Futbol and soccer : the overrated Mr. Scolari.

Talent is the ability to money one success into a full career.

What did Luis Felipe Scolari win ? One World Cup. Not with Greece. With Brazil. Given a dream team cast, he extracted a sub-par performance out of them.

Where, then, did he take Portugal ? Into the wall. 3 times : 2 Euros, including one at home (when you lose twice in two weeks to Greece, you may not blame it on surprise or bad luck), and one World Cup.

His legacy: behave like thugs in defeat. True, he had apt pupils.

What to expect from his Chelsea jig ? A rich severance package before season end. Unlike Mourinho and Benitez, Scolari is the old-fashioned and hot-tempered Latin type. Watch him on the side-lines, he does not even wear a suit.

Do not hold your breath for above-average foreign language skills, either : zero communications with the cheque-signing Tzar, the tickets-buying Brits and the high-rolling world pudding workforce are guaranteed.

What if Chelsea actually wins the Premier League, the FA Cup, the Champions' League ? Money eventually talks; players coach themselves ; Adam Grant would have achieved as much, had he started last season in charge.

(PM)