Looks like the fat guy on his left will also lose his
job...
Roman Abramovich never really wanted Luiz Felipe
Scolari. He wanted Carlo Ancelotti, but failed to lure the Italian
from AC Milan.
He wanted Guus Hiddink, only to be told there would be serious
political repercussions should he dare undermine Russia’s quest for
success in the next World Cup.
But, in the end, he settled for the Brazilian World Cup winner and
even made a point of following the progress of his Portugal team at
last summer’s European Championship. In darting between Russia and
Portugal’s fixtures, Abramovich saw an awful lot of Austria and
Switzerland from his helicopter.
Clearly, however, Big Phil’s subsequent appointment excited
Chelsea’s owner about as much as a night out with his
ex-wife.
‘I’ve only met him three or four times since I arrived,’ revealed
Scolari last month, which was not something Jose Mourinho, or even
Avram Grant, could have said before their relationships with the
Russian deteriorated.
He was there to begin with, when the team were playing well and
Scolari was being hailed as a tactical genius. When 23 points from
27 planted them at the summit of the Barclays Premier League and
left Manchester United looking like a busted flush.
But the Russian’s interest waned as Chelsea began to wilt, so
much so that when he missed Saturday’s desperately disappointing
performance against Hull, nobody was even surprised.
From a distance, Abramovich had nevertheless decided that enough
was enough. No more defeats by Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester
United. No more embarrassment at home against Burnley or away
versus Roma. No evidence, in the eyes of Abramovich anyway, that
Scolari could avoid what he would consider the ultimate loss — to a
Juventus side managed by Claudio Ranieri, the tactically hapless
Italian dismissed himself as Chelsea manager following Champions
League semi-final defeat by Monaco in 2004.
Under Scolari, Chelsea’s football had been inferior even to then.
Second place in the Premier League would appear beyond their reach,
as would a place in the last four of Europe’s most illustrious
competition. Stamford Bridge was no longer the fortress it had
become, first under Mourinho and then Grant.
To begin with, the Brazilian’s relaxed approach was given as a
cause for celebration. The players were inspired by his mere
presence, and receptive to his coaching. He was a World Cup winner,
after all, as well as an all-conquering club coach.
But with poor results came reasons for the sudden dip in form.
The tactics were flawed; training lacked its usual intensity,
Scolari seemingly failing to appreciate the demands of England’s
Premier League. It would take him time to adapt, we were told,
having been out of club football for so long.
Key members of the Chelsea hierarchy were still desperate for
Scolari to succeed. They liked his style even if they were not that
enamoured with his style of football. The man had humility, and
respect for the club that even extended to his reluctance to ‘waste
money’ on a third-choice keeper before the January transfer window
closed.
Even yesterday, Scolari could still count on certain key people who
considered it prudent to give him until the end of the
season.
It certainly was not in Peter Kenyon’s thinking to sack him when he
decided to take a holiday that prevented him from even being there
when Scolari was summoned to a meeting at Chelsea’s training ground
in Cobham at 2.45pm yesterday.
While Scolari met Abramovich, chairman Bruce Buck and director
Eugene Tenenbaum in person, Chelsea’s chief executive was only at
the end of a telephone.
When Simon Greenberg, club communications and public affairs
director, arrived in the office yesterday morning, his diary for
the week included a trip to Geneva for a European clubs conference
and the publication of the club’s latest accounts, accompanied by
hard evidence of Abramovich’s long-term commitment to the club.
Greenberg did, however, sense things could move faster than even
he imagined and cancelled his trip to Switzerland.
Abramovich would no doubt argue that sacking Scolari already shows
how committed he remains. If he retains enough interest to take
such an extraordinary decision, he must care for the club he
bankrolled to successive league titles.
Under Scolari, such success seemed highly unlikely and by
yesterday one insider suggested the Brazilian was managing like
someone trying to secure what is sure to be a massive
pay-off.
He was not at Saturday’s post-match press conference, and nowhere
near delivering the promises of his original press conference in
July. ‘I am a fighter,’ he said then.
‘Everything I have tried to achieve has been difficult but I get
there. I arrive. And my teams are the same.
‘Football is beautiful. If it’s possible, we’ll try to play
beautiful football. But, sometimes, if you want to win you don’t
play beautiful. I want both: to win and be beautiful. But sometimes
it’s impossible.’
For Scolari, success here in England proved impossible.
