Banco? Banco is Barclays

Riding the Portugal wave,(well sort of), Chelsea announced that Scolari will be the next Chelsea coach, and will take charge of the London giants starting July 1st.

From Chelsea's point of view, it's important to let your supporters know that the boat is not adrift, hence the announcement. But i have to wonder about the timing of the announcement. It's hard to imagine that an announcement of this magnitude will not have an impact on the National team. Whether positive or not, and despite Scolari telling the media he will not discuss Chelsea until the end of the Euro, it has to be something that the players will have to digest. Chelsea could have very well have postponed the announcement, in my opinion.

There's two directions in which the whole thing can go. The announcement could disrupt the concentration and weaken the group as a whole, with players feeling a crack in the the strong bond that's been formed, or Scolari, being the supreme motivator and uniter that he is, be able to bring the players even closer with a specific thought in mind - last voyage, let's make it a memorable one.

One thing is for sure, for players like Ricardo, Carvalho, Meira, Petit, Ronaldo, Nuno Gomes, Meira, Paulo Ferreira, Simao and Postiga, who have been with Scolari throughout his time with the national team, you can be sure that these players will want to offer some retribution for the confidence Scolari has had in them.

Only time will tell, what types of ripples will be felt. Let's hope that it's for the best and that today doesn't become some sort of Euro turning point.

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