Big Phil fires up Portuguese men of war
On the eve of England’s World Cup quarter-final against Portugal, Scolari apologised to anyone he might have “hurt” when turning down the job he claims he was offered by the FA.
He revealed that one day he might yet be England manager.
And on today’s World Cup quarter-final against England he found some Churchillian-type words which resonated, even allowing for translation.
Scolari said: “You have to put fire in your belly. With the English fighting spirit and the Portuguese fighting spirit, it is going to be an emotional and a tight game.
“I believe in our efforts and have confidence we will win if we play with the same spirit.”
Whether Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo will feature was in doubt. Ronaldo has not trained for the past two days as he struggles to recover from the thigh injury he suffered against Holland.
“He may or may not play,” was Scolari’s brief, enigmatic assessment.
With Deco and Costinha suspended following their red cards against Holland, it is likely that Simao and Petit will come in.
Inevitably, however, as Scolari prepared to pit his wits once more with Sven-Goran Eriksson, having emerged victorious on the two occasions they have met in major championships, the questions returned to the FA’s attempts to recruit international football’s most wanted coach.
Did he regret turning down the England job?
Scolari: “No. People like me like to respect their contract. If my ‘no’ to the English FA hurt someone, I am sorry, but I always respect my contracts and stick to them. After July 31 I am a free coach so then I can speak to people.”
Scolari’s life is governed by ideals. A staunch Catholic, every day here he has attended an early morning service in the 12th century Cistercian monastery in the grounds of Portugal’s training centre.
Respect is not enough for him. He needs to be loved.
He said: “I think I am a good coach. I have got good results. But mainly I think I am a very good friend of the people I work with.
“I am a happy person and 99% of the places I have been the people like me. If you go to Kuwait where I was for three years or Saudi Arabia where I spent three years or Japan, where I was for one year, or Brazil, where I have been all my life, the people there like me. And now in Portugal too.”
He does not expect a stormy match such as Portugal’s tie against Holland, which resulted in 16 yellow and four red cards.
He said: “I hope against England it is going to be a fair match. If one team is tougher than the other, they must be punished for it.”
Most of all, however, guiding Portugal to their second World Cup semi-final would fill him with pride.
He said: “If we go through, it will be one of the three biggest achievements in my career (after the World Cup win with Brazil and Euro 2004 final with Portugal). I am going to tell the players to enjoy playing against a nice team like England.
“To enjoy being in the eight best teams in the world. To enjoy the quarter-final and have fun and pleasure with it. That is the main thing.”
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