April 28, 2006

"I am happy that they considered me but I don't want anything more to do with this because for two days my life has been invaded and my privacy destroyed.": Scolari takes himself out of consideration for the England manager's job. When a Brazilian tells you your culture takes soccer too seriously, you should probably think about it.

posted by liam to soccer at 02:12 PM - 18 comments

All I can say is go UKRAINE

posted by im050483 at 02:24 PM on April 28, 2006

Damn. I was hoping we would get a decent tactician in. I don't fancy any of the other names mooted to do a reasonable job.

posted by walrus at 03:14 PM on April 28, 2006

All I can say is go UKRAINE So we've noticed in nearly every recent soccer-related thread. So STFU already, because you're not contibuting the least bit of useful commentary.

posted by billsaysthis at 03:39 PM on April 28, 2006

Hard to believe that Scolari wasn't prepared for this so I wonder if it isn't just an excuse. Though if true then one of the local candidates would probably be an even better choice, despite other shortcomings, since McLaren, O'Neill et al will certainly be used to the nostril clarity-range media coverage.

posted by billsaysthis at 03:42 PM on April 28, 2006

Scolari has apparently had a number of other offers from other associations and from a number of clubs, so it may be an excuse. It may also be related to the low pay offer compared to Ericsson's wages. I don't think McClaren in particular is up to the job. The word on the grapevine is that their recent cup form has come at the hands of a rebellion from the senior players, and his captain has publicly stated that he doesn't think he's up to the job. He's never handled publicity well by the way. O'Neill might be the best of a bad lot but tactically he's still a one trick pony. Just my opinion.

posted by walrus at 03:51 PM on April 28, 2006

So STFU already... No kidding...give us something new on Shevchenko, borshch...something. Scolari may be a great coach but he seems to have misplaced his manhood.

posted by Texan_lost_in_NY at 03:58 PM on April 28, 2006

Rather than take one of the clearly second best UK homeboys, why not give Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad the position? The issue of the Press intruding on his life isn't going to bother him and he'd give us some awesome one liners!

posted by niall at 04:45 PM on April 28, 2006

What do you figure the chances are of the US obtaining Scolari's services? We are not obsessed, and yet we have a decent talent pool. With his talents as a coach and a tactician, and our strong presence of Brazillian's living in the US he might be interested in our side of the Ocean.

posted by pmoody50 at 05:38 PM on April 28, 2006

The word on the grapevine is that their recent cup form has come at the hands of a rebellion from the senior players And exactly which grapevine is this, and how much have you been drinking from it? Anyway, saying 'McClaren's not up to the job' is a meaningless statement, since no England manager is ever up to 'the job', especially by the rose-tinted, knicker-sniffing standards of the red-top back pages. Because 'the job' entails winning every major championship, never losing a friendly, beating the Germans 5-0 every week, curing cancer and raising Bobby Moore from the dead. If Jesus Christ came back to manage England, Harry fucking Harris would be writing about how he didn't understand the English game. Oh, let's have some hilarity. Give the job to Bryan Robson.

posted by etagloh at 06:35 PM on April 28, 2006

What do you figure the chances are of the US obtaining Scolari's services Well, he wouldn't have to worry about too much media intrusion.

posted by owlhouse at 08:44 PM on April 28, 2006

so....telling someone to STFU is intelligent commentary??? try using more intelligent words next time.

posted by tommybiden at 09:20 PM on April 28, 2006

the rose-tinted, knicker-sniffing standards of the red-top back pages I like that. I miss the old days of rose-sniffing and knicker-tinted tabloids. I think the problem is that since the cool Brittanic '90s, soccer in England has become part of entertainment culture to the point where the media's need for drama has totally eclipsed reality. Which is fine when you're dealing with movies and reality shows, but is akilter when you're covering a bunch of well-matched people very occasionally putting inflated leather into mesh.

posted by liam at 10:17 PM on April 28, 2006

the media's need for drama has totally eclipsed reality Matthew Engel (I think) wrote a few years ago that the popular press gave up on journalism sometime in the 1980s. The red tops shouldn't really be called newspapers, as they are in fact a form of popular entertainment. Looking at it from this angle, I don't get angry at the tabloids anymore. You may as well get angry at Big Brother or I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here.

posted by owlhouse at 11:52 PM on April 28, 2006

"And exactly which grapevine is this, and how much have you been drinking from it?" I'm not as thunk as you drink I am! Don't mean anything by it, I was just told that your form has got better more because people like Gereth Southgate, Jimmy Flloyd Hasselbaink and others have stood up and said the performances weren't good enough than because of any specific changes McClaren has made. It could be false, but it came from someone who had no reason to make it up and it struck a chord because you're not fielding a different team and don't seem to be doing much different tactically. "Rebellion" was the wrong word to use, I had had a scotch or two last night and was typing faster than I was thinking. Got nothing against McClaren in particular, but I'll admit he wouldn't be my choice. And yeah, we don't know who's "up to the job" until we appoint them. Like I said, just my opinion.

posted by walrus at 12:01 AM on April 29, 2006

Well, the turnaround in form will probably be attributed for all eternity to the bloke who threw his Red Book at McClaren, but I've heard all sorts of gossip these past few weeks. Anyway, I don't think he's suited for the job per se, let alone the tabloid image of the job. And yeah, we don't know who's "up to the job" until we appoint them. I'd go further and say that we hardly ever know who was up to the job until after they leave. How long did it take for Bobby Robson to get respect for his tenure? Probably not until he was back in club management at PSV.

posted by etagloh at 03:44 AM on April 29, 2006

Bobby Robson was another manager who faced a players' revolt (back in 1990). The players were the ones who came up with Mark Wright as the third centre back.

posted by owlhouse at 04:00 AM on April 29, 2006

So when are the FA going to be interviewing Barry Fry? (Now that I would like to see.)

posted by afx237vi at 10:54 AM on April 29, 2006

Bruce Arena is the most successful American coach ever and--though I'm not suggesting he's as good as Scolari--as long as he gets out of the first round next month and wants to keep the job the USSF will not dump him. Not for Scolari or anyone else, and Bruce seems happy where he is and looking forward to the next generation* maturing into a very solid 2010 challenger. * Gaven, Oguchi Onyewu, Adu, Spector, Nate Sturgis, Danny Szetela, and maybe Rossi if he stays out of the Italian clutches.

posted by billsaysthis at 04:04 PM on May 01, 2006

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