Luiz Felipe Scolari: International Man of Action

There is an air of quiet excitement lingering above Stamford Bridge. The same cannot be said about Cobham. As I write this, the squad of superstars at Chelsea  is hard at work, turning excitement into achievement. But with so much demanded and so much more at stake, how will Luiz Felipe Scolari differ from his predecessors?

First, it is important to point out that another first has been achieved at Chelsea. We have a manager who is famous for handling big players.

This will install some of the belief and winning mentality back into Chelsea’s players who, it could be argued, bottled it last season at the last hurdle.

Secondly, Scolari has a very aggressive playing style. He is more accustomed to the likes of Brazil and Portuguese football, having won with Brazilian club side Gremio in the past. On the one hand, there are fears that a Brazilian approach to defending may see the Blues embarrassed, or that their football will become "all frills."

I don’t believe this will play out like many of the skeptics hope it does, as long as John Terry maintains his no-nonsense attitude.

It could just as easily suit Chelsea, though, in the same way that the French Connection took a once "boring" Arsenal side and made them everyone’s second team. Who knows? Perhaps "Sexy Football" is back on the menu in West London.

The third characteristic of Mr Scolari is what he is arguably most famous for—trouble. There is good reason behind his nickname "Big Phil." If players cross Scolari, they’re not shown the bench in the fashion of Mourinho—they’re shown the door.

And it’s not just Chelsea who are likely to bare the brunt of the Brazilian’s temperament. The press, the opposition managers, the referees: no-one is safe. But this needn’t be a bad thing.

Much in the same way that Mourinho’s cockiness proved a hit, perhaps an old fashioned bout of fists at dawn between Ferguson and Scolari would be a welcome change to the traditional round of pre-match mind games. It would certainly be more fun to watch than a pizza throwing contest.

Needless to say, Scolari plans to do it his way. Whether or not he can have orders barked at him from above when in hard times depends squarely on whether or not he allows the going to get rough.

My guess is that Scolari’s "Ferguson-esque" treatment of the bigger players will get him the respect and consistency he desires.