Luiz Felipe Scolari: I went for the money
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LUIZ FELIPE SCOLARI last night explained his reasons for taking the Chelsea manager’s job for the first time. The Portugal coach, whose side were the first to qualify for the Euro 2008 quarter-finals, said his main motivation for accepting had been financial. He also defended himself against charges that the news of his appointment, made on Wednesday night, would disrupt the country’s campaign.
Scolari, who is believed to have been offered a salary of £5.5m a year in contrast to the annual £1.75m he earns with Portugal, said he had wanted to stay but that his current employers had been unable to match the Chelsea deal. “I am 59, will soon turn 60, and I don’t want to work until 70 as a technician. I want to work for four or five more years and then retire. We wanted a similar proposal but none of them won [out]. So I was told I was free to negotiate with others. You only get one opportunity like this and I had to take it.”
Asked about his fiery reputation, he said: “You have to ask my wife, she knows more than I do. Get in touch with her. I like to play, I like to make jokes and I like to work with my players in a good atmosphere. I feel comfortable anywhere in the world because I can establish good relationships with people around me. I don’t like high society, I’m not someone who likes to go to parties and socialise, I’m shy. I speak English with my players. I speak German, Italian, Spanish, you name it. There is only one language in football.”
Scolari’s appointment was welcomed by Fabio Capello. The England coach said that Scolari was “a very intelligent coach because he can change the style of a team. He is an important manager because he has been the world champion, he has won with teams in South America. He has a lot of experience”.
The one sour note of the day was the comments made by Ricardo Carvalho. The Chelsea defender condemned the club for the “cruel” sacking of Avram Grant as manager, two days after their Champions League final defeat to Manchester United on penalties. The 30-year-old had intended to ask for a transfer after Grant’s dismissal, but changed his mind after the appointment of Scolari.
“Avram did a great job, but they still decided to sack him,” Carvalho said. “Yet after Jose Mourinho left, he picked up the team and got good results. In the Champions League he was only one penalty from winning it. It was very cruel. It was very ruthless. The new manager will be my third in a year, and you need stability to be successful. There has been a lot of talk about players coming and going. I know there are stories about me, too, but I have a contract at Chelsea and I have not spoken to Jose Mourinho about [joining] Inter Milan, or to my agent.”
Informed sources at Stamford Bridge indicated that Scolari’s first signings would be two members of the Portugal squad - Deco, the 30-year-old Barcelona playmaker, and Ricardo Quaresma, 24, a winger with Porto.
Liverpool, meanwhile, rejected speculation linking Spanish striker Fernando Torres with a move to Chelsea. “Fernando Torres is just not for sale,” chief executive Rick Parry told the club’s website. The Spaniard scored in the 2-1 win over Sweden last night that took Spain through to join Scolari’s side in the quarter-finals. In the day’s other match, Greece’s defence of the title they won in 2004 was ended by a 1-0 defeat to Russia.
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well.....who wont?
as we guessed it....
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I am more surprise that he has been earning so low all these years than him going for the money now... lol
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he is outright and sensible.