Luiz Felipe Scolari

Luiz Felipe Scolari, widely known as Felipão, was born on 9 November 1948 in Passo Fundo, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Before becoming one of Brazil’s best-known football managers, he played as a defender for clubs including Caxias, Juventude, Novo Hamburgo and CSA. His coaching career began at CSA in 1982 and later included work in Brazil, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Japan, Portugal, England, Uzbekistan and China. Scolari first achieved major national prominence with Grêmio. He led the Porto Alegre club to the 1994 Copa do Brasil, the 1995 Copa Libertadores and the 1996 Brazilian Championship. Grêmio’s 1995 Libertadores triumph secured a place in the Intercontinental Cup, where the Brazilian side lost on penalties to Ajax after a 0–0 draw in Tokyo. At Palmeiras, Scolari won the Copa do Brasil and Copa Mercosur in 1998, followed by the Copa Libertadores in 1999. Palmeiras reached the Intercontinental Cup that year but were beaten 1–0 by Manchester United. His success with Palmeiras helped lead to his appointment as Brazil coach in 2001, following a difficult qualification campaign for the 2002 World Cup. Brazil won the 2002 FIFA World Cup in South Korea and Japan under Scolari. The team defeated Germany 2–0 in the final in Yokohama, with Ronaldo scoring both goals. Brazil finished the tournament with seven victories in seven matches, and players such as Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho, Cafu and Roberto Carlos formed the core of the squad. The title was Brazil’s fifth men’s World Cup. Scolari subsequently coached Portugal from 2003 to 2008. Portugal reached the final of UEFA Euro 2004 on home soil, losing 1–0 to Greece, and finished fourth at the 2006 World Cup after losing the semifinal to France and the third-place match to Germany. He then managed Chelsea during the 2008–09 season before leaving the club in February 2009. Returning to Palmeiras, Scolari won another Copa do Brasil in 2012. He later coached Brazil again, winning the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup with a 3–0 final victory over Spain. However, Brazil’s 2014 World Cup ended with the famous 7–1 semifinal defeat to Germany in Belo Horizonte. Back at Grêmio, Scolari won the 2017 Copa Libertadores, his second with the club. In 2018, he guided Palmeiras to the Brazilian Championship, adding another major domestic title to a career defined by success in South American and international football.