It was with what was called the “Scolari family” that Brazil achieved its fifth star 20 years ago. The 2002 World Cup, won in a 2-0 victory over Germany on June 30, marked the career of Felipão, who since then has accumulated good and bad results. Now, at 73, two decades after his penta, he is looking to revive his career at Athletico Paranaense.
If the success he has been obtaining didn’t seem likely a few months ago, exceeding expectations is not something new for the gaucho, who took over the Brazilian team at a time of difficulty in the Qualifiers. Vanderlei Luxemburgo and Emerson Leão had been hired and fired in the period after the 1998 World Cup, and the classification was threatened.
The spot in the competition that would be played in South Korea and Japan was only secured in the last round of the qualifying tournament, in a triumph over Venezuela. So, Luiz Felipe Scolari made his choices – such as ignoring the popular appeal for Romario and betting on Ronaldo’s recovery after a very serious injury – and started for the trophy.
There were seven games and seven victories in Asia, a campaign built with a system of three defenders. There was defensive solidity – there were four goals conceded, two of them in a 5-2 victory over Costa Rica, in the final round of the group stage, with many reserves on the field – and room for the offensive brilliance of the stars Ronaldinho, Rivaldo and Ronaldo.
More than putting together a tactically strong team, Felipão knew how to unite the squad around himself. Often referred to as “big daddy”, he adopted his tactic of alternating firm shots and stroking. Ronaldo, the great name of the conquest and author of the goals that defined the title against the Germans, calls the old commander a “genius”.
“An extremely experienced, intelligent guy who, above all, supported his group. Felipão was constantly reviewing among us to strengthen this union, because the Brazilian team will always have talent, but get it in your head that each player is important and take the performance of each one is the challenge”, said the now ex-striker, in an interview with ESPN.
“His human side is very special, because the coach is not just tactics, strategy, training. He has to know how to manage a group of people, he has to understand individuality. And Felipão was perfect, he was perfect. There were several episodes in that he wore himself out with the press protecting us. The management on and off the field was impeccable”, he added.
Since then, Scolari has faced greater difficulty in dealing with players. Social networks and teams hired by the athletes themselves, with advisors of all kinds, have significantly changed the profile of the football player. The figure of the big daddy stopped provoking the old effect, and clashes between the coach and his subordinates became frequent.
“We always demanded a little more from the players and obtained a little more. What I see today is that it is already more difficult for us to pass on a situation to them”, he said. “They are a little impaired in the sense that people on the side are telling them to do something else. The cell phone is now very influential in football. A lot happens that we didn’t have in the past.”
The results, although there were important victories, did not follow the rhythm that the gaucho had established until 2002 – before reaching the national team, he already had two Copa Libertadores titles on his resume, with Grêmio and Palmeiras. In the last 20 years, working on three continents, he has accumulated experiences of varied success and experienced remarkable defeats.
From the Brazilian team Felipão went to the Portuguese team. He did a lauded job, but he didn’t get the dreamed European title, a goal interrupted in a hard defeat at home to the underdog Greece. He then had a brief spell at Chelsea, the club for which he won the FA Cup, and played in Uzbekistan before returning to Palmeiras in 2010.
The 2012 Copa do Brasil title was widely celebrated, but contributed to the bad start of the campaign in the Brazilian Championship, which, without Scolari on the bench in the final stretch, would end in another relegation of the alviverde team. Even so, the memories of 2002 led the CBF (Brazilian Football Confederation) to bet on him again.
The triumph in the Confederations Cup filled Brazilians with optimism regarding the 2014 Cup, to be played in Brazil. Then, Germany, defeated in the decision 12 years before, beat the hosts 7-1 with a modern, fast game, and put Scolari, fair or not, the stamp of “outdated”.
His good results in China – he was three-time national champion and Asian champion with Guangzhou – and the 2018 Brazilian title on his return to Palmeiras did not entirely rid him of the taint. “I hear it, and sometimes it hurts,” he said last year. “We have young people who help us, people are on my side with news. There’s nothing out of date.”
Recent experiences at Cruzeiro, which he was unable to remove from the second division, and at Grêmio, which he left on his way, have reignited the harshest criticisms. But Athletico Paranaense decided to put faith in the experienced coach, after failures with the young Alberto Valentim, 47, and Fábio Carille, 48, and has been reaping good results.
There are 14 games so far, with ten wins, three draws and one defeat. The red-black team is in third place in the Brazilian Championship and classified to the round of 16 of the Copa do Brasil. In the round of 16 of Libertadores, he came out ahead of Libertad. And Felipão, rehearsing a new renaissance, seems once again ready to show that “there is nothing out of date”.
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