Scolari... luck of a winner!

Portugal will take the luck of a champion into the Euro 2004 final thanks to their appointment of Brazilian coach Luiz Felipe Scolari, striker Nuno Gomes said yesterday. "Scolari is used to this type of tournament and he has the experience of winning...

Portugal will take the luck of a champion into the Euro 2004 final thanks to their appointment of Brazilian coach Luiz Felipe Scolari, striker Nuno Gomes said yesterday.

"Scolari is used to this type of tournament and he has the experience of winning the World Cup," Gomes said after Portugal's 2-1 win over the Netherlands on Wednesday put the hosts into the final.

"He brings more enjoyment to the squad and he deals with the players very well. Above all he has the luck of the winner."

Scolari, who led Brazil to World Cup victory in 2002, announced after the game that he had agreed a two-year extension to his contract with the Portuguese FA.

"It's good for Portuguese football that he's going to continue," said forward Helder Postiga.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.