大象传媒

Fascinating... these blogs are really adding to the atmosphere of the world cup. Good work, guys.

Just one question, though, how does doing a 'sit down' interview instead of a 'walk and talk' prevent the portugese media getting wind of the interview?

I know there are usually many sides to a story, but if in fact what Scolari says about the England post is true, then I think the entire selection panel need sacking.

They've rushed the entire process, not got the best man for the job and the nation will be forced to endure another 4 or 5 years without a chance of european or world cup glory because of passionless, tactically inept management.

Leonardo has most definitely been an added bonus to the team of pundits!

Couldn't agree more with what TBFB wrote in post 2.

The entire process was a shambles from start to finish and pretty much ended up back at square one with the guy thats already there in some capacity already.

Good Afternoon,

Good interview with Scolari. Well if we go by Scolari's words then it is a pity that the FA's own ego got the better of them and that hopefully they will learn on how to go about employing a manager in the future.
Wanting to announce Scolari as the new England manager prior to the World Cup would have put him in a very precarious situation and he was right not to want that situation. But the FA (who continue to shoot themselves in the foot) could not wait for quality and settled for 2nd best - a manager who has not proven himself at this level.
If only they had not committed themselves to an announcement date, but instead explained a reason for waiting until after the World Cup.

As Mr Soclari said, the FA did everything right with the approach, but when it came to the delivery their ego got the better.

Good Luck to one and all!!

I couldn't agree more with Matthew Preston's comment. Doing a little bit of (very) amateur stuff along these lines myself, it's good to see that the professionals' methods don't differ enormously from my own, even if their abilities, resources and end-results do!

I must agree all blogs on this site have been an intersting read. The 大象传媒 have done an excellent job in this world cup and kept me compelled throughout. I avidly await new posts on the bbc website, and then switch over to the television to hear the latest analysis from Alan Hansen and the boys. The quality of entertainment has been an utter contrast to that of ITV of whom have always left me unfulfilled.
Come on England!

I have to agree here. If McClaren was picked just because they lacked the sense to wait for 2 months, then they should be fired. This is the reason for passing on one of the best coaches in the world? Even Scolari's reasons for saying no had 'class'.

Tactically, England has not moved forward in the last few years and the last England coach that had the ability to change a game was Venables, and that was 10 years ago. It so disppointing to see England play like this when they have so many good players at their disposal.

Now we have to put up with someone who's resume is that he coached Middlesboro instead of the person who coached Brazil to a World Cup. Good grief!!!

Well done on getting Leonardo. A great addition to the pundits already used. It never ceases to amaze me how as a Brazilian his English is superb. Would love to see on match of the dy next season. Although the delights of Bolton v Sheffield Utd and Aston Villa v Watford are not the beautiful game but if he castigates Big Sam or Warnock the way has a pop at Fat Ron it will be a joy to watch.

Not sure if you any noticed Big Phil during the last Portugal game, he was on the touchline the whole game, shouting instructions, encouraging players.

Steve Mclaren on the other hand never even moved or broke a smile when England scored against Sweden.

Big Phil would urge his players to 'die for Portugal', Svennis would plead with his players to 'try a bit harder if it's okay with you boys'

Big Phil wants to win, Sven and Stve m want to take part - lets hope the players can motivate themselves!

Hi guys

Thanks for your comments. The reason we had to do the interview sitting down as opposed to a walk-and-talk is that the media could have seen us conducting the interview and would have doubtlessly tried to race over to our position. As it was, we were in a marquee, oblivious to anyone else!

Cheers

Glen (World Cup Daily Producer)

Bloody hell, what a story!

I too enjoyed the interview with Scolari. I have nothing against Mclaren but it is a shame we never got Scolari.

Congrats 大象传媒 on the interview but also well done on getting Leonardo his input is spot on, also my wife now seems to take more interest in post match punditry, I wonder why?

I think you just summed up the attitude of England haven't you. "it's the taking part that counts". I love the passion of many of the foreign managers and players. For some reason we just don't seem to have it.

McLaren doesn't strike me as a passionate mananger and thats a shame, I think we messed up big style trying to rush Scolari into the job he could of taken us all the way.

Superb interview by the way, was nice to see such a frank and from the heart discussion.

Big Phil..... we will miss you. I just hope that the FA will learn from this and won't mess up again in the future.

On another note, it is really funny how you guys had to hide to get the interview without inteference. Nice......

