Luiz Felipe Scolari made his name as a coach with Gremio when he won the Libertadores Cup, Brazilian championship and Copa Brasil with the Porto Alegre club between 1993 and 1996.
Former Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari made a losing return to Gremio when they were beaten 2-0 at arch-rivals Internacional on Sunday in his first game since he was re-appointed by the club where he made his name. Felipao (Big Phil) took charge of his first club game almost exactly a month after his Brazil team were humiliated 7-1 by Germany in their World Cup semi-final.
Chile midfielder Charles Aranguiz headed Internacional in front from Fabricio’s cross in the 62nd minute, just as Gremio appeared to be taking charge of the game at the Beira-Rio. Claudio Winck added the second with a breakaway goal as Internacional extended their unbeaten run against Gremio to nine matches.
Scolari made his name as a coach with Gremio when he won the Libertadores Cup, Brazilian championship and Copa Brasil with the Porto Alegre club between 1993 and 1996. He also had a brief spell in charge in 1987.
The volatile 65-year-old went on to lead Brazil to their fifth World Cup title in 2002 and then took Portugal to the Euro 2004 final and the World Cup semi-final two years later.
He returned as Brazil coach but his reputation was left in tatters by their performance at the World Cup last month. Internacional, second in the table, moved within two points of leaders Cruzeiro, who drew 0-0 at Criciuma.
Former Manchester City, Real Madrid and AC Milan forward Robinho also made an unhappy return to a former club as Santos lost 1-0 at home to Corinthians in his first game back.
Robinho was raised at Santos and left the club nine years ago for Europe, where he never managed to live up to his early promise.
Santos had midfielder Alison sent off for a second bookable offence at the end of the first half and Gil headed the winner from a corner with seven minutes to play.
Statistics ‘prove” Premier League progress
English soccer has always been renowned for its pace, power and tough-tackling but new research appears to quantify the idea that current Premier League teams are playing a different game now than as recently as six years ago.
A study conducted by the University of Sunderland and Chris Barnes, the Head of Sports Science at West Bromwich Albion, analysed the physical and technical performance levels of more than 1,000 Premier League players over 23,000 “match observations”.
Over a seven-season period from 2006/07 to 2012/13 the findings showed how the English top flight has transformed its approach from long balls and 4-4-2 formations into a league dominated by passing, possession and high-intensity.
After watching Barcelona enjoy great success with their tiki-taka style, many English clubs have tried to perfect their own versions of possessional play.
Titled, “The Evolution of Physical and Technical Performance Parameters in the English Premier League,” the study showed that players in the 2012/13 season produced 40 percent more passes with a greater success rate than in 2006/07.
Despite that increase, players in the 2012/13 season completed 84 percent of their passes compared to 76 percent in 2006/07.
“We can clearly see the evolution within the game between 2006/07 and 2012/13,” Paul Bradley from the University of Sunderland said.
“It is likely that this is a consequence of players developing physically, technically and tactically in their preparation.
“This now gives professional clubs new benchmarks to be set in terms of typical physical, technical and tactical levels. It will also help with the recruitment of players because clubs can look at their capabilities and whether they will fit into the hustle and bustle of the English game and the various tactical systems used.”
As the frenetic pace of the Premier League takes it toll on the players it is hoped the research can be used to aid training programmes in the future.
“There is a commonly-held belief that the Premier League has become faster and more physically demanding over recent years,” Barnes said. “This research provides the first objective evidence to back up those beliefs.
“It identifies the specific areas where the game has developed both physically and technically, and thus the findings are of tremendous value to coaches and conditioning staff.”