Does Scolari Regret Not Signing Robinho?
Fair enough, I mean, I definitely remember questioning the effect missing out on a player like Robinho would have on our ability to play Scolari’s style of football. We had after all spent months tracking him, negotiating with the player, his agent, and his club, only to have him snatched from under our noses as deadline day came to its depressing conclusion.
The Chelsea manager said: "When I started here at Chelsea, I said I wanted one player who is different when we play against teams who close us down. I need two or three systems to play, not only one.
"For this, I need different players because some players play all the time to look in front and attack. Sometimes it’s impossible to attack. We need to stop the ball in the middle, stop the ball near the area, receive fouls. We need to change the style sometimes."
So, as usual, the press have added two and two together and come up with five, suggesting Scolari was specifically referring to the committed Manchester City player.
Scolari goes on to talk about the players he already has with the capability to deliver what he wants, stating: “But I need not one, but two or three that try something different when they are closed down. I want people to dribble more. Opponents will kick us and we’ll have fouls. I have players like Deco and Frank Lampard who can exploit that.”
So it would seem there might be the odd flaw or two around the headlines suggesting the Chelsea manager rues the loss of the Brazilian, in that, firstly he never even mentions the blokes name, and secondly he clearly states "I need not one, but two or three".
Scolari is surely indicating that Chelsea is about much more than the one player the press were trying to provoke a response about?
Having said that, I still think signing Robinho would have been awesome.
