part of the disappointment with Grant from the press corps was that his delivery was slow and morose, compared to the technicolour controversy that spewed from Mourinho's cakehole. Scolari will be controversial, but don't expect him to verbally dance with the press as much as Mourinho did. Equally, don’t expect free flowing, samba-style football. Scolari will adopt the style that most suits the personnel, and definitely won’t foist an aesthetically pleasing philosophy on Chelsea out of the blue.
Some pundits claim that Scolari's appointment hints at a "tacit admission" of failure from Abramovich and, truthfully, bringing in Big Phil is the closest to a "mea culpa" that you’ll get from the billionaire. It will be very interesting to see what kind of backing Scolari gets from Abramovich., The press were full of rumours that, having forked out millions on art and not going to as many Chelsea games as he used to, the Russian may be boring of his Kings Road toy.
The truth was that he was probably tiring of Grant and this summer Chelsea promise to splash cash like a Hummer guzzles petrol, with journos already tipping everyone from Kaka to Deco to Fernando Torres to join Big Phil. Guardian writer Fernando Duarte, however, thinks that Scolari won't be going the Galactico route, saying: "I dont think he wants a constellation of stars."
So what of the current Chelsea squad, riven by uncertainty over their futures? Duarte says that Scolari holds a special place in his heart for John Terry: "He's a guy who once told me in an interview in Portugal that he absolutely adores the guy's style. Scolari will have him as a captain marvel."
It won't be all sweetness and light though, the players will have a coach who will protect them but is also a big disciplinarian and likes to be respected. Comparisons with Mourinho abound over style and confidence and many former Chelsea players have expressed excitement at the Brazilian's appointment. There does, however, remain one big name in the room that no one is mentioning. This is Roman's Chelsea. He split with Mourinho and took even less time to dump Grant. How will Phil, who is no shrinking violet, hold up?
The revolving door at Stamford Bridge is gaining pace. Mourinho lasted three seasons, Grant just a few months - sacked after coming within one penalty of the Champions League trophy. The Israeli has set the bar high for a fired manager and Scolari will have to hit the ground running.
The doubters will point to his lack of club experience in Europe, and his supporters will point to two Copa Libertadores, a World Cup win with Brazil and his successes with Portugal. In the end, though, only impressing the modestly-dressed Russian billionaire who hired him matters. Welcome to Roman's world, Phil.
Comments (3)
by soren lindenhann on June 14, 2008
(Grêmio 1987 - State Championship) (Al Qadisiya 1989 - Kuwait Emir Cup) (Criciúma 1991 - Copa do Brazil) (Criciúma 1991 - Santa Catarina Championship) (Al Qadisiya 1992 - Kuwait Premier League) (Grêmio 1993 - State Championship) (Grêmio 1993 - Copa do Brazil) (Grêmio 1995 - State Championship) (Grêmio 1995 - Copa Libertadores de America(South America champions league)) (Grêmio 1996 - Recopa Sudamericana(South America Super Cup)) (Grêmio 1996 - State Championship) (Grêmio 1996 - Campeonato Brasileiro First Division) (Júbilo Iwata 1997 - Japan League Championship) (Palmeiras 1997 - Torneio Maria Quitéria) (Palmeiras 1998 - Mercosur Cup(Copa Sudamericana)) (Palmeiras 1998 - Copa do Brazil) (Palmeiras 1999 - Copa Libertadores de America(South America champions league)) (Brazil 2002 - World Cup Champions) Anelka,S.W.P,Malouda,Boulahrouz,Sidwell,Pizarro,Ben Haim and Belletti out - Villa,Quaresma,Robinho,Van Der Vaart,Richards in Total spend £50M
by klaus on June 15, 2008
nearly rite... add another 100 mil for c ronaldo, via our agents at real madrid and u have it spot on....cant stand the guy, however the reaction of father jack from the theatre of w.nks wud be priceless.......come on u blues
by gerald mclaughlin on June 16, 2008
...........Scolari will probably last 2 seasons
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