Luiz Felipe ScolariOIH (Brazilian Portuguese:[luˈisfeˈlipiskoˈlaɾi,-fiˈ-]; born 9 November 1948), also known asFelipão ("Big Phil"), is a Brazilianfootballmanager and former player who currently serves as the technical director ofGrêmio.
Considered to be one of the greatest and most successful managers of all time by several pundits,[2][3][4][5][6] Scolari was adefender during his playing days, and notably representedCaxias before moving to a managerial role in 1982. After leading theBrazil national team to aFIFA World Cup win in2002, he was manager of thePortugal national team from July 2003 to June 2008. He led Portugal to thefinal ofUEFA Euro 2004, which they lost 0–1 toGreece, and to a fourth-place finish in the2006 World Cup. Scolari also managed Portugal throughUEFA Euro 2008, but resigned after a 2–3 loss toGermany in the second round.
After a return to club management atChelsea in thePremier League, Scolari was hired again as manager of the Brazil national team in 2012. He led them to victory at the2013 Confederations Cup, and to the semi-final in the2014 World Cup. After the Brazil national team finished fourth overall in an upset1–7 loss to Germany in the semi-finals, and a 0–3 loss to theNetherlands in the third-place playoff, theBrazilian Football Confederation decided not to renew his contract. In 2015, he started work atGuangzhou Evergrande and went on to claim both the2015 Chinese Super League and2015 AFC Champions League in his first season with the club.[7] He returned to Palmeiras in 2018, winning his second Brazilian league title that year.
Scolari is adual citizen of Brazil and Italy, as he is descended from Italian immigrants.[8]
Scolari was born inPasso Fundo,Rio Grande do Sul.[1] A defender regarded as more uncompromising than skillful, he was known among his contemporaries as "Perna-de-Pau" (literally translated as "wooden leg" inPortuguese, aBrazilian slang for a bad player), Scolari followed in the footsteps of his father, Benjamin Scolari, who was also a professional footballer.[9] His playing career encompassed spells withCaxias,Juventude,Novo Hamburgo, andCSA; he often captained his sides. It was with CSA that he won his only major title as a player – the 1981Campeonato Alagoano.
A central defender, Scolari described himself as a player who was tough, physically strong, and who had a good positional sense and leadership qualities, despite not being a particularly skilful player, which made him a useful player for his teams. Throughout his career he was nicknamed "Perna-de-Pau," or "Wooden Leg," in Portuguese, due to his perceived lack of class on the ball.[10][11]
Upon retiring as a player in 1982, he was appointed manager ofCSA, his former club, and would go on to win theAlagoas state championship in his first season. After spells withJuventude (twice),Brasil de Pelotas andPelotas andSaudi Arabian sideAl Shabab, he moved toGrêmio, where he won the 1987Gaúcho state championship. After managingGoiás, Scolari had a two-year stint in charge ofKuwaiti sideQadsia, with whom he won the prestigiousKuwait Emir Cup in 1989. This was followed by a brief period as manager of theKuwait national team, winning the 10thGulf Cup in Kuwait. Scolari returned to Brazil to coachCoritiba. He stayed for just three matches, losing all of them. After the last loss, he abandoned the club by boarding the winning team's bus back to his hometown; and did not return even to collect his wages.[12] Scolari coachedCriciúma to their first major national title, in the1991 Copa do Brasil. He returned to club management in the Middle East, managingAl-Ahli and a second spell atQadsia.
In 1993, Scolari returned to Grêmio, where, albeit leading the team to historic victories, he was criticized by the Brazilian media for playing a pragmatic style of football regarded as "un-Brazilian". He claimed six titles in only three years, including the1995 Copa Libertadores, which qualified Grêmio for theIntercontinental Cup, which they lost toDutch sideAjax on penalties.[13][14] The following year, they won theBrazilian Championship.[15]
In 1997, Scolari became manager ofJ. League sideJúbilo Iwata, but left after eleven games and shortly afterwards took charge ofPalmeiras back in Brazil.
