Former Chelsea boss Scolari reveals what Sir Alex Ferguson taught him

Former Chelsea manager Luiz Felipe Scolari has says he is a "disciple" of Sir Alex Ferguson and has revealed the advice he was given by the Manchester United legend.

Scolari, whose illustrious managerial career has seen him take charge of the Brazil and Portugal national teams, was at the Stamford Bridge helm during the 2008/09 season.

And although he was sacked in February of that season, he revealed to holding regular conversations with the former United boss over Cristiano Ronaldo's international involvement with Portugal.

After he listed two Portuguese managers as his "idols", Scolari waxed lyrical about Ferguson and how much the Scot taught him.

"I had two main idols as football coaches," he told the Coaches Voice.

"Sergio Moacir Torres Nunes, a manager from Rio Grande do Sul. The other is the 'captain' Carlos Beneveutno Froner.

"These are the two coaches I admired the most. Then I tried to follow their steps when I became a coach myself.

"I had a good time in Portugal and afterwards in England, where I had a very nice relationship with Sir Alex Ferguson. A very honest person.

"He was very simple and straightforward to deal with. We were in touch when Cristiano Ronaldo was coming to play for the national team and he was Manchester United's coach.

"And also when I was at Chelsea, I used to observe his manner, I tried to study his methodology and I still use it nowadays.

"I observed and learned a lot of things from others. I'm a disciple of Ferguson. I learned to delegate more to the people who work with me.

"They can conduct things up to a point, where is where I come into action. I believe I'm doing something similar to what Ferguson did with Carlos Quieroz."

Scolari also named-checked Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp as a modern-day manager that he admires — because of the way the German deals with his players.

"I really like to watch Jurgen Klopp on the sidelines," added Scolari.

"It's nice to see how he manages his team. It's clear he has empathy with his players, the fans and basically everyone else. He's friendly and transmits what he wants.

"I have a huge admiration for him."