Zico has parted company with Fenerbahce and surprise, surprise, within seconds of the announcement was linked with the vacant Chelsea job. Despite recent reports suggesting Scolari is almost certain to seat himself at the empty manager’s desk after Euro 2008, Zico is now odds-on to beat him to it. But given that we’ve had more dead certs in the press lately than Kenyon’s had dodgy deals, just how much truth is there in this latest one?

So far, as with most of the potential managers linked with us in the press, there’s been no direct quotes from either Chelsea or Zico himself, so it could simply be another case of 2+2=5.  But is there a little more to it than that? He has been linked to us in the past and it appears he decided to end his 2-year  tenure at the Turkish club before contract negotiations had really got underway, so has he been distracted by a proposition elsewhere? Or maybe it’s just wishful thinking on his part having been linked to the vacant City post shortly before Hughes’ appointment?

And bearing in mind he didn’t have enough in his locker to deal with us in the Champions League last season, could he actually do a job for us?

Zico – the player

As a player, Zico was often called the ‘White Pele’. Widely thought of as one of the most skilled dribblers and finishers ever. An absolute master of the free-kick, with the ability to bend it better than Beckam, Zico was considered by Pele as one of the best footballers ever, with the Brazilian saying of him “throughout the years, the one player that came closest to me was Zico”.

Zico – the manager

Zico started out with a bit of a difficult time replacing Phillipe Troussier for Japan after the 2002 FIFA World Cup, getting off to a bad start with a 4-1 defeat to Argentina in 2003. He did ok in the Confederations Cup but struggled against Oman in the first stage of qualifying for the 2006 World Cup and a drinking incident seeing several players suspended, didn’t help his cause. However, despite demonstrations demanding his sacking, Zico stayed on, winning the 2004 Asian Cup and securing qualification for the 2006 World Cup with just one defeat. Zico attempted to instil a free-flowing, attacking mentality into the Japan side, urging his players to express themselves freely on the pitch and although heavily influenced by Brazil’s short passing style, he was flexible enough to switch between 4-4-2 and 3-5-2 formations. Notably, he’s also said to command respect from the media.

Zico joined Fenerbahce in July 2006 on a two-year deal, winning the league title in 2007 and the Turkish Super Cup in his first year in the job. Under Zico, Fenerbahce have qualified from the Champions League group stages for the first time in the club’s history, beating Sevilla to make it to the quarter finals where they lost – to us.

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