The foreign pundits are really proving their worth on the Beeb with their eloquence, dignified manner and great insight. Leonardo and Marcel Desailly have been the two best signings the 大象传媒 have made for World Cup 2006. Let's see more of them after the tournament has ended.

Paul Rooney,
Glasgow.

I can only echo the comments above - an excellent interview, and an excellent addition to the team in Leonardo.

another 4 or 5 years without a chance of european or world cup glory because of passionless, tactically inept management

Amazing how the England players get away with murder and all the blame is put on the 'passionless' coach. To call a manager of Eriksson's reputation, success and experience 'tactically inept' is a bit rich really.

Do you ever think that maybe the players are to blame for being poor tactically, or simply overrated and believing their own hype? The way they've played so far I feel that even Scolari couldn't have done much about that.

Leo's interview with Scolari was excellent and in its own way was indicative of why England haven't a cat in hells chance of winning the WC. Unlike a certain Scandanavian-both have excellent football brains,ethics,empathy with the players,respect for others..do I need to continue? Sacking the Swede to then employ him another few months when we could have a a truly world class coach!! FA-describes their knowledge of football perfectly!!

there is something about Latin American footballing outlook isn't there? They live it. We just love it.They are passionate but also rational and sensible. The comments during the Brazil Japan game were spot on. No 70 yard passes to no-one--maybe a 50 yard ball from one full back to the other.All quick through the middle and quick down the wings--no Carragher standing on it and then passing it backwards. Oh so damn good to watch

It might be an exclusive interview as the person is big man Scolari. The world could see his strong mentality in the last world cup that took Brazil to their 鈥淧enta鈥� victory in the world cup. I can still remember one of his speeches during the last world cup where he said that being runner-up means being the best among the looser. I hope you will let us know about what he said with you about his refusal to be the England manager and other issues.

Leonardo and Phil are both pure class. English footballers, in Maradona's words, are noble but it never seems to tranlate into fascinating football...

Everyone seems to love this Leonardo fella. Is this the same Leonardo who broke someone's jaw with a rather tasty elbow during USA 1994? I seem to remember he was banned for the offence, much like Italy's De Rossi this time around. I wonder will Lineker ask Leonardo for his opinion on the De Rossi episode...

Great interview. The whole thing left me feeling very annoyed.. Here we have a world cup wining coach who's honour and class wouldn't let him take the job early due to his commitments to Portugal..Surely this was good sign to wait for him unlike a certain Swedish mercenary who appears to have none of these qualities and whose favourite movie quote seems to be "show me the money"

To Martin O'Neill, Lee Dixon & Ian Wright et al,
Yes, you're right, you probably wouldn't get a look in if you walked into a night club with Leonardo. We (oldish) ladies may never see him in a night club but he has certainly brightened our days watching the World Cup on 大象传媒. Absolutely Charming in the best sense of the word. Well done whoever chose him as a presenter and thanks!!

I loved the Scolari interview! Leonardo is a natural.
The 大象传媒 should give him a full-time spot on MOTD next season...the ladies definitely love him!

If I remember rightly he was sent off for elbowing the American midfielder Tab Ramos in the cheek. Give him credit though - he apologised and claimed that the contact was accidental. I think De Rossi beats him for sheer cynicism.

His strength on camera is that he appears natural rather than reverting to 'the pundit' role assumed by so many UK ex-professionals...

I feel such a great pain regarding the results posted by England at every world cup stage. England has all it takes to clinch the covetted but elusive cup. I have managed to narrow the problem down to the FA and the English press. Whereas the FA can be overbearing towards the coaches, the press demand what only angels could give.

A way out of this logjam is for both the FA, press and fans to put their acts together and support the next coach, whoever it may be; bearing in mind cultural differences in case a foreign coach is appointed. The press should be less judgemental and allow them some privacy because they are human. The fans should measure their enthusiasm by being realistic in their expectations. The FA should speak to Scolari again; its about time the world cup came home!

Brazil played its best.

As a Brazilian, I'd have loved to see Scolari coach the English team. Call me crazy, but that honor would be almost as great as winning a World Cup. It鈥檚 too bad it didn鈥檛 work out.

In reply to Post 20:

I certainly agree players must take a responsibility for their performances but from reading recent articles about the half time team talks, they seem to be less than inspiring from SGE. Like any collective unit a football team require good strong leadership on and off the pitch to get the best from the players. Something we don鈥檛 have in either manager or captain. Something you would get from Scolari.

