Ex-Chelsea boss Luiz Felipe Scolari revealed he has been sacked at the Blues job for seven months following the absences of Drogba and Anelka – The US Sun

LUIZ FELIPE SCOLARI revealed bankruptcies involving Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka that led to his sacking as Chelsea boss.

The world champion Brazilian, 73, replaced Avram Grant in the Stamford Bridge dugout in the summer of 2008 but lasted just seven months before getting the boot.

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And in an interview with Yellow and Green Football, “Big Phil” detailed the problems that developed during his brief stay in west London.

The first was with Drogba and the conflicting views within the club on how best to help him recover from surgery.

Scolari, now Athletico Paranaense coach, said: “Chelsea had some problems with injuries, some problems with the team. I had a leadership style that clashed with one or two players.”

When asked which members of the squad are special, he confirmed: “Anelka and Drogba. Our medical department thought we should let Drogba go and recover in Cannes in the middle of summer.

“I thought he should stay in London. I would also like to go to Cannes in the middle of summer. I would stay there for a month, two months to enjoy myself.”

After Drogba’s return, team-mate and newcomer Anelka was the league’s top scorer with 19 goals.

Scolari was therefore keen to work out how to include both strikers in the starting XI – but the Frenchman was reluctant to adapt.

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The ex-coach added: “When he came back I tried to adapt so that Drogba and Anelka could play together.

“Anelka was the top scorer in the league. We had a meeting and Anelka said: ‘I only play in one position.’

“So there was a bit of a lack of friendship, of respect, of playing with Drogba.

“They were both great but someone had to do something different to come back to help when we lost the ball.

“It changed a bit back then. But since then we’ve met, me and Drogba. The last time was in Russia in 2018. We spoke openly about it.

“There was no ill intent from him or Anelka. But it happened and I missed one of the great opportunities of my life.”

Carlo Ancelotti later managed to convince Anelka and Drogba to play together when Chelsea won the double in 2010.

Both forwards left Chelsea in 2012 – Anelka joined Chinese Super League club Shanghai Shenhua in January and Drogba joined him six months later after securing the Blues’ maiden Champions League crown.

Scolari’s tenure at Stamford Bridge is considered a failure.

A 2-0 defeat by Liverpool followed by a 0-0 draw with Hull in early February spelled the end and Guus Hiddink came on as interim boss for the remainder of the season.

Since then, Scolari has managed clubs in Brazil, China and Uzbekistan and overseen Brazil’s home World Cup, which ended in an embarrassing 7-1 win over Germany in the semi-finals.

Speaking of leaving England and against the Germans that night, Big Phil added: “I wanted to keep working in England. I would work in any club. I think it’s great.

“We played against Portsmouth and Sunderland. In stadiums that hold 20,000 people, 19,000 cheer on their city’s team. I really like that. They don’t support the big clubs, they support their clubs.”

On the World Cup debacle, he added: “We lost because of our mistakes. They were excellently exploited by Germany. It was an image disaster, especially in Brazil.

“It was the biggest bomb, the biggest disaster the Selecao has ever suffered. I was the person most closely linked to the disaster. I was the one most to blame.

“When Brazil won in 2002, I wasn’t the greatest hero. We were all heroes. I was expecting us all [would be blamed in 2014]that the press would acknowledge that Brazil lost. But it was not like that.”

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