By Tim Vickery South American football reporter

Scolari made his name coaching a Gremio side that could have walked straight off a British field

There is not the slightest touch of samba about Luiz Felipe Scolari.

England's potential new coach comes from the south of Brazil, thousands of miles away from Rio de Janeiro and its images of Carnaval culture that the world finds so appealing.

Instead, Scolari is almost a caricature of the rustic Gaucho from his native state of Rio Grande Do Sul - a plain speaking, no nonsense figure, all hard work and truculent opinions.

His heart-on-his-sleeve directness would come as something of a contrast after the suave urbanity of Sven-Goran Eriksson.

The South is the region of Brazil most shaped by European immigration - which clearly left its mark on Scolari's approach to football.

A vigorous centre-back in his mediocre playing days, Scolari made his name coaching a Gremio side that could have walked straight off a British field.

They were tough and aggressive, squeezed the play in the opponents' half and fired in a barrage of crosses towards giant centre forward Jardel.

They could be filed under the heading 'not pretty but effective.'

Ronaldinho, Rivaldo and Ronaldo led Brazil to 2002 World Cup success

Such pragmatic methods won Scolari the Copa Libertadores, South America's Champions League, with Palmeiras as well as with Gremio.

But they meant that he was only likely to get the Brazil job at a moment when the team was in trouble - as was the case in June 2001, when they were in serious danger of not making it to the following year's World Cup.

But he strode in with typical self-assurance and bravery, making it instantly clear that he would not be constrained by any consideration for Brazil's tradition for beautiful football.

He wanted to win, and he would do it his way. He was not afraid to face down an intense campaign to force the selection of star striker Romario.

But he also showed that there was much more to him than the caricature. He was adaptable, and intuitive.

The dyed-in-the-wool 4-4-2 man won the World Cup playing three centre-backs, which was seen as a hugely controversial move by Brazil's coaching fraternity.

The 2002 side had no target man number nine, instead building their attack around the skill of Ronaldo, Rivaldo and Ronaldinho Gaucho.

These characteristics have been in evidence during his spell in charge of Portugal, where once more he has stood up to star players, and has also caught the eye with bold tactical switches, such as moving Deco to right-back during the course of the Euro 2004 game against England.

Scolari is by nature remarkably open... perhaps it is just as well that his command of English is not extensive

Now, though, he needs to be at his bravest and his most adaptable.

'Big Phil' likes to see himself as a father figure to his group of players. The 2002 World Cup squad were known as 'the Scolari family.'

He has already seen that the Portuguese players are not so easy to reach with these paternalistic methods.

He has had to try to motivate them using individual psychology, rather than the collective tub-thumping that worked so well for him in Brazil.

The England players would be more different still. And Scolari would have to try to get through to them using a second language.

And then there is the question of that most English of monsters, the tabloid press.

Scolari is by nature remarkably open. He holds court on such subjects as the fact that he tells his players to commit fouls, his admiration for General Pinochet or his prejudice against homosexuals.

Perhaps it is just as well that his command of English is not extensive. As they say in Brazil, a closed mouth does not let any flies in.