OMEN
02-13-2009, 02:17 PM
Luiz Felipe Scolari bemoaned a lack of 'magic' in the Chelsea team in an interview given just days before he was sacked as manager, it has been revealed today.
Scolari's eight-month spell in charge at Stamford Bridge came to an end on Monday after a series of poor results had seen the Barclays Premier League heavyweights drop to fourth in the table.
Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich had installed the 60-year-old as Blues manager in the hope he would bring the entertaining brand of football he employed while in charge of Brazil, with whom he won the 2002 World Cup, and Portugal, who he guided to the final of Euro 2004.
Under Scolari, Chelsea began their season in free-scoring mode, but the goals soon dried up, and the Blues could only manage four goals in the Brazilian's last five games.
His side were booed off after Scolari's final game in charge - a drab 0-0 draw with Hull on Saturday.
Scolari gave an interview with France Football magazine days before the Hull game in which he stated that his side were not creative enough to win the title and admitted his frustration at not being able to land his number one transfer target, Robinho, who opted to join Manchester City after the Blues failed to match City's £32.5million bid last summer.
'At Chelsea we don't have the player who can make the difference by himself by producing something magical on the pitch,' he said.
'We miss that. I don't know why. In the past, [Arjen] Robben was at Chelsea and he could make the difference. But now there is no one.
'Robinho could have been this player. He is not afraid to dribble, to take a risk. As a Brazilian, I like this.
'My team isn't Brazilian enough. It is a 'bureaucratic' team. That's the style of my players. That's why Robinho would have done a lot of good for the team.'
It has been reported that a dressing-room split led to Scolari's departure, but the Brazilian insists he did not have a problem with his players, although he did admit he would have liked to have had a closer relationship with the squad.
'There are egos in the dressing room, but that is normal, isn't it? We all have egos,' Scolari said.
'But my relationships with the players are good on the pitch. It is true that they are not the same as the relationships I had with my players in Portugal, but I spent five years there.
'In Brazil [as a club manager], it was also easier. I knew everything about the players. Here, I don't have a family relation with the players. Everything is on the pitch. Outside, there is nothing.'
RTE
Scolari's eight-month spell in charge at Stamford Bridge came to an end on Monday after a series of poor results had seen the Barclays Premier League heavyweights drop to fourth in the table.
Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich had installed the 60-year-old as Blues manager in the hope he would bring the entertaining brand of football he employed while in charge of Brazil, with whom he won the 2002 World Cup, and Portugal, who he guided to the final of Euro 2004.
Under Scolari, Chelsea began their season in free-scoring mode, but the goals soon dried up, and the Blues could only manage four goals in the Brazilian's last five games.
His side were booed off after Scolari's final game in charge - a drab 0-0 draw with Hull on Saturday.
Scolari gave an interview with France Football magazine days before the Hull game in which he stated that his side were not creative enough to win the title and admitted his frustration at not being able to land his number one transfer target, Robinho, who opted to join Manchester City after the Blues failed to match City's £32.5million bid last summer.
'At Chelsea we don't have the player who can make the difference by himself by producing something magical on the pitch,' he said.
'We miss that. I don't know why. In the past, [Arjen] Robben was at Chelsea and he could make the difference. But now there is no one.
'Robinho could have been this player. He is not afraid to dribble, to take a risk. As a Brazilian, I like this.
'My team isn't Brazilian enough. It is a 'bureaucratic' team. That's the style of my players. That's why Robinho would have done a lot of good for the team.'
It has been reported that a dressing-room split led to Scolari's departure, but the Brazilian insists he did not have a problem with his players, although he did admit he would have liked to have had a closer relationship with the squad.
'There are egos in the dressing room, but that is normal, isn't it? We all have egos,' Scolari said.
'But my relationships with the players are good on the pitch. It is true that they are not the same as the relationships I had with my players in Portugal, but I spent five years there.
'In Brazil [as a club manager], it was also easier. I knew everything about the players. Here, I don't have a family relation with the players. Everything is on the pitch. Outside, there is nothing.'
RTE