Phil Scolari named as new Chelsea manager
Published 00:00 12/06/08 By By Martin Lipton, Chief Football Writer, In Geneva
Portugal boss Luiz Felipe Scolari was last night named as the next manager of Chelsea.
Barely an hour after the 59-year-old Brazilian masterminded the 3-1 win over the Czech Republic that took Portugal to the Euro 2008 quarter-finals, his £6million-a-year appointment as Avram Grant's replacement was confirmed by the Stamford Bridge club.
Owner Roman Abramovich flew in to Geneva to supervise the final draft agreement on what is understood to be a four-year contract with Scolari. In a statement the club said: "Chelsea Football Club is delighted to confirm Luiz Felipe Scolari will be the club's new manager from July 1.
"Felipe has great qualities. He is one of the world's top coaches with a record of success for club and country.
"He gets the best out of a talented squad of players and his ambitions and expectations match ours. He was the outstanding choice.
"Out of respect for his current role as head coach of the Portuguese team, and to ensure minimum disruption to this work, there will be no further comment from Chelsea FC nor from Felipe about his new role until his employment with us commences."
That was the agreement fleshed out by Scolari with Abramovich, Chelsea sporting director Frank Arnesen and the Russian billionaire's personal footballing guru, Dutchman Piet de Visser, when they flew in to Switzerland yesterday.
Scolari, known as 'Big Phil', won the World Cup with Brazil in 2002 and eliminated England from three successive tournaments. He rejected the chance to succeed Sven Goran Eriksson as boss two years ago.
He will be given a £100m transfer war-chest by Chelsea.
