EPL Live - Chelsea Say Goodbye To Scolari

As I watched my favorite show for sports news, I did a double take when I heard about Chelsea soccer manager Luiz Felipe Scolari' s sacking with no less than Chelsea's Russian oil magnate and multi-billionaire owner Roman Abramovich doing the task of firing the Brazilian. It seemed that Scolari felt uncomfortable, that even if Chelsea's Chief Executive Peter Kenyon and the squad were behind him, Abramovich seemed to get tired of Scolari and his inability to produce great results. Which made me think, is Scolari solely to blame for Chelsea's underachieving season?

Scolari came to Chelsea with great credentials. I recall watching that World Cup game where he coached the Brazilian side that beat England and eventually won the Word Cup against Germany. Insiders argued that with the talents that he had at his disposal during that run, it was hard for Brazil to lose. I beg to disagree. Scolari was as instrumental to his team as were the players which included Ronaldo, Rivaldo and Ronaldinho. The trio were at the height of their popularity, it was easy for them to stray and party and not concentrate at the task at hand. Scolari made sure that the threesome walked the line. He next coached the Portugal side and became familiar with players like Deco, Ricardo Quaresma and Cristiano Ronaldo. He guided the team to the finals of the 2006 Euro Cup but was beaten by Greece. One may notice that Scolari's successes came from managing international sides. He has not been managing a club side for seven years. And to think that he decided to do so with a European club in Chelsea, a football team which expects instant results at all costs and where there is no margin for error, it could have been a recipe for disaster.

Jose Mourinho was good for Chelsea, in the same way that he was bad for Chelsea. Ever since his departure from the team after a fall out with Abramovich, the team, particularly the players more associated with Mourinho appear to be pining for their former manager. If reports were to believe, the senior players prefered their ex-manager's methods of training and style of play. How can Scolari put his stamp on the team when the guys are comparing his methods to Mourinho? Scolari's managerial style is different to Mourinho's. And it is unfair to Scolari that his techniques be questioned by his own players.

Chelsea started the season with an awesome display, winning 4-0 against Portsmouth who were a highly regarded team at that time. They then had wins against Manchester City, 3-0 and Middlesbrough, 5-0 that had pundits singing praises of the Blues' scoring machine. Perhaps Scolari did not expect that his reign as manager will come to an end at the present season, nor did he see that his team shall falter towards the second half of the season.

Guus Hiddink is the man picked to replace Scolari. Like Scolari, he also has impressive credentials as he takes on his new role. His previous assignment was as head coach of the Russian team in international football. Will he be the special one? Only time can tell. His team's latest wins against Aston Villa in the Premier League and Juventus in the first leg of the knockout phase of the Champions League are a big confidence booster to the squad as a whole and to Hiddink too. I just hope that his luck shall hold as the team continue to get good results and that he shall not suffer the same misfortune that his immediate predecessor has.

Catch the English football results at ScoresPro.com.

Source: ScoresPro.com