September 25th, 2008
01:47 PM ET

Scolari the entertainer

What a breath of fresh air! Luiz Felipe Scolari has reinvigorated Premier League coverage for journalists, giving us plenty of material to analyze and the discuss.

[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/images/09/25/art.scolari.jpg caption="Scolari's unique sense of humor is making Chelsea's news conferences entertaining once again."]

After the lack of charisma and personality of the previous Chelsea manager Avram Grant, this is a blessing! It would be fair to say there has not been a love affair so intense between the media and a manager since the arrival of Jose Mourinho.

When the Portuguese coach hit the English shore and proclaimed he was "The Special One", he gave the English press plenty of meat to sink their teeth into. Scolari may not see himself as being special, but he certainly is a joy to watch and hear.

I have had the pleasure of attending several Scolari press conferences this season, and they have all featured at least one or two comments that have made me smile or chuckle - the so called "gold nuggets".

There was the first press conference, back in August, when he was asked whether he was going to sign Kaka. His reply? "This is the time for speculation. As well as Kaka, I can sign Joao, Pedro, Ambrosio and also, how about these friends of mine from the Portuguese press? I can sign them too....."

When he addressed the media before his first Champions League game against Bordeaux, Felipao was at his best. The Brazilian manager was asked if he was planning to rest some players, considering Chelsea had a match against Manchester United four days later. No-one could have predicted his reaction: "I am not resting any players because the match against Bordeaux is the only match I am thinking about. You know why? Because I may die before Sunday. So this match now is the most important!" Classic...

His sense of humor has impressed the traditionally tough English journalists, and if the positive results continue to roll in, then we will surely continue to see the lighthearted and joking nature of Big Phil.

What will happen if Chelsea loses? That'll be interesting to see... From my time following him in Portugal, I can tell you that he does have quite a temper! Whatever his reaction, one thing is for sure - there should be plenty of material for us journalists to feast on!

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Filed under:  Football