LUIZ FELIPE Scolari did not come across as a person staring fixedly at a terrible fate. There were moments when the Chelsea manager seemed to overlook tonight's match with Cluj at Stamford Bridge, even though there is a chance failure could see the club eliminated from the Champions League. Scolari strayed off into visions of a distant future.
There was a little fantasy about managing Cristiano Ronaldo, a member of his squad when he was the Portugal coach, in Brazilian football one day. Scolari, though, exuded charm.
He can surely see no advantage in making the Chelsea squad nervous. If anything, his message was one of paternal concern for them. Asked about the injury blight that has caused him such trouble, Scolari did as much as he could to deny the rumours that he has been disappointed with the work of the medical team at Stamford Bridge.
His preference was to speak of the harm done when footballers persist in taking the field with knocks that then turn into a chronic condition. Scolari himself has an ankle problem to remind him of his own career on the field.
"I say [to the players]," he explained, "'If you are not in good condition don't play for me'. Because when they are 45 or 65, they might have some problem in their knee. I would be the man responsible. I don't want that."
If Scolari operated with no more than a pastoral concern for his employees, he would not, of course, have taken Brazil to triumph in the 2002 World Cup. He may be a sincere person, but there is an eye, too, on relieving any strain on his men.
"It's a surprise to be in this position," Deco said of the club's erratic progress in group A of the Champions League, "because we have lost just one game [in Rome]." It is, in practice, not so very intimidating a situation. Should Bordeaux fail to win in Rome, Chelsea will stay above them. However, victory for the French, accompanied by even a draw for Chelsea, would see the Premier League club coming third and falling into the Uefa Cup. Chelsea, in those circumstances, would drop behind both Bordeaux and Roma, because of a poorer head-to-head record against the Serie A team. The loss of revenue, which could amount to €28.7 million if the Champions League were won, would be uncomfortable for Chelsea.
A situation that could extend itself to the manager's future at the club, at least according to Cluj's Ivory Coast forward Yssouf Kone: "If Chelsea don't beat us I think he'll be in a little bit of trouble."
Fevered hypothesising, however, is debilitating and Scolari will have nothing to do with it.
"If I lose on Wednesday and I am out of the Champions League I won't feel good but [no] more than that," he said. "This is life. This is football." It is not the sort of talk to which the owner, Roman Abramovich, is accustomed, not after Jose Mourinho's tenure at the club.
Scolari returned to an old topic by referring to the expectations when he was coach of the eventual World Cup-winners. "You know how many people live in Brazil? 180 million, " he said. "You think there is pressure here? This is zero pressure. Pressure was when I was coach of the Brazil national team because all the people there are coaches."
Scolari's ploy is obvious. His blithe tone is designed to address a careworn squad. Chelsea, in the Premier League, have dropped a dozen points at home already, as well as succumbing to Burnley in the League Cup. They also have to reckon with the absence of the suspended Frank Lampard, who was sent off in Bordeaux.
The equaliser in France was conceded when John Terry had a lapse in concentration at a corner kick. This has not been the merciless Chelsea of old, even if their away form in domestic football has been blissful. In the circumstances, it might seem prudent to be wary of Cluj, who won an away match at Roma, though they are now bottom of the group.
Chelsea's principal task is to go about the fixture in a normal, effective way. Scolari did not sound very interested in playing both Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka together but whoever he picks, there can be no excuse for faltering and leaving a tournament where Chelsea's role in the last 16 is virtually taken for granted.
GuardianService
