Quick which one? Or both?
As per Chelsea, two days ago it was Robinho that was supposed to alight on Stamford Bridge on a bid of £40m. Today it is Kaka for double the price. How about importing the whole Brazilian and Portugese team and rendering the Premiership moot? Having Big Phil makes these pipe dreams possible.
But first. What happened to the cost cutting Roman Abramovich? The one that was feted for his 2007 freebies, Claudio Pizzarro, Steve Sidwell and Tal Ben Haim and like the Grinch, stole Mourinho’s X’mas. When that happened there was a glimmer that maybe Chelsea wasn’t into buying a title. Well, this year Mr Moneybags reverted to type and has already blown 50m on Anelka, Jose Bosingwa, Deco, Branislav Ivanovic, and Franco Di Santo. With Scolari as the gaffer, Abramovich has re-discovered his giddy schoolgirl days which went missing in the monochromatic Avram Grant era which got him bupkis. In this courtship dance with Scolari everything feels pretty, oh so pretty!
Big Phil Scolari knows that there is a downside to doing business with owners like Abramovich where every investment has a depreciative value. This is his moment to be shrill and demanding because he must have observed Rainieri and especially Mourinho wane in power as the years went by. He benefits from a straight line between a deep pocketed owner and a manager at the present moment with his transfer demands.
Jose Bosingwa and Deco’s arrival have enhanced Scolari’s status and further emboldened him. Public calls to bring on caliber players like Kaka and Robinho puts the onus on the Chelsea owner because a season from now Scolari might have difficulties buying a ball of string.