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