I coin the phrase 鈥渢actically inept鈥� as if Plan A doesn鈥檛 work; we often haven鈥檛 got a Plan B or C that works either. SGE may have been a good manager in Italy but I think his style is non-complementary to the English game and doesn鈥檛 have the vision to drastically alter his approach when needed. Suspect squad selections, no forward thinking and inability to trust younger players amongst other things. Maybe you think I am being harsh, but for that amount of money you except people to deliver and I don鈥檛 think he鈥檚 capable of doing it. At any rate I would love him to prove me wrong.

Now you have identified Leonardo as an a pundit who can deliver insightful and thoughtful comments on a game without hysteria or playing to the gallery, please sign him for next season. A true professional who delivers without the incessant 'dumbing down' that seems to invade all other punditry.

Its interesting that Scolari says, "Being coach of England is a dream for every coach in the world and I was very happy when the talks happened," and yet we end up with Steve McLaren! I think a lot of coaches may like the idea intellectually, but five minutes talking to the geniuses at the FA and then seeing how they'll be treated in The Sun the next day is enough to send the good coaches running for the hills.

Leonardo has been a joy to listen to over this tournament. Well done to the 大象传媒 for bringing him in and his close reletionship with Scolari made for an open and quite excellent interview.

大象传媒3 could maybe try and bring a South American football magazine type show to our shores and Leonardo would be the perfect host.

The Leonardo is good equipment for 大象传媒, I like him, he does a nice voice, I like.

Leonardo is a great pundit, I find his views very interesting and hope you can sign him for MOTD, internationals and even Cup games.

Great now that Leo's a star, please get rid of hapless Garth Crooks, Martin O'Neill, idiotic Adrian Chiles, Ian Wright, Mark 'I'm really popular' Lawrenson and the miserable Mick McCarthy and allow Leo to begin the new transitional period please!

Great interview. Thanks 大象传媒!!.

I have nothing against Mclaren (and I hope him all the best) but to miss out on this truly excellent manager just because the FA wanted to announce the new England manager before the World Cup seems, to me, absolutely crazy.

Maybe some of the newspapers should share a part of the blame for this situation as , if I remember correctly, they forced the early resignation announcement from Sven with the scandal they generated.

its obvious guys. leonardo for next england manager. please FA?

leonardo is a great pundit
sign him up for match of the day next season
what a legend!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sack Mclaren and offer the job to big Phil.
Officially Mclaren is not in the job so why cant the FA withdraw the job offer?
Like anyone has the sense and the balls to do this at the FA?

yea i think leo is a great pundit too, however only for the this tournament in particular, as hes able to give unique views on south american teams etc. how hed fare in the premiership i don't know.

the interview was excellent, very revealing. i have alot more respect for big phil now and loath the FA with a passion. We've lost out on any tournament success for about the next decade. The FA should have relied on his word that he'd come to england, and not be put off by a lack of signature on paper. They should've waited and we could have had a world class manager. It'd be good if they sacked Steve Mac after euro 2008 and brought in big phil for the following world cup.

All these blogs and web sites and interviews. Plenty to say about how fat Ronaldo is but what about some information on the other palyers?
For example, could one single journalist devote some inches to the fact that Adriano was left out of the starting 11?
Is He injured? Will He play again? I dont know, coz you aint telling us!
Sort it out.

Leonardo for Prime Minister! I'm sure he would win hands down.

Last Christmas my family was bumped off an Al Italia flight to Brazil. We were bumped off to make way for Leonardo and family According to the Al Italia check-in woman, who was every bit as outraged as I was, AC Milan employees as famous as Leonardo are allowed to roll up any time they like and leave you weeping at the airport. Leonardo arrived with the all the Brazilians who play for Milan at the very moment I was presenting my tickets. He jumped in front of me as if it was his birthright. Therefore, I feel less inclined to join in the mutual backsplapping of this blog. Leonardo was a good left-back and midfielder but, from what I've seen in my time living in Brazil, not such a good pundit. Scolari on the other hand is tremendous value, especially when riled. That said, Scolari holds opinions that would have him arrested in many parts of the world, so come on 大象传媒, stop the sycophancy!
Incidentally, of the Brazilian stars - Kaka, Dida, Serginho - only Cafu had the decency to not jump the queue that freezing night in Milan, instead waving to Leonardo (the leader) from the back of the queue with his finger to signal that he wasn't prepared to pull rank. He did eventually take the plane but had the decency to give the twenty of us bumped off the plane an embarrassed look of apology.

