Luiz Felipe Scolari held his first news conference as Chelsea manager on Tuesday.

Regular vlogonthepitch pundit Pedro Redig attended the event and spoke to journalists from Brazil (Fernando Duarte, O Globo) and Portugal (Alexandre Albuquerque, RTP) where Scolari made a name for himself as an international manager.

Pedro also got some British reaction from Sky Sports News reporter Nick Collins.

Will Big Phil continue to wow the press pack or might he be exposed by a lack European club experience?

Let us know your views.

However Chelsea’s fortunes unfold on the field during the coming season, the presence of new manager Luiz Felipe Scolari at Stamford Bridge should guarantee no shortage of entertainment off it.

Scolari gave an impressive performance on Tuesday in his first news conference since taking the helm of the London club, speaking in excellent English and providing Chelsea’s fans with exactly the news they wanted to hear about Frank Lampard staying.

They also got a first taste of their new coach’s charisma. If Avram Grant cut a grey figure compared to his colourful, soundbite-friendly predecessor Jose Mourinho — aka ‘The Special One’ — nobody will be complaining about Scolari lacking personality.

Speaking with a twinkle in his eye, the Brazilian World Cup-winning coach said he was special only to his loved ones and a “so-so” coach.

For those who witnessed the wide range of facial expressions at his news conferences as Portugal manager, none of this would have come as a surprise. He may resemble the actor Gene Hackman but he is a showman in his own right, a great bear-like figure who needs little invitation to display his emotions.

When his players’ tempers were rising during the group-stage defeat by Switzerland at Euro 2008, he stood on the touchline like an angry schoolmaster, his index finger held to his mouth in a gesture telling them to stop their back chat to the referee.

Yet the big hug he gave injured Switzerland striker Alexander Frei on the same
evening showed his avuncular side too.

My favourite Scolari memory came from Portugal’s meeting with England at the
2006 World Cup.

He looked every inch the kindly uncle when, down at pitchside in Gelsenkirchen, he joked around with a group of English schoolchildren — posing for pictures, giving the thumbs-down to the Gerrard on the back of one boy’s England shirt, and even pulling the tail of tournament mascot Goleo the lion. This less than an hour before a World Cup game.

Chelsea players and fans alike should have little difficulty in warming to Scolari. It is easy to imagine opposition supporters getting their share of fun from having Big Phil around too.

PHOTO: Scolari gestures during a news conference at Cobham in southern England as he is unveiled as the new Chelsea manager. July 8. REUTERS/Toby Melville

UEFA’s decision to banish mild-mannered coach Joachim Loew from the touchline for Thursday’s quarter-final against Portugal is being put down to anti-German feeling by a lot of people here, a suspicion fanned by the angry response from German FA bosses.

It’s not the first time Germany have been hit with what neutral observers (I’d like to consider myself one of those) might view as a rather harsh penalty just before a critical match.

It recalled the suspension of Torsten Frings on the eve of the World Cup semi-final against Italy two years ago, for his relatively minor role in a post-match scuffle with
Argentina players. Germans also remember that they had to do without Michael Ballack for the World Cup final in 2002, although that was a more straightforward decision.

Is it a general dislike of Germans? Are there influential people that don’t want to see the country that has won three European Championships (1972, 1980 and 1996) and three World Cups (1954, 1974, 1990) succeed again?

Bierhoff was quick to dismiss such an idea at an eve-of-match press conference in Basel but he was annoyed in the extreme.

“These are isolated cases,” he said. “I don’t think there is a special story going on here. But in this case perhaps a fine would have been sufficient.”

Loew said after the incident that he had just been coming to the aid of Josef Hickersberger, who was also sent off, in urging the fourth official to allow the Austrian freedom to roam in the technical area at pitchside. Loew has no history of criticising referees and he quickly shook hands with Hickersberger as they walked together towards the stands. Loew’s arguments thus seem entirely plausible.

To stunned Germans, it feels like an innocent bystander got whacked around for trying to help. It seems like Loew first got arrested and has now been convicted for being a Good Samaritan.

Erik Kirschbaum, Berlin

PHOTO: Joachim Loew carries a goal during a training session in Tenero, June 17, 2008. REUTERS/Alex Grimm

Total football is everywhere these days, in newspaper headlines and pub conversations. A few exciting performances from attack-minded teams at Euro 2008 and we’re back in the 1970s. Endless guitar solos, long greasy hair and flying Dutchmen.

On one side, you have the likes of Portugal, the Dutch or Spain, a bunch of daring young artists delighting football romantics with their wizardry. On the other side are the usual suspects, Italy and France, ageing cynics boring everybody with their cast-iron back fours and tireless holding midfielders.

Of course, the poets beating the bad guys at the end would be excellent news to the lovers of the beautiful game.