In June 2001, Scolari was appointed manager of his nativeBrazil, the team's third coach in the space of a year. With five qualifying matches ahead, the team were in jeopardy of not qualifying for the2002 FIFA World Cup, which would be a first in the Brazilian competitive record. Despite losing his first match 1–0 toUruguay, and also suffering a 2–1 defeat to rivalsArgentina in September, Scolari eventually guided the team to qualification for the tournament.[16][17] He also led the team through the2001 Copa América, where they were unexpectedly eliminated in the quarter-finals byHonduras following a 2–0 defeat. After the match, Scolari commented: "I will go down in history as the Brazil coach who lost to Honduras – it's horrible. But Honduras played better, they deserved their win."[18]
In the build-up to the 2002 World Cup finals, Scolari refused to include veteranstrikerRomário in his squad, despite public pressure and a tearful appeal from the player himself.[19] Brazil entered the tournament unfancied, but wins overTurkey,China,Costa Rica,Belgium,England and Turkey again took them to the final, where they beatGermany 2–0 with two goals fromRonaldo to win their fifthFIFA World Cup title.[20] Scolari resigned in August 2002, intending to move to Europe.[21]
In November 2002 Scolari was appointed coach ofPortugal, who would be the host nation forUEFA Euro 2004. The appointment was controversial as Scolari was highly paid, and was the first foreigner to coach Portugal sinceOtto Glória. Scolari caused more controversy by calling up Brazil-bornDeco, who had only recently become eligible for Portuguese citizenship.[22] At Euro 2004, Portugal got through the group stage and saw off England in the quarter-finals on penalties before beating the Netherlands in the semi-finals. In thefinal, however, they were beaten in a 1–0 upset by tournamentunderdogsGreece.[23] Scolari managed Portugal through the2006 World Cup in Germany, where they reached the semi-finals, again coming out victorious in the quarter-finals against England. But they did not reach the final due to a semi-final defeat against eventual runners-upFrance. Following the tournament, Scolari was strongly linked with the job of England manager, but chose to see out his contract with Portugal.[24]
Scolari took Portugal toEuro 2008, where they reached the knockout stage by placing first inGroup A before being eliminated by Germany in the quarter-finals. During the tournament, he announced that he would be joining English sideChelsea for the2008–09 season.
Scolari took over as manager of Chelsea on 1 July 2008. This was announced shortly after Portugal's Euro 2008 match against theCzech Republic on 11 June. With this appointment, Scolari became the first World Cup-winning manager to manage in the Premier League. In previous press conferences, Scolari had talked about "tantrums" and "triumphs" and had a reputation as a tough and unpredictable person.[25] When asked whether his decision to join Chelsea was financial, he responded, "Yes, that is one of the reasons," but also added, "I'm 59 and I don't want to work as a coach until I'm 70. I want to retire in four or five years, so it was a financial matter but there are other things." He also said, "I could offer my son the opportunity to study elsewhere. You only get this kind of opportunity once so you take it or leave it, but it was not only financial."[26] Scolari later said that he had turned down an offer to manageManchester City.[27]
Scolari's first match in charge of Chelsea was afriendly match against Chinese sideGuangzhou Pharmaceutical, a 4–0 victory.[28] He madeBarcelona midfielderDeco, a player he was familiar with on the Portugal national team, his first signing for a fee of around £8 million,[29] but was subsequently frustrated in his attempts to sign Brazilian internationalRobinho fromReal Madrid.[30] Under Scolari, Chelsea had the biggest away win of the club in five years in which Chelsea won 5–0 at theRiverside Stadium in October 2008. It was also the club's biggest win ever atMiddlesbrough.
Scolari was sacked as Chelsea manager on 9 February 2009[31] after a run of poor form culminating in a 2–0 defeat atLiverpool followed by frustrating 0–0 home draw withHull City. The club's stated reason for his removal was that "the results and performances of the team appeared to be deteriorating at a key time in the season".[32] Scolari's replacement at Chelsea for the remainder of the 2008–09 season was Dutch managerGuus Hiddink, who simultaneously managed theRussia national team.
