Scolari insists he would still like to work in England
When Luiz Felipe Scolari ruled himself out of the England manager's
job last May he could not have imagined that he would be preparing
a team for an international fixture in London before the man who
eventually got the job, Steve McClaren. Yet eight months after
Portugal knocked England out the World Cup - the third time in
succession that a team coached by Big Phil has eliminated them in a
quarter-final - he will step out at the Emirates Stadium tonight
when Portugal face Brazil.
It is the first time Scolari has been in the UK since the FA's
bungled attempt to sign the Brazilian and yesterday he made it
clear that he would like to work in England after his current deal
expires in 2008. "My first objective is to fulfil my contract with
Portugal," he said. "My second objective is to stay in Europe for a
minimum of four or five years after that. It is not that I don't
want to go home [to Brazil]. I have a stable life here with my
family.
"I would like to work in England because of the way everything is
organised, because of the stadiums, the involvement of the fans
with the game, but that issue [last year's approach by the FA] is
over. I am with Portugal until July 2008. After that, I don't know.
But this is the country of football, and every coach would be very
happy to take part in the championships here. I have lived in Saudi
Arabia, Kuwait, Japan, Brazil and Portugal. I adapt to places. It
all depends on what is offered financially, but also in quality of
life."
Speaking in Portuguese but clearly understanding questions asked in
English, Scolari refused to comment about reports that he had
recommended that Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo move to
Barcelona. The winger, for his part, was another who did not want
to be drawn into that debate: "I am sure he did not say it 100%,"
he said.
When asked if Ronaldo could one day be as good as Pelé, Scolari
replied: "There was only ever one Pelé. Cristiano will continue to
evolve as a player and he is evolving very well at Manchester
United. He is growing very well. He is on a path and probably next
year he will be one of the five best players in the world. He will
be on the list from which they chose the best in the world."
Tonight will be the first time Brazil and its former colonial power
have met since 2003 when, on his debut, the Brazil-born Deco scored
Portugal's winner. Since then Scolari, who was coach of Brazil's
World Cup-winning side in 2002, has taken Portugal to the final of
Euro 2004 and the semi-finals of the World Cup last year.
His success in defeating England in competitions made him the No1
choice to replace Sven-Goran Eriksson and the FA's chief executive,
Brian Barwick, flew to Portugal to try to seal a deal. Yet Scolari
refused after news of his appointment was leaked and he
subsequently said he did not want the job because of press
intrusion at his home near Lisbon.
Tonight will be the second time in five months that Brazil have
played at the Emirates - indeed they have not played a match in
Brazil since 2005.
After they were knocked out of the World Cup last year the coach
Carlos Alberto Parreira was replaced by Dunga, the 1994 World
Cup-winning captain and a man who had never coached before. He was
selected by the Brazilian Football Confederation because he had
characteristics that reminded it of Scolari - tough-talking, gritty
and paternalistic. In fact it was widely reported that Dunga was a
stop-gap before Scolari - the preferred candidate - would be asked
to take over for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
But with Dunga enjoying unexpected approval ratings - he has won
five and drawn only one of his matches in charge - Scolari may now
only want to return to Brazil when the World Cup is held in South
America, probably Brazil, in 2014.
Scolari yesterday praised his opposite number and said the fact
that he is a novice is inconsequential: "Dunga already has a lot of
experience. He has a culture of football that he is putting into
practice now. He might not have experience in running things from
the mouth of the tunnel, but he was always a leader on the
pitch."
Portugal are fourth in their Euro 2008 qualifying group - behind
Finland, Serbia and Poland - and face games against Belgium and
Serbia next month.
Scolari also revealed that he has an affinity on non-football
matters with Jorge Andrade, his Deportivo La Coruña defender who
missed the World Cup with a knee injury and has been courted by
Chelsea. "But," he added, "I treat all [the players] as if they are
my children. I like to give them my affection."
Brazil (probable, 4-4-2) Julio Cesar; Daniel Alves, Lucio, Juan,
Gilberto; Gilberto Silva, Dudu Cearense, Elano, Kaka; Fred, Rafael
Sobis.
Portugal (probable, 4-5-1) Ricardo; Marco Caneira, Jorge Andrade,
Ricardo Carvalho, Miguel; Deco, Armando Petit, Raul Meireles,
Cristiano Ronaldo, Simao Sabrosa; Helder Postiga.
Luiz Felipe Scolari has won ...
Criciuma
1991 Brazilian Cup
Gremio
1994 Brazilian Cup
1995 Libertadores Cup
1995 Recopa Sudamericana
1996 Brazilian Championship
Palmeiras
1998 Brazilian Cup
1998 Mercosur Cup
1999 Libertadores Cup
Brazil
2002 World Cup
Steve McClaren has won ...
Middlesbrough
2004 League Cup
