|
|
|
| April 30, 2006 | Sunday | Rabi-us-Sani 1, 1427 |
Brazilian World Cup winning coach snubs England
LONDON, April 29: Those closest to no-nonsense Luiz Felipe Scolari will not be surprised that he wanted no part of the media circus that attends every England manager.
His announcement on Friday that he was withdrawing from the race to succeed Sven-Goran Eriksson leaves the FA scrambling for a new name capable of handling one of the game's toughest jobs.
Scolari is not a man to dwell too long on what might have been or a pay packet with England that could have swelled his bank account by three million pounds ($5.43 million) a year.
Shortly after ruling out a move to England in a shock news conference announcement, he was shown on live television draped in a Portugal scarf and smiling broadly.
The Brazilian's career has been characterised by taking awkward decisions and the tough 57-year-old has once again opted for a path that leaves English football floundering.
Twice in his sparkling career he has masterminded big tournament defeats for England — when in charge of World Cup winners Brazil in 2002 and two years later with Euro 2004 finalists Portugal.
At Friday's packed news conference, he explained briefly that when choosing between the intrusion of his privacy that was bound to accompany him as England boss and a country and people he has come to love, he knew precisely what to do.
Scolari said that during a dinner with the Portuguese Football Federation on Thursday, “I got the impression that I was training a family, that I was training Portugal as if I was training my children.
“So I got the message loud and clear.”
His relationship with the Portuguese public, cemented when he steered the hosts to the Euro 2004 final where they were unlucky to lose 1-0 to a dogged Greek side, has also blossomed.
“I like the environment we've created in our national team.
It's a family atmosphere with a lot of friendship and companionship,” Scolari told Reuters in Rio de Janeiro in December.
“I have a very good relationship with the population, I have great affection for them and they give me the support whenever I need it.”
Scolari would rarely have felt so comfortable even in his native Brazil.
The straight-talking former defender, universally known as 'Big Phil' (Felipao), had an army of critics in his home country during the 1990s when he was building his reputation.
He steered two clubs, Gremio and Palmeiras, to the final of the Libertadores Cup, the South American equivalent of Europe's Champions League, in five years.
In the process, his teams earned a reputation for an over-physical style and gamesmanship.
Scolari, who in his early coaching career worked in the Middle East and had a spell in charge of Kuwait's national team, had run-ins with the Brazilian media and opponents.
International success, however, appears to have mellowed Scolari since he took charge in 2001 of a Brazil team in disarray and in serious danger of failing to reach the World Cup finals for the first time.
Hard work and a tight bond forged with his team enabled Scolari to secure Brazil's berth in the 2002 tournament in Asia in their final qualifier against Venezuela and to go on to win the World Cup.
After that, he wanted to try his hand in Europe and create a similar atmosphere with the Portugal team he took over in late 2002.
It was a tall order but as their run to the Euro 2004 final and qualification for this year's World cup finals in Germany proved, he has once again succeeded.—Reuters
|
|
|
|
