Luiz Felipe Scolari

Born 9 November 1948, Luiz Felipe Scolari - "Big Phil" - played as a defender for Caxias before shifting to management in 1982. He built his reputation at club level before taking the Brazil national team to World Cup glory in 2002. Portugal hired him the following year, and he guided them to the Euro 2004 final (lost 1-0 to Greece) and fourth place at the 2006 World Cup, resigning after a quarter-final exit at Euro 2008. A brief stint at Chelsea followed before Brazil called again in 2012. He won the 2013 Confederations Cup at home, but the 2014 World Cup - also hosted in Brazil - ended in catastrophe: the 7-1 semi-final loss to Germany remains the national team's darkest hour, and a 3-0 defeat to the Netherlands in the third-place match sealed his exit. He moved to China, winning the league and continental title with Guangzhou Evergrande in 2015, then returned to Palmeiras in 2018 to claim a second Brazilian championship.