What a surprise most of the comments here are having a go at england the management and the players.
Can you all please go home and shut up!!!
England have topped their group!!
Engerland have the respect of the footballing nations due to the management and leadership of the team over the past 3 years, before the sweden game we had won 8 on the trot, are you people missing something????
The team is passionate, being english is being passionate and if anyone out there thinks the team are there only to take part then I am sure you are mistaken.
For the boys lets get behind them, the team is what they are, the management and the backroom staff are who they are, we cant change that, they have the ability to win this tournament and believe me Ecuador will be no problem for our boys.
Come on England, becks et al!!!!

A footnote, SM lets give him a chance he is the manager so people get over it!

that interview was fantastic, yes he would be a good pundit, but I feel the emphasis on ex professionals is unbalanced. For the majority of their career they see 1 dimension and that is from their position on the pitch. I feel it is also good to have journalists opinions, people who have studied the game for years covering every aspect.

also i've mentioned it before and i'll say it again, am i alone in being totally repulsed by alan shearer??

Quite clearly what Scolari possesses that most do not in football is integrity. This quality translates to pride in honouring one's word. In a world where huge amounts of money can be received for the smallest action such as breaking of one's contract, you have to say that it is rare. Wenger seems to possess it too. And what I remember is that David Dein was thrown off the top table at the FA for pushing for Scolari, who would have been a far better coach than McLaren. I recall when the FA were looking for a coach previously, Cruyff was in the frame, but he wanted to completely change the way football is coached in this country, from the smallest kids up, to make it more skills based rather than win at all costs, and what happened? This was too much for the FA and someone else was selected. If only we had some strong leaders with integrity!

leonard is legend he and alan hansen are the two best bbc pundits and in my view the two best at the world cup. Itv has rubbish coverage the bbc should get all the england games cos there analysis is the best. Lets have leonardo on permiership motd next season. He is consice,(correct spelling?,accurate and articlulate. All the importants qualities a pundit needs. And on top of that all the ladies adore him! What more could you want.

Of course the FA handled the appointment appalingly. Other than creating the illusion that they acted in a decisive manner, there was absolutely no reason to committing to an announcement before the World Cup. But, please, also remember that at the time the media and the vast majority of the fans had set their hearts on an English manager. Had the FA waited to appoint Scolari they would have been crucified for delaying the decision as well as for lack of patriotism.

Agree with everything you've said about Leonardo...great to listen to his thoughts on a game or player. He always seems so reasonable and fair in his comments. Once again, Martin O'neil is also a great person to have with you. I always appreciate what he has to say. Never speaking without thinking very carefully and he's so coherant. Especially like it when he starts off on something and then realises that he's getting too depp or carried away and he shuts up...very endearing to watch!! Keep up the good work, all of you. So much better than ITV!!

I thought the interview with Scolari was brilliant and proved that he really is the manager any nation would love to have. He was frank and compassionate about his job and is well aware that his carrer is in its height at the moment. I have always kept an eye on Big Phil career since he started managing Gremio in Brazil and clearly he has probably built one of the best CV out there. And the bonus of the interview was Leonardo. Perhaps without him the interview would not have been as open. Long live Scolari and Leonardo, treasures of the football world.

I agree totally with everyone when they say that the two foreign pundits ie Leo and Marcel have added something extra special to the 大象传媒's world cup coverage as does my new High definition box ( just to make you jealous ), but i also feel that Martin O'Neill has brought an honesty and experience as a coach to the team. He has a wealth of knowledge and can summarise from a coach's point of view. Keep up the good work.

Hi

What an interview that was, I have been waiting to see this guy Leo to appear on the 大象传媒 WC 06 since day one. He was a world class player and now a complete pundit who reads the game and also makes precise comments on players and the match in general.
Well done to 大象传媒 on getting Leo, he is a great addition to the 大象传媒 and so many people love to see him on television including ladies.
As for the interview with Big Phil, I hope that everyone understood his position after the interview, the FA have rushed things and had put him under severe pressure and in the end he did the right thing for turning down the job. He loves England and didn鈥檛 rule himself out that one day he might manage England if given the opportunity. This guy is well known for sticking to his rules and is not the kind of guy you mess up with. The FA got it wrong and what we need now as an England fan is that the FA should tell us what he said to them about turning down the job; there must be something more into it and not only what was concluded in the interview.
Finally thanks to 大象传媒 and Leo and all those involved in conducting the interview. By the way Leo鈥檚 English is supe

Absolutley awesome. Thats how i sum up the 大象传媒's coverage and choice of pundit's for the WC'06 coverage. Marcel, wrighty & leanardo are brilliant and tell it like it is. People to tend to relate more to what former recent players have to say rather than 50yr old has been's. Would love to see leanardo on MOTD, or even playing again, one of the worlds true greats. :)

What a coup by the 大象传媒 to get Leonardo who is without a shadow of a doubt the best pundit i have seen in years.Lots of knowledge and charm who appeals to all viewers.
大象传媒, For once...Well done!

