Debate: Will Scolari succeed at Chelsea?

Chelsea have landed one of the most coveted managers in football by persuading Luis Felipe Scolari to take over at Stamford Bridge once he has finished at Euro 2008.

The Brazilian won the World Cup with his native country, led Portugal to second place at Euro 2004 and has built a reputation as one of the most formidable tactical minds in the sport.

But how will he fare at Chelsea? Will he able to return them to the summit of English football? Could he realise the dream of Roman Abramovich and make them the best team in Europe?

Or has he made a mistake in joining a club that sacked Jose Mourinho after he won two domestic titles and Avram Grant after he achieved second-place finishes in the Premier League and the Champions League? Let us know in the comment box below.

Comments

[charles cooper]

as an american married to a brazilian, i only got into football (or "soccer," as we still insist on calling it) a few years ago. we were in brazil when the world cup was just getting underway in japan & korea. that was scolari's team - and it was a beaut'. he dealt successfully with myriad personalities at the same time that the critics were eviscerating him for keeping romario off the squad. they criticized him for putting too much emphasis of defense at the expense of "jogo bonito." blah, blah, blah.

well, turned out that all the so-called experts didn't have a clue. scolari brought home the championship. brazil likely would have won the last cup had they retained scolari. he was the main reason why portgual did so well.

i agree with carvalho's comments that grant's sacking was shameful and that he did a fine job managing the club. but if you wanted a "dream candidate" to manage chelsea, how could you do any better than choose scolari?

[Jeff P]

All those who suggested football will be gone if Chelsea sign Kaka, or Torres are living on cloud cuckoo land as if you go back when Man U dominated the Prem for the first 10years no one mentioned what they spent, what they paid for the like of Stam, Cantona, Van Nistelrooy, etc etc.

When Abramovich took over at Chelsea we had 10 years of catch up with Liverpool, Man U and Arsenal.

To say David Moyle’s is successful is rubbish as if he was offered the Chelsea job he would have jumped ship faster than the speed of light. What have Everton won.

Arsenal has not spent hardly anything in the transfer market for the last couple of seasons. What have they won????

Football is all about Money today those still holding on to the likes of Hull winning the Prem or Barnsley winning the FA cup should wake up and smell the coffee.

To say Chelsea only have foreign players is rubbish, because if the 6, 5 rule was implemented by FIFA then Chelsea would quite easily send out 6 English players.

It all boils down to Man U and Arsenal dominated the Prem for a number of years, Liverpool will never be the same until they get someone who will spend a few quid and out the Americans.

Man U fans don't like the thought they are not dominating the Prem any more and Arsenal fans don't like being the number 2 club in London. It’s aright bringing in the youngsters but footballs about winning and success; if your team entertains as well then that’s a bonus.
So Win, loose or draw, if your team is competing for honours and wins something then you have achieved, playing pretty football and loosing is ok for the neutral.
Scolari has a good pedigree in that he won the World cup, his background is Brazil, so he has a lot in his favour, whether this will be enough we will have to wait and see, besides he has signed a three year contract, the same as Mourinho.

The good thing he has a good name that fits to the song
( sung to Dean Martins Volare)
“Scorlari, oh oh
Scorlari, oh oh oh oh
Let's fly way up to the clouds
Away from the maddening crowds
We can sing and be merry with stars like John Terry” (remeber where you heard it first):-)

Now lets stop whinging enjoy the football and watch the greatest league in the world which is the Premiership and remember talent is talent no matter where you come from.

[David]

If Scolari doesn't cut the mustard, then the Russian will just kick him out and throw in a few more billion Russian roubles. I am looking forward to the day when Abramovich falls off his perch............

[LLoyd]

He will be gone inside 12 months.

[johnboyblue]

Mike Philips, what are you on? SAF and Man U stopped bringing players 'through the ranks' a long time ago.
Vidic, Rooney, Evra, Ronaldo, Teres,
Ferdinand, Carrick, Anderton,Hargreaves, Nani,and others have all been BOUGHT! the days of Giggs and Scholes are long gone.

[Christopher Wright]

yawn, yawn

Wake me up when the Premiership becomes interesting again

[peter koeb]

Phil "The Truck" is alright by me, after the previous lightweight. He's gonna be a bit perplexed by the hustle and bustle of the EPL, but LFS is a wrecking machine!!!

[Pete H]

If you think that Scholari will not succeed at Chelsea because he only has International footabll experiance not club level, you must all be bonkers if he can succeed at International level i hate to think what he will do at club level when he has a far greater number player at his dispoal. Wake up.

[Mike Phillips]

Of course he will succeed; although it does depend on your definition of success. With a £300m squad and another £100m to spend it would be hard for a 10 year old girl to fail let alone a manager as experienced as Scolari.

The question I have for Chelsea fans though is this? Will it really deep down mean anything to you if you win the PL and CL having bought basically a European Dream Team in the past 5 years with over £600m. Where can be the sense of excitement, achievement and pride in your club scouting and bringing in players through the ranks and developing a true team in the way that SAF has done at Man U (admittedly with not a little cash too) or AW at Arsenal.

