No talk of defeat from Scolari
| Chelsea coach Luiz Felipe Scolari believes his team has the talent to win the battle of the 'invincibles' at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.Former boss Jose Mourinho used to label some of his players as 'untouchables' who could not be dropped, but Scolari wants his team to become unbeatable. Chelsea face Liverpool in a top-of-the-table showdown between the league's two remaining unbeaten teams and Scolari insists his squad can finish the season undefeated. "I don't ever talk about losing," said Scolari. "I know what I need to expect sometimes. But we need to fight to make sure we don't lose. "This is what I want from my players. What I want them to give to me. They don't accept that they might lose. That's why Sunday will be a good game - a clash of the 'invincibles'. "Passion and professionalism are so important. Sometimes you need to give more to the team because you love the team. "Every time I've started as a coach until now, I've wanted to see professional players, and professional with passion. I've seen passion and professionalism in this team. I think it's one of the best teams I've worked with in my life." Scolari knows Liverpool will come to Stamford Bridge looking to continue their own unbeaten start to the campaign. Liverpool may be hampered by the loss of Spanish striker Fernando Torres through injury, but Scolari is not foolish enough to believe his absence gives Chelsea the upper hand. He has already made his players aware of Liverpool's penchant for scoring late goals and winning games. Scolari added: "Their defence may let in one or two goals, but they score three and they win. "They have the power and when they let in one or two goals, they have the confidence to believe they will score three because they've changed four or five games in the last 10 minutes. "They play more freely now. But, if we have a chance to score one or two ourselves, maybe this time they won't have a chance to change the result. "They do give other teams the chance to score, but because they have good players they score plenty themselves. "We need to respect them. They never accept that they will lose. That's the difference now compared with other seasons." Meanwhile, Scolari has told Germany manager Joachim Low to come to their Cobham training ground if he wants to talk to midfielder Michael Ballack. Ballack accused Low of lacking respect for older players such as Torsten Frings in an interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Newspaper earlier this week. His future as Germany captain and his international career are riding on the outcome of the discussion but Scolari was adamant Low would need to come to Cobham to talk to the midfielder. Ballack is currently sidelined with injury after undergoing surgery on his right foot. "He's a player for Chelsea," said Scolari. "If Joachim Low wants to talk with him, I invite the coach of the national team to come here and stay with us one or two days to talk with him. But Ballack can't travel now. "He's recovering and has treatment to undergo with the doctors. It's not well for Ballack or for Germany if he travels. "But, if Joachim wants to talk, it's my pleasure to invite him here to speak with Michael. To travel now is impossible." |
發表於 2008-10-25 06:21 PM
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