Chelsea and Arsenal apparently are the latest clubs linked to Real Madrid's Brazilian forward, with Manchester United also mentioned with regard to his future. Wagner Ribeiro, Robinho's agent, supposedly flew to London this week to spread the word about his client's interest in leaving the Santiago Bernabéu.

Not content with having a team capable of winning the Champions League, bar any slipups, Big Phil Scolario seems obsessed with filling his Chelsea squad with members of the national teams that gave him his reputation. Having inherited Alex, Belletti, Ricardo Carvalho, Henrique Hilário and Paulo Ferreira, Scolari has set about signing Deco and allegedly had [.

Two managerial greats meet for only the second time on Sunday when Big Phil and Fergie go head to head in the Premier League. The Chelsea and Man Utd managers have already done plenty of pre-fight build up, from Scolari encouraging Cristiano Ronaldo to join Real Madrid in June to the recent epic that was [.

Let the war of words commence Fergie just can't resist a bit of cerebral gymnastics. Mind you, he hasn't exactly been at the top of his game in recent times. Mainly because his toughest sparring partner Arsene hasn't been identified as his prime rival in the hunt for the Premiership crown. In the meantime, the great Scot refused to indulge in psyche-outs while he continued his love-in with Jose Mourinho – maybe there was something in the wine.

So finally after months of speculation, Big Phil Scolari has been appointed as Avram Grant's successor at Chelsea. For those of you not in the know, Scolari was a World Cup winner with his native Brazil in 2002, and in his five years as Portugal head coach, has led them to the final of Euro 2004, and the semi-final of World Cup 2006.

Amongst all this weekend's first-day excitement, there were many moments to cherish and many new faces to absorb, but my personal highlight came in an unusual form; a man called Flavio ‘Murtosa' Teixeira. And just who is he you may ask? Well, he is the new assistant manager at Chelsea, and has been Big Phil Scolari's right-hand man for more than 25 years now.

The rivalry between Uncle Phil and The Ordinary One is well-documented. Today, Mourinho buried the hatchet somewhat.

His Ordinariness defended Louie Scolari's decision to accept the managerial position at Chelsea while still coaching Portugal through a Euro 2008 campaign.

"The timing of the news?

Chelsea are onto a winner! So, Chelsea have ended the speculation and appointed "Big" Phil Scolari as the man to guide the Chelsea juggernaut in to next season and beyond. Can the Gene Hackman look-a-like, give Chelsea the success they crave?

It was not a great day for French teams in the Champions League. Marseille lost to Liverpool 2-1 after taking an early lead, and Bordeaux got decimated by Chelsea, 4-0. (And it could have been worse.)

The only bright side? Florent Malouda and Nicolas Anelka both scored for Chelsea.