Normal service resumed with Scolari appointment
Thursday, 12 Jun 2008 16:27
Luiz Felipe Scolari has the opportunity and ability to rebuild Chelsea's fortunes
Chelsea have ended an anomalous nine months of their recent history with the appointment of Luiz Felipe Scolari.
The Brazilian manager is the big-name management acquisition Roman Abramovich has craved since the day Jose Mourinho left to be replaced by low-key coach Avram Grant.
The Russian tycoon and club chief executive Peter Kenyon have appointed a man they believe can take the club back to the heights it hit in the beginning of the Mourinho era after two years without a league title.
Scolari will join the Premier League and Champions League runners-up on July 1st, days after the final of Euro 2008, where his Portugal team stand a good chance of victory.
The appointment has ended weeks of intense speculation following Grant's sacking when the club fell at the final hurdle in Moscow against Manchester United.
Big name
Of all the names that had been linked with the Stamford Bridge hotseat – and there were many – Scolari's was arguably the biggest owing to his record in international management.
The 59-year-old won the World Cup with Brazil in 2002 before taking Portugal to the final of Euro 2004 and the last four of the World Cup two years later.
On all three occasions Sven-Goran Eriksson's England were left by the wayside, making initial reports Chelsea would plump for the Swede ahead of Scolari frankly ludicrous.
During his management career in his native Brazil, Scolari twice won the Copa Libertadores – the South American version of the Champions League – and a host of domestic league and cup titles.
His record aside, Scolari – who rejected the chance to succeed Eriksson as England manager two years ago - seems to tick all the boxes the Chelsea hierarchy were looking to fill, being an authoritarian, charismatic figure able to command the respect of a dressing room brimming with world-class personnel.
Attracting new talent to west London also just became a whole lot easier. Although Kaka played just 19 minutes of Brazil's 2002 World Cup campaign, the AC Milan midfielder – reportedly one of Chelsea's main transfer targets – will now view a move to Stamford Bridge a lot more favourably than a Chelsea team managed by Grant.
Language of football
But there are downsides to Scolari's appointment. He has never before managed a European club team, and his experience of managing on the continent goes back only until Euro 2004.
Serious doubts remain over his English language skills, although his representatives have insisted he will be able to get his message over to the playing staff from day one.
Coverage of the Scolari deal has also erroneously claimed the Brazilian's teams are characterised by attacking, flamboyant football, ignoring legions of fans calling for Big Phil's head before the start of the 2002 World Cup because of the team's comparatively pragmatic outlook.
And finally, as has been widely pointed out, Scolari's reasoning behind rejecting England in 2006 was down to fears over tabloid interference and intense media interest, something that will follow his every turn in the capital.
What Scolari does bring to Stamford Bridge, besides his immense experience, is a winning mentality, something that has been lacking in the manager's chair since last September.
Even if a host of top names flock to Chelsea to play for their big-name manager, and a number of existing stars commit their futures to the Blues, the Scolari signing could prove to be the club's best bit of business this summer.
Matthew Champion