I would suggest that David Moyes has created a more successful team at Everton than Abramovich at Chelsea on a £ for £ comparison. If Chelsea really do buy Torres, Kaka et al this Summer then the game as we all know and love it will have gone forever; if it hasn't already.

[Arjyo]

it is probably the right move at this time because chelsea need some experience to guide them, but abramovich should not pressurise the brazilian. if he makes the right signings, then this could turn out to be a great move. he should buy berbatov and put sheva on the bench as a regular substitute for either eto'o or berbatov....these three together can score a lot of goals......players like essien and lampard should not be sold. but scolari will have to look at the future.....in the next 3-4 seasons(if he is still manager, then he should go for players like villa, alexander pato, bojan, dos santos or aguero.......he should sell anelka for somebody young, fit and enthusiastic....

[Peter]

Waste of time to appoint him...He is ancient to club football....100 M Pound for him to buy old guards from Portugal and Brazil...

[alan]

Big Phil is JUST the man to lead Romans' revolution. He won't take any rubbish from Fergie or anyone else. I just hope he can bring the singular most important player in the World to SB next term for the fantasy football. At 20 years of age and the new Zola for Chelsea for the next 15 years, if he had to pay £100 mil for Lionel Messi I'd be happy!

[Barry]

Big name manager for sure.
However, 3 points worth noting -
1/ He's not managed a club team in Europe and hasn't bossed a club team for years
2/ He's in his 60's so hardly a long term appt, such as Fergie at MCR Utd, which I still think is a vital blueprint for success.
3/ He doesn't speak the lingo, he can learn or course but it'll take time.

[billybob]

No!

[john haydon rowe]

who cares, a russian owner, a non brit manager, the majority of players from any where, with a london address.
cannot think why british fans bother.

[Michael]

expect fireworks galore.
Expect Murtosa to tell Scolari todrop JT lol,no acceptance of discipline and you are put on the transfer list, period.
The best buy since Mourinho,Big Phil will be a success and he will attract top players not like the previous one couldnt even attract a junior player.
Good luck Scollari, and dont forget if you get fed up with the english press, the damn weather, with the food, and the short days light, ..... just lose 4 games in a row and you will be sacked but at least you take a lot of millions with you and be back in Portugal.

[johnboyblue]

Cant wait for Scolari to outwit Benitez and that team of 20 year has beens.

[Richard]

Perhaps it's just me , but how does Scolari ever get another coaching gig after striking an opposing player on the pitch?

[Dani Major]

Oh Alex from Portugal that´s a big lie.
Personally I don´t like the National Team, but before Scolari we rarely arrived the quarters of finals.

So you may not like the man, but the merit it´s not just for the players. Actually, Scolari kept the team united after Figo and R. Costa left. He created a tactic, he built a good team from nothing. The players were just thinking in themself, and Scolari taught them that the team is more important than any single player. Besides, he make the people support and believe in the National Team. Before him it was just Benfica, Sporting, Porto, no one cared for the National Selection.
Don´t be ungratfull.

Now, I admit that the language will be a problem, and the fact that he may not be used to the english kind of football.

[He will do well for Chelsea in my honest opinion, probably not in his first year until he gets a gra]

He will do well for Chelsea in my honest opinion, probably not in his first year until he gets a grasp of the english league playstlye. The move also pretty much guarantees that ronaldo wont be playing for united next season. Also a few ppl mentioning Avram as fantastic how he had no experience managing a european side. This is nonsense, if any moron had spent a whole career in football and been assistant at a club like chelsea for a year or more, it would be easy to pick a team to run out.

[Jorge G L]

As a long-time fan of Feipao, I have to profess a certain scepticism. So much of Felipao's success hinges on his ability to lead and motivate by bonding with the team, as he did with the Brazil team in 2002 (nicknamed "Familia Scolari")...Lacking command of the language or knowedge of local customs, he will have a tough time creating the same inspirational atmosphere that he did with Brazil or Portugal.

[Abel Fernando Rech]

I´m a brazilian and the first big team Scolari coached was GREMIO, he stayed five years and we got a big title each one of these years. Chelsea will taste victory for sure. Scolari is the best, be sure.

[markku makinen]

I personally doubt it...as long as the owner will interrupt and decide who is playing for Chelsea...I think the manager usually have a very clear picture what kind of a team he wants and all the great teams so far hasnt been built in aday with big money.The best examples let there be Gunners and ManU.
Then again if somebody has pants on fire and a huge wallet,let him try.
For these reasons I think that before the team is ready ,there will be yet again a new manager, in a year or two.

[João Paulo Ferri]

Scolari is the best football coacher in the world. His job in the Grêmio team was fantastic. I'm gremista and now, with Scolari in Chelsea, I'm a few "blue" too.

[Graeme]

I think the Big Fella will be let down by the departure of many of Chelsea's big name players to Inter, AC and elsewhere. Also, can you really see Scolari relishing dark Tuesday winter nights in the wind and rain on the touchline at Hull? I suspect he'll get fed up of it before they get fed up of him. There'll only be one success show in town this year, and that'll be the Mourinho show. Bets on Inter to dispatch Chelsea in the semi-final of the Champions' League?