Loving Leonardo on the bbc pundit team, adds something totally different that weve never had, a whole new insight rather than the "all british" minded comments.
And he seems to bring a big click to the whole team.
I used to switch off after the game and flick over at half times, but now i find myself sitting there after the games to listen to the comments and the crack in the pundit team when hes on it.
Hope he gets a part in match of the day with wrighty hansen and lineker because they all seem to click together with some great crack.

I could not agree more with Mark Devey. It's been refreshing to see actual thoughtful and constructive analysis of a game as opposed to Ian 'Wrong' Wright murdering the English language everytime he open his mouth to ramble something incoherently.

On a related note, I was interested to hear that pundits keep apologising after they get a bit 'too techincal'. Is this some sort of 大象传媒 mandate, that they must keep it simple for the viewers? These 'experts' are here to tell us things that we don't know, or wouldn't realise, because they have inside knowledge we don't! What is the use of pundits if all they are going to tell us is "He'll be dissapointed with missing that.".

I could get that kind of insight from my 5 year old.

wonderful interview between leonardo and scolari. Qualities like honesty, warmth and loyalty all there. Leonardo is a great pundit and very easy on the eye but i would like to say that Alan Hanson is so strong, i think he's half the reason gary looks so good.

Good and interesting comments. I just need to take issue with Ernest Opara (post 32) when he says "its about time the World Cup came HOME!". The French invented it, the Brazilans have won it 5 times, the Germans and Italians 3 - surely they have more reason to call their conutry the World Cup's "home".

What a refreshingly honest man Scolari came across as. I don't think the FA deserved him!

I couldn't agree more about the comments regarding Leo. He's been an absolute pleasure to watch & listen to. Concise, measured comments, commmon sense and perfect command of English! Very impressive keepy uppy skills too!

The FA is run by old aged, overweight ex-businessmen NOT footballers, managers or even sportsmen. Football is about passion and England deserves better. Maclaren is as passionate as we're going to get but he'd not the best manager. I can't understand how South Korea, Australia and now Russia end up with managers who take raw talent and mould it into top international sides. England has the talent....give us one of those managers.

I think FA knows where they stand. Now the breed of owen, terry, ferdinend, lampard, cole, becham, would last till next world cup. I think these are not only world class players they are above that. The next european and world cup are very crucial, and sorry to say steve is not the coach u want to have. I belive the coach would be the weekest link in the team.

Now FA have a chance after the world cup they can sack steve and ask scolaries to take over.

HOW about it? :)

I went to the same school as Leonardo did in Rio.
He is certainly a local pride.
Scolari is a target oriented person. He was right all the way on the FA deal. He takes a lot of credit for the 2002 Cup. I must say that when he coaches England it will be the time for you to go further in a World Cup or Euro. Till then, you will have to put up with Sven, who I find to be a bad taste joke.

Missed out on Scolari! Dein removed! McLaren appointed! Still everyone thinks they know better than the FA and the Manager.

The press are the most greedy unsupportive aspect in sport in UK. Sven is villified and glorified as long as it sells papers. The truth doesn't matter.

England are performing to the best of their football education. England are not full of bare foot talent like the Africans or South Americans. Football is a simple game with complex interpretation.

England can win the World cup with the squad Sven chose.

The Highbury squirrel dropped a Walnut. That Walnut will shine brighter than the 'Black Diamond' and Sven will earn his bonus and more papers will be sold.

So, there we have it!!

England v Portugal.

How right Scolari was. Any announcement by the FA, prior to the WC, (had Scolari been selected), to succeed SGE would have compromised his position. He knew what he was talking about, it is a pity the FA did not know what they were talking about and could not see beyond their own Egos.

Whilst I believe he would have been the best choice for the next England manager, it is now pay back time. England Portugal EC 2004, England Brazil WC 2002. C'mon England!!!

Oops! Forgot about that incident with Leo against the Yank. Does this start the backlash and will he get the elbow....

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Oops! Forgot about that incident with Leo against the Yank. Does this start the backlash and will he get the elbow....