Saturday, December 19, 2009
FORMER Chelsea boss Luiz Felipe Scolari has broken his silence on his period at Stamford Bridge and suggested a cultural breakdown due to his nationality was responsible for his failure in west London.
The Brazilian, who was sacked in February after seven months in charge at Chelsea, is currently the highest-paid coach in the world, earning a reported €13 million per year at Uzbeki club Bunyodkor.
He confirmed that he is still being paid a severance fee by Chelsea as well.
"I left Chelsea in February but I am still connected to the club," he admitted.
"They are still paying the debt they owe me, as I have to pay my taxes. I would rather not talk about them as I want to end that period as soon as possible so it’s better to say little about it. But I wont deny that I had problems there."
Scolari had fallen out with three senior players at the club – Petr Cech, Michael Ballack and Didier Drogba – and that made his job even tougher.
"I’m not sure what went on," he said. "I am a South American and had my own style of working but not everyone likes that. I don’t have to please A, B or C."
As for his own future, Scolari has ruled out a return to Brazil in 2010 but has his eye on replacing Dunga as national team coach before Brazil host the 2014 World Cup finals.
"I have great memories working in Brazil, and I’m not afraid to do it again in the future. I would like to coach a team in the 2014 World Cup. It would be nice to say goodbye in style at the World Cup in my home in Brazil. Then I can take care of my life."
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