The Chelsea rivalry that got their manager fired

Just seven months after taking over at Stamford Bridge, the World Cup-winning coach was shown the door. After a second spell in charge of Brazil, Scolari sealed a move to the Chinese Super League before choosing not to extend his contract at Guanzhou Evergrande earlier this year.

Chelsea began the 2008/09 season well with Nicolas Anelka playing up front, but problems arose when Didier Drogba returned from injury. The Frenchman refused to play on the wing and it ultimately saw the 69-year-old relieved of his post at the club.

"I had Anelka playing up front. Nine. Top scorer in the league," Scolari told 'ESPN Brazil'. "The players return, I make a meeting, and in the meeting I say: 'Look, now that the players have all returned, Drogba is back after two months, we will try to work a situation involving the two attackers playing one by the side, one in the centre, changing positions".

"Then Anelka, the league's top scorer, said: 'I do not play on the wing'. Well, that's when I said: 'You don't play on the wing, one's going to be on the left, it's over, I'm not going to stay here arguing with you guys".

"I left there and our team was third in the league, three or four points behind top. Qualified for the round-of-16 or quarter-finals of the Champions League. But there was this bad environment, that situation," Scolari added. "I don't know if I had continued, what would have happened. But it was interrupted. There, I got upset."

"They'll say: 'Oh, because you didn't speak English perfectly'. Of course, I did not. I didn't speak English perfectly. But I understood perfectly. We understood, with my English, and the English that was spoken there, we understood perfectly."