With his adopted Portugal in sight of Euro 2004 glory following Wednesday's 2-1 semi-final win over the Netherlands, Scolari - who led Brazil to the 2002 World Cup - is on the verge of a double no coach has previously achieved.

He would also be the first foreign coach to lead a country to the European Championship.

With a bagful of club honours in South America already secured, the Brazilian is a real contender for the title of the best coach ever to grace the sport.

Insightful, intuitive, with a natural feel for the rhythm of a game, he has shown time and time again the ability to change the course of a match which seemed to be slipping away from his team.

Scolari is not restricted to one system, being happy to use dull defensive tactics or enterprising attack depending on the material to hand.

He has a total belief in the concept of team over individual, yet he has relied on the skills of ball players like Ronaldo, Rivaldo and Cristiano Ronaldo to achieve success.

As with virtually every coach who gets the job of Brazilian national coach he was criticised and ridiculed almost from his first day in charge in mid-2001.

However, "Big Phil" was not to be pushed around and established his authority by ignoring the deafening clamour, even from the country's president, for the return of the ageing ego of Romario for the 2002 World Cup.

On arrival in Asia, Scolari swit-ched to a more attacking game than had been used in Brazil's disappointing qualifying campaign. But, when down to 10 men in the quarter-final, his team and its defensive organisation kept England easily at bay.

His judgment was fully vindicated when Brazil went on to lift the trophy for the fifth time.

In Portugal, as the under-achieving country's first foreign coach, he faced down a similar outrage when he dropped long-serving goalkeeper Vitor Baia.

His replacement Ricardo became the quarter-final hero against England, saving from Darius Vassell and then scoring the winner himself in the penalty shoot-out.

Scolari also came under fire for introducing Deco, a naturalised Brazilian. Again the critics, including Luis Figo, have been strangely quiet as the midfielder has performed with panache since replacing Rui Costa in the starting lineup.

Scolari did not waste time on "I told you so" comments but instead colourfully explained his thinking behind leaving out stalwarts Rui Costa and Fernando Couto after the opening game defeat by Greece, and regularly substituting Figo.

"I'd only ever had two or three days with the players. Those 20 days (before and during the tournament) were the first time I had the chance to spend a long time with the team," he said.

"It was like going out with a girlfriend for five or six years, getting married and splitting up one week later.

"You sleep together, wake up and then you see what she looks like first thing in the morning - really quite ugly."

Unlike many managers who arrive at a tournament with a fixed idea of their best team and stick with it regardless of form, Scolari has proved himself happy to adapt.

Initially he was unconvinced that Cristiano Ronaldo was worth a starting berth. After the 19-year-old winger's impressive displays as a substitute in the first two games he admitted his mistake and has started with him ever since.

Dropping the country's most-capped player Couto has resulted in the discovery of a formidable and flexible central defensive partnership of Jorge Andrade and Ricardo Carvalho.

While many coaches, such as England's Sven-Goran Eriksson and the Netherlands' Dick Advocaat, have been condemned for their negative substitutions, Scolari's changes have proved masterful in almost every case.

Five of Portugal's six goals before the semi-final came via the bench.

Helder Postiga, a player with only one goal in 19 games for his English club Tottenham Hotspur, replaced Figo against England, scored the equaliser and added an outrageous chipped penalty in the shoot-out.

At suggestions that the results of his changes were fortuitous, Scolari replied: "I have won 16 lucky titles in my career."

Happy to beat off public and media pressure over selections, he has also shown himself big enough to welcome back players who have crossed him.

Maniche was dropped and out of contention for months after a row following Portugal's 3-0 home friendly defeat by Spain last year before Scolari recalled him for the tournament.

He has been repaid by excellent performances and two vital goals including the magnificent second against the Dutch.

If Wednesday's win was not enough to set off a night of wild celebrations, the news that Scolari had agreed to extend his contract until the 2006 World Cup should have been.