On 6 June 2009, Scolari was spotted in attendance atUzbekistan's World Cup qualifier againstJapan; on 8 June 2009, Scolari revealed that he had signed an 18-month contract with the Uzbekistani championsFC Bunyodkor.[33] The contract made Scolari the highest paidfootball manager in the world, earning €13 million a year.[34]
He left by mutual consent on 29 May 2010 after failing to guide Bunyodkor past the last 16 in theAFC Champions League, although he cited concern regarding his son's education as the key reason.
On 13 June 2010, Scolari was announced as Palmeiras' new manager. He signed a2+1⁄2-year contract.[35] Palmeiras were 2012Copa do Brasil champions under his management. In September 2012, Scolari left by mutual consent after an unsatisfying result in theCampeonato Brasileiro.[36]
Brazil defeated Uruguay 2–1 in thesemi-final match of the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup in a tough draw, with goals fromFred in the 41st minute paired with a late goal from Paulinho in the 86th minute. In thefinal, Brazil defeated Spain 3–0 with two goals from Fred and one from Neymar.[41]
Scolari with Brazilian forwardNeymar at a press conference at the 2014 FIFA World Cup
After a successful campaign which earned them asemi-final spot in the2014 FIFA World Cup, Brazil weredefeated 7–1 in an upset loss against Germany at thesemi-final stage, which became their biggest-ever defeat at the World Cup (their largest margin of defeat was previously losing 3–0 to France in the 1998 final), the record for most goals conceded in their World Cup track record and its first home loss in a competitive match since 1975.[42] Scolari described the match as "the worst day of [his] life", and took responsibility for the loss.[43]
On 14 July 2014, following a further 3–0 defeat in thethird place playoff match against the Netherlands, Scolari resigned from his position as Brazilian manager.[44][45][46]
On 29 July 2014, Scolari signed with Grêmio. He was officially unveiled by the club the following day at theArena do Grêmio. On 19 May 2015, Scolari resigned from his position after a poor start to the season.[47]
On 4 June 2015, Scolari was appointed head coach ofChinese Super League championsGuangzhou Evergrande, signing a one-and-a-half plus one-year contract.[48] After four months in charge, Scolari led the club to victory in the2015 Chinese Super League andAFC Champions League, defeatingCosmin Olăroiu'sAl-Ahli side with a1–0 aggregate win in the final.[49] He extended his contract for one year on 24 October 2016 after his potential successorMarcello Lippi was appointed as the manager ofChina national team.[50] Scolari led Guangzhou win three consecutive league titles from 2015 to 2017. He refused to extend his contract again by the end of 2017 season.[51]
On 27 July 2018, Scolari returned to Brazilian sidePalmeiras for a third time.[52] On 2 September 2019, Scolari would be fired by club, that is under a poor performance after2019 Copa America; in this period, Scolari gained only 23.8% of points played by Palmeiras.[53]
On 15 October 2020, Scolari returned to manage the football team ofCruzeiro.[54] On 25 January 2021, Scolari and Cruzeiro parted ways by mutual agreement.[55]
On 7 July 2021, Scolari returned to Grêmio for the fourth time, with the goal of moving the team out of the last place in theBrasileiro Série A and fighting for theCopa Sudamericana.[56] He left on a mutual agreement on 11 October, with the club second bottom of the league.[57]
On 4 May 2022, Scolari was hired byAthletico Paranaense as a technical director, being also a manager of the first team "until new definitions".[58] With favorable results, he ended up coaching the side for the remainder of the season, leading them to the2022 Copa Libertadores final, lost 1–0 toFlamengo. He stepped down as head coach and continued at the club solely as a director in the 2023 season, appointing his assistantPaulo Turra as his successor.
