With Antonio Conte set to step into the Chelsea hot seat, former manager Luiz Felipe Scolari warned the Italian that not even being the “best coach on the planet” can prepare you for life at Stamford Bridge.
Departing Italy coach Conte will manage Chelsea next season following the conclusion of Euro 2016 in July, as interim boss Guus Hiddink steps aside after Jose Mourinho left the Premier League club in December.
Conte moves to London with considerable pedigree as a three-time Serie A- winning coach at Juventus.
However Scolari, who guided Brazil to glory at the 2002 World Cup but lasted just 36 games in charge of Chelsea following his appointment in 2008, insisted all that counts for nothing under demanding owner Roman Abramovich.
“You can win the World Cup, be European champion and the best coach on the planet — but that cannot prepare anyone for a job like Chelsea,” Scolari told the Sun.
“Your coaching record does not count once you’re there because you must win things straightaway.
“It’s like very few positions in the world because the Premier League is like no other league in the world.”
Scolari, now coach of Asian champions Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao, added: “Everything a coach will have experienced in countries like Italy, Spain, Portugal, Brazil, Germany and France will not be the same as in England.
“You must be prepared to accept it’s different.
“The league is the strongest, most competitive and most unpredictable and the football culture is so different.
“Plus it’s Chelsea, where the expectations are higher than most clubs in the world and you have some of the biggest players.
“Coaching Chelsea is like coaching Brazil. The pressure is huge.”
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