Man manager Scolari makes his own luck

EURO 2004/Semi-Finals: Reporters, you all know, tend to be a cynical lot. We have seen it all, done it all and thrown away more free biros than we've had hot dinners (well, over the last three weeks in Portugal, anyway). We are tough writes Paddy Agnew in Lisbon

Therefore when superstar footballers and World Cup-winning coaches walk into the press conference room, we nod seriously, draw on the imaginary cigars in the corners of our mouths, get out another free biro and start pondering what the most awkward questions might be. Or at least that is how we like to think of it.

Not so on Wednesday night at the Avalade stadium, Lisbon, in the wake of Portugal's 2-1 semi-final win over The Netherlands. Led on by the enthusiastic, local press corps, the cynical hacks burst into spontaneous applause when the two major figures in the Portuguese dramatis personae emerged, namely captain Luis Figo and coach Felipe Scolari.

Win or lose in Sunday's final, Euro 2004 has already been a major success for both. The tournament has confirmed World Cup-winner Scolari as one of the best in the business. Figo's performance against Holland marked an unexpected redemption not just for himself but also for the senior figures in the hierarchy of football icons, figures who until Wednesday night had distinguished themselves at Euro 2004 by their failures rather than their successes.

In the wake of Portugal's dramatic quarter-final, penalty shoot-out win over England, Scolari was asked about his goal-scoring substitutes - Rui Costa against Russia, Nuno Gomes against Spain, Postiga and Rui Costa again against England. Was this a case of inspired coaching or just good luck?

"Just good luck. After all, I've only won 16 titles thanks to good luck," replied an almost indignant Scolari.

On the eve of the final, it is hard to fault Scolari. Remember, he got off to the worst possible start by losing that opening game 2-1 to Greece. That match proved a moment of truth for his ring-rusty team, which had only played friendlies for the last two years.

He reacted by dropping four players - Rui Costa in midfield, Paulo Ferreira, Fernando Couto and Rui Jorge in defence - for the next game, against Russia. Even though the replacements - Deco, Nuno Valente, Ricardo Carvalho and Miguel - all did well against Russia, Scolari showed his man-management skills by rehabilitating Rui Costa by bringing him on to score the second goal against Russia. Scolari knew he might need a fully motivated Rui Costa on the bench before the tournament was out.

Against Spain, when Pauleta was failing to do the business up front, he wasted no more time, dropping him at half-time to be rewarded with the winning goal from his substitute, Nuno Gomes. Then came the England game where, chasing the match at 0-1 down, Scolari went for it, bringing on three attacking players in Rui Costa, Postiga and Simao.

Most famously, of course, he had the nerve to take off national hero Figo to make way for goalscorer Postiga. Even in the wake of that substitution, and in particular in the wake of Figo's petulant stomping off to the dressing-room, Scolari demonstrated his good sense with an immediate damage-limitation exercise.

Asked about Figo's apparent sulk and non-appearance even for the penalty kicks, Scolari assured us that his captain had been on his knees praying hard for Portugal as he watched in the dressing-room.

In the semi-final against Holland, Scolari's skills as a human-resources officer not to mention football tactician reaped their just reward. His amour-propre dented by that substitution but his place in the side still guaranteed by Scolari diplomacy, Figo refound the sort of form he has not shown for over a year now.

For the first hour, the Portuguese captain was simply immense in the manner in which he led from the front. He not only skinned the Dutch defence on both flanks to set up two chances for Pauleta and one for Ronaldo, but he also hit the post after leaving Giovanni van Bronckhorst for dead.

Scolari's success against Holland was not limited to the refound Figo, however. Even when things were not going Portugal's way, in the wake of the Andrade own goal that left the home team 2-1 in front, Scolari made a typically bold substitution by taking off Pauleta and replacing him with Nuno Gomes, a striker for a striker.

Had Scolari's first name been Giovanni or Sven, he would have taken off Pauleta all right but he would have replaced him with Phil Neville or Giuseppe Favalli: that is, with a defensive player.

Scolari concluded his post-match press conference on Wednesday night by announcing that he was about to sign a new contract as Portuguese coach, using a typically colourful metaphor: "The president of the Portuguese Federation has been talking about our forthcoming marriage and I have here the ring, so I say yes."

When the wedding finally takes place, Luis Figo would have to be a candidate for the role of best man, with the cynical hacks on standby, confetti in hand.