On 16 June 2023, Scolari accepted an offer to resume his coaching career atAtlético Mineiro, signing a one-and-a-half-year deal.[59] He led the club to an impressive run in the2023 Série A, but left on a mutual agreement on 20 March 2024, despite the club being in the2024 Campeonato Mineiro finals.[60]
Scolari also holds Italian citizenship, since his family emigrated fromVeneto. He is a fan of Grêmio,[61] and was reported to be a fan ofNottingham Forest, having watched their successes underBrian Clough in the 1970s.[62] Scolari is aRoman Catholic.[63]
During his career, the media has been fond of pointing out Scolari's facial resemblance to actorGene Hackman andMarlon Brando's portrayal of DonVito Corleone in the filmThe Godfather.[64][65] In Brazil, Scolari is also known as "Felipão", and during his stint withChelsea, he was sometimes referred by the English translation, Big Phil.[66][67]
Considered to be one of the greatest and successful managers of all time by several pundits, in 202490min.com attributed Scolari's success to his unpredictable, authoritarian, and "enigmatic style, with his ability to inspire his players proving to be as important as his tactical prowess."[5][68] Nicknamed "Felipão," or "Big Phil," in Portuguese,[10] in the early part of his coaching career, he was known for his no-nonsense style of football. However, in the 1990s, he adopted a more attractive style of play, and his teams became more clinical offensively. He was also known for fostering a team spirit and for using religion-inspired motivational techniques, and attempted to shelter his teams from the media. His relationship with the press was often complicated, however, due to his passionate and temperamental style, which saw him involved in conflicts with journalists. He was also known for his intensity on the sidelines.[69][70]
Throughout his career, Scolari was known for his balanced tactical approach defensively and offensively, as well as his flexibility, adopting several different formations, including the 4–3–2–1, 3–4–1–2, and 4–3–3. He often gave his players lots of freedom on the pitch. The midfielders were paramount to his sides' offensive strategy, as they were required to make funs through central areas. The gameplay of his wingers was also an important part of his tactical approach, as he often had them switch positions in order to provide a diverse range of attacking plays for his team.[71]
With Grêmio and Palmeiras, he often used a 4–4–2 formation, which was solid defensively, and which made use of quick transitions and counter-attacks.[72] During his first stint as Brazil's manager, he initially played a more defensive style, but took a more attacking approach during the 2002 World Cup, using a 3–5–2, 3–4–1–2, or 3–4–2–1 formation withCafu andRoberto Carlos as attackingwing-backs supporting the front line, which complemented the ability of his team's talented forwards – Ronaldo,Rivaldo, andRonaldinho, as well as the passing ability of his midfielders. His side also made use of quick transitions and counter-attacks.[73][74][75][76][77][78][79][80][81]
With Portugal, Scolari also adopted an entertaining playing style based on passing, which highlighted the skill of his players, but also placed an emphasis on tactical preparation, pragmatism, and the psychological aspect of the game.[68][82][83][84] Former Portugal midfielderDeco praised Scolari for his ability to motivate the team during the 2006 World Cup.[85] During the latter tournament, Scolari used a 4–2–3–1 formation with wingersCristiano Ronaldo andLuís Figo on the left and right flanks respectively, often switching sides and running at opposing defenders.[86][87][88]
During his second stint with Brazil, Scolari instead adopted a flexible 4–2–3–1 and successfully stifled Spain's possession during the 2013 Confederations Cup final through the use of heavy pressing, in particular on the opposing team'sholding midfielderSergio Busquets. He also made use of a solid defence, who played a high line, hard-workingbox-to-box midfielders, and usedOscar as anattacking midfielder, who was given defensive responsibilities but also the freedom to join the attack, whileNeymar played as a leftwinger, supporting a genuine lonecentre-forward upfront.[89][90][91][92]
^White, Chris FlanaganContributions from Mark; Andrew, James; McCambridge, Ed; Murray, Andrew; published, Joe Brewin (26 September 2023)."Ranked! The 100 best football managers of all time".fourfourtwo.com. Retrieved7 July 2024.
^"Felipão é do Galo" [Felipão to Galo] (in Brazilian Portuguese). Clube Atlético Mineiro. 16 June 2023. Retrieved16 June 2023.
^"Galo informa saída de Felipão" [Galo announce the departure of Felipão] (in Brazilian Portuguese). Clube Atlético Mineiro. 20 March 2024. Retrieved20 March 2024.
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
