Scolari Moved to Chelsea because of the Cash

Luiz Felipe Scolari, esteemed coach of Portugal, and soon to be manager of Chelsea admits that the cash brought him to Stamford Bridge.  Scolari said "money mattered" in his decision to join Chelsea, and if we know Chelsea, we know that Scolari isn't going to leave a poor man.  He also said he hopes to retire in four or five years.  Scolari also revealed that Portugal's football federation wanted to keep him on, but they were not able to match the money that Chelsea was offering.  He also spoke about the concerns that he wouldn't adequately be able to communicate with some of his players.  "I speak English with my players, I speak German, I speak Italian... don't worry, the language of football is only one."  It sounds like Scolari has a firm grasp on his new job, and I cannot wait to see where he can take Chelsea FC.

Who Will Scolari Bring to Chelsea?

Since Chelsea made the announcement that they are going to hire Luiz Felipe Scolari after Euro 2008, I was wondering what this would mean for the future of my beloved club.  Will Scolari bring in some of his Portuguese and Brazilian players he's previously managed?  It is reported that he will go after Kaka, and he will attempt to convince Ricardo Carvalho to stay.  Ronaldinho is also a genuine possibility. 

Who should Luiz Felipe Scolari bring to Chelsea?  Let's hear what you think in the comments section.

Scolari is New Chelsea Manager

Luiz Felipe Scolari will be the next manager of Chelsea. There were numerous managers asociated with the Chelsea job, but Scolari rose above them. His long pedigree of making winners should serve him well at Stamford Bridge. Scolari will begin on July 1, after the Euro's end.

What do you think of the hire? Is Scolari the right man for the job? Your thoughts below.

Manchester City after Hughes, Mourinho finally signs, and other news

Mark Hughes to City?

            Yes, the gods are cruel.  I wanted Mark Hughes for Chelsea, but he looks like he could go to Manchester City.  Hughes will collect a nice transfer budget, and a definite pay increase if he decides the Eastlands is his next home.  As I alluded to earlier, Hughes has a track record of turning teams around.  He also possesses a great knowledge and vision when it comes to finding good players.  He also could bring some players with him, notably, Roque Santa Cruz, and David Bentley.  I say this is a good career move for Hughes, although Peter Kenyon should get on the phone quickly and attempt to steal him away.  

Jose Mourinho officially at Inter

            Yup, it was finally announced.  The Special one has found a new home in Milan.  Now the real question is whom he will bring in to deliver European glory.  He can take Drogba as far as I'm concerned, but please don't take Frank Lampard.  He is the heart and soul of Chelsea, and he plays with a great passion for the game ever since his mother died.  He also could bring in some Barcelona men, as they are having a mass exodus.  Ronaldinho, and Eto’o, would be great additions to the Inter squad.  We’ll have to wait and see…  

Paul Gascoigne, Mathieu Flamini

            Gascoigne has been put into a mental hospital again.  He was placed in a Mental Hospital due to the Mental Health Act.  A sad, sad story gets even sadder.

            In other news, Mathieu Flamini has joined the French National team in their preparations for Euro 2008.  He was the contingency plan in case a midfielder was hurt, and guess what, Patrick Viera hurt his ankle.  It is not guaranteed that he will go to Austria and Switzerland, but he is now in training with the team, and if Viera isn’t fit in time, he will go in his stead.

 

            That’s all for now, we’ll see how things play out for the rest of the day.  Hopefully I’ll be back soon. 

Afternoon Football News Roundup...

John Terry was named the captain for England today, for the impending friendly against The USA.  He is the third captain to be picked in Fabio Capello's rotation sytem.  He will choose a permanent captain at the beginning of World Cup Qualifying.  Rio Ferdinand, and Steven Gerrard were the two captains, in the England's previous two friendlies against France, and Switzerland respectively.  Terry received a much needed pick me up, after slipping on his game winning penalty, and clanking it off the post.  Kickoff is set for 3:00 ET, and the game will be broadcast live on ESPN Classic, and Galavision.  My prediction is that the US will win 2-1 and surprise England.  You can refer to my article on why the US will win the game here.

Inter Milan manager Roberto Mancini, looks to be on his way out of Milan.  His agent has hinted that he will be making an exit.  If he leaves, who will fill the void?  Jose Mourinho is the top pick, but he also has been rumored to be going back to fill the same open position for Chelsea.  We will have to wait and see...

 

Iraq's parliament has moved to disband all of their sport federations, and FIFA has decided to suspend the Iraqi football team for 1 year, and all of their olympic qualifying.  FIFA will accept a reversal of the decision by the Iraqi parliament by Thursday.

 

Bye Bye Mr. Grant

Avram Grant has been sacked three days after losing the Champions League final.  His assistant coaches will reportedly be leaving as well.  Personally, Grant needed to win the Champions League final to stay, and he didn't.  This just goes to show how soccer hinges on little moments.  If John Terry doesn't slip, Grant still likely has a job.  Am I sad to see him go?  No.  I thought he was average at best, but I want to thank him for his contributions to Chelsea, and doing an admirable job with the intense media scrutiny.

So long Mr. Grant.  

Additionally, I wrote an article for Soccerlens today that I put up for review before Grant's firing.  Step one of Chelsea's plan that I mapped out in the article was to fire Avram Grant.  5 minutes later he's fired.  Talk about an accurate prediction.  What actually happened was I finished the article, called up my best friend Peter Kenyon, and told him to fire Grant so I would look like a prognosticator.  Check it out here.

Chelsea Injury Scare

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Chelsea have avoided a big set back in their champions league title aspirations.  John Terry and Didier Drogba were questionable for the game in Moscow after going down with injuries in the final game of the season.  It does now seem that both will be available for the final, and Avram Grant will have a full side at his disposal.  It would have been a big blow not to have a capable goal scorer, and your captain available for the final, but Grant has luckily avoided this predicament.  

Chelsea's first signing, England names squad for US friendly

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Chelsea have signed Jose Boswinga, the Porto right back for a nice sum of 16.2 million pounds.  He will presumably slide into the right back position where Essien has been playing for most of the year.  A good signing for Chelsea; they were able to beat out Manchester United for the signature of Boswinga and he will be Avram Grant's second signing since joining the club last fall.  This move will hopefully give Grant, or whoever the next manager of Chelsea is the chance to have 3 world class central midfielders who are interchangeable.  If Lampard does stay (that's in question) they will have three world class combinations in the center.  Lampard with Essien, Lampard with Ballack, and Ballack with Essien.  I like this move a lot and I hope Chelsea will dip a little deeper in the transfer window for a striker, a left winger, and some cover for the back line.  All in all, a good day for Chelsea.

In other news, Fabio Capello has named a 31 man squad for the friendlies against the USA and Trinidad and Tobago.  Capello selected a full strenghth squad, but his surprise inclusions were U-21's Tom Huddlestone of Tottenham, and Joe Hart of Manchester City.  The USA has yet to release a squad but should have one in the next week.