But wait a minute. Isn’t football about winning? That means you have to score one more goal than your opponents, so one’s enough providing you don’t concede any. A rock solid defence, then, is a good way to start.

And what’s wrong with merciless winning machines not allowing their opponents an inch of space and then relentlessly marching forward to get the goal they need? What’s wrong with the thrilling Euro 2000 final between France and Italy or the awe-inspiring AC Milan side of the early 1990s?

Can’t we have a soft spot for warriors compensating limited skills with total dedication to their duty, the team and the playing system? Do a google search and take a look at Didier Deschamps’s record, to name just one famous example.

Cristiano Ronaldo is all very fine but without a Chelsea-flavoured defence keeping shop at the back for Portugal, would he be able to show off his skills?

Football is a team sport and shouldn’t be just about individuals, however brilliant. There is room for different approaches and all are respectable as long as they win matches.

Football doesn’t have to be total, it just needs to be football.

Patrick Vignal, with the French team in Vevey

PHOTO: Cristiano Ronaldo stands on the pitch after the Group A game between Portugal and Czech Republic at Stade de Geneve in Geneva, June 11, 2008. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

There’s just a few hours to go before the Czech Republic take on Portugal and the Koller question is foremost in my mind.

There is no disputing Jan Koller’s impressive goalscoring record - 54 goals in 88 internationals - so you can understand why coach Karel Brueckner picks him time and again.

The problem is that at 35, Koller has definitely slowed down and the only realistic way of him scoring is by using his height advantage (2.02 metres) in the box. He is never going to make darting runs or use dazzling footwork to score. He will either use his head or his bulk and it won’t be pretty.

That was all fine when Czech Republic boasted a fine array of creative midfielders - Pavel Nedved, Karel Poborsky, Vladimir Smicer - who could supply the big man with the perfect ball. Now they have all gone and, as we saw against the Swiss, the Czechs are left seriously lacking in midfield ideas and Koller barely got a decent ball.

Without taking anything away from Koller, isn’t it time Brueckner took a chance on some of the younger forwards in the team, perhaps playing two of them upfront instead of his preferred lone striker formation? Koller would be the perfect player to bring on as a late substitute when they’re looking for a goal.

Koller seems bound to be in the starting XI against Portugal but Brueckner has said there will be some changes.

What do you think would work best? Saturday’s goalscorer Vaclav Sverkos as a second striker? Euro 2004 top scorer Milan Baros alongside Koller? Or does young forward Martin Fenin have a role to play?

I guess we’ll see soon enough…

PHOTO: Switzerland’s Gokhan Inler (R) challenges Jan Koller at St Jakob Park in Basel, June 7, 2008. REUTERS/Christian Hartmann

So now we’ve seen him, the media-acclaimed superstar-elect of Euro 2008, Mr Cristiano Ronaldo.

He didn’t tear up any trees but played pretty well in Portugal’s opening 2-0 win over Turkey. He was denied a goal by a fingertip save that touched a first-half free kick on to a post, made several positive runs and had a hand in the second goal. He did not dominate the game but was a constant lively threat. There is almost certainly more to come, in bigger games, but are you a fan or a doubter?

Which of these below most accurately apply to the Portugal winger? You may tick more than one box.  

Ronaldo A: A showpony more interested in trickery, hair cream and mirrors than playing the right ball at the right time. A diver who cons referees into giving him decisions that other players with less nimble feet would never get.  

Skins Derby County fullbacks for fun but goes missing when international defenders give him their undivided attention in games that really matter. Nerve fails him from the penalty spot under pressure. An opportunist happy to play Manchester United against Real Madrid to inflate his own value.  

Ronaldo B: The greatest ball artist the game has ever seen, a player whose mesmerising skill delights neutrals the world over and who should be cherished as an extraordinary talent. A player who has now learned to use his wonderful individual gifts to the benefit of his team mates, who now knows when to dribble and when to pass and is the player all opponents fear.

A remarkable all-round footballer who not only has great feet but is prepared to work hard, tackle back and just happens to be one of the best headers of the ball in the game. Somebody who can score more than 40 goals in one season of Premier League and Champions League football - while still nominally a winger - something not even George Best ever managed. A player able to take a penalty miss in his stride and focus on the next opportunity.

A worthy wearer of his country’s armband, not to mention devastatingly handsome. Personally, I take a large dose of Ronaldo B with a little too much of the theatrical legacy of Ronaldo A, but the next three weeks might change my mind and maybe on June 29 we might all be raising a glass to Ronaldo C.

PHOTO: Portugal’s Gomes hands the captain’s armband to team mate Ronaldo during their Group A Euro 2008 soccer match against Turkey. June 8 REUTERS/Denis Balibouse