Luiz Felipe Scolari confirms fallouts with Chelsea strikers led to his sack
According to The Sun (h/t the Mirror), former Chelsea manager Luiz Felipe Scolari believes that him getting sacked by the club was down to his fallouts with key players in the squad, chiefly strikers Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka.
Scolari, who has managed the Brazil national team in the past, was relieved of duties as the Blues boss in February 2009, just seven months after he was appointed.
Looking at the team’s position at that time of the season, they were fourth in the league table and had no issues in the Champions League. So, the results were not the reason for this dismissal.
Speaking about the sack, here’s Scolari as quoted by the Sun:
“Chelsea had some problems with injuries, some problems in the team. I had a form of leadership that clashed with one or two players.”
“Anelka and Drogba (when asked which players). Our medical department thought that we should let Drogba go and recover in Cannes, in the middle of summer. I thought he should stay in London. I’d also like to go to Cannes in the middle of summer. I’d stay there for a month, two months, enjoying myself.”
Scolari also talked about how he wanted Anelka and Drogba to play together up front. But, there seemed to be a lack of friendship or respect between the duo despite them having successful individual careers in west London with the Blues.
The 73-year-old, who has led Brazil to a World Cup win in 2002 and a fourth-place finish in 2014, was Chelsea’s fourth manager under the ownership of Roman Abramovich. He followed the footsteps of Claudio Ranieri, Jose Mourinho and Avram Grant.
He was also the manager of Portugal, who reached the final of the Euros in 2004, along with winning countless trophies in South American club football.
However, Chelsea was his first and so far the last job in England. So, he definitely missed an opportunity to make a mark in arguably one of the best leagues in the world but that doesn’t diminish his image in the footballing world as a manager.
Despite getting dismissed seven months into the job, Scolari has fond memories of working in England. He was impressed by how people support their own clubs rather than going after supporting the big-name clubs.
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Guus Hiddink replaced the Brazilian and took up the interim job in February 2009, before Carlo Ancelotti was appointed the new manager that summer. Thomas Tuchel was our latest manager to get the boot, and now Graham Potter would aim to now hold down the fort for a longer duration when compared to the German.