Scolari goes nuts after Portugal draw

[Johnny Latino Heat]

Slap Happy Scolari Hits Out At Serbian Player

Portugal’s Brazilian Coach Luiz Felipe Scolari ended the disappointing draw with Serbia at the José Alvalade stadium by losing his rag with Serbian defender Dragutinović and trying to punch the player in the waning moments of the Euro 2008 match…

Slap Happy Scolari Hits Out At Serbian Player

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Portugal were on the verge of slumping to their third draw in a row – the second in four days on home turf in Lisbon – and Felipão’s temper was noticeably frayed. The big man has been known to suddenly flare up before and Wednesday the 12th of September was fireworks day for Big Phil.

Serbia had equalised with a clear offside goal as Branislav Ivanović netted a low nod from Marko Pantelić, the number 9 getting his head to a Dejan Stanković free kick in the 86th minute and the offside number 6 left-footing a shot in; the ball taking a deflection off Paulo Ferreira to throw Ricardo the wrong way and leave the score evened out after a Simão free kick put the hosts ahead.

Scolari had been booed and whistled by sectors of the home crowd unhappy with his conservative coaching and mechanical substitutions. One of his (too late) changes, Ricardo Quaresma, railed against a line call favouring Serbia and that was the spark that ignited Felipão’s powder keg.

As players and coaching staff invaded the pitch Scolari faced off with 31 year-old Sevilla FC centre-back Ivica Dragutinović, recently seen trying to help Antonio Puerta breathe just after the Spaniard suffered what would be the first of a fatal series of heart attacks. Words were exchanged and Scolari flipped at Dragu.

The tactician visibly snapped and unleashed a half-hearted (yet closed fist) punch that grazed the player’s cheek. Dragu was shocked for a second – Deco’s eyes also widening as he tried to call his fellow Brazilian back to common sense – and then also blew, trying to get at Scolari and having to be held back by his team-mates.

Dragu wagged his finger at the Coach and the words ‘Hijo de Puta’ (son of a bitch) could be lip-read as he calmed down and then re-ignited, leaving the pitch with his head shaking in disbelief at Scolari’s attempt. Referee Markus Merk rapidly shut things down with 45 seconds of the two-minute injury time remaining.

It remains to be seen what will happen in the wake of such unsporting behaviour on the part of the Brazilian Coach, who also needs to clarify if there was any provocation and, if so, exactly what it was. With Zidane’s World Cup loss of grace still fresh in the memory and still being sorted out, the last thing football needs is similar short fuses.

Edited September 13, 2007 by Johnny Latino Heat