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By Martyn Herman
LONDON, June 11 (Reuters) - Brazilian Luiz Felipe Scolari will become Chelsea's new manager on July 1, the Premier League club said on Wednesday.
The 59-year-old Scolari, currently in charge of Portugal, takes over from Israeli Avram Grant who was sacked in May, just eight months after replacing Jose Mourinho.
Scolari, who turned down the England coaching job in 2006, was one of several high-profile candidates linked with the Chelsea vacancy since Grant's departure.
"Felipe has great qualities. He is one of the world's top coaches with a record of success at country and club level, he gets the best out of a talented squad of players and his ambitions and expectations match ours. He was the outstanding choice," a statement on Chelsea's Web site (www.chelseafc.com) said.
"Out of respect for his current role as head coach of the Portuguese national team, and to ensure minimum disruption to this work, there will be no further comment from Chelsea nor from Felipe until his employment with us commences."
Scolari's Portugal have won both their matches at the Euro 2008 finals so far, including a 3-1 victory over the Czech Republic on Wednesday, and are guaranteed a place in the quarter-finals.
Portugal team officials were unavailable for comment on the appointment, which was announced by Chelsea after Scolari and his team had left the Stade de Geneve.
He is looking for his second major international tournament victory after leading Brazil to the World Cup in 2002. He took over as Portugal coach in 2003.
Scolari, nicknamed Felipao (Big Phil) in his native Brazil, is known for his feisty temperament but is regarded as one of the world's most astute coaches and has a glittering record of success.
He won several domestic honours as coach of various top Brazilian club sides including Gremio, Palmeiras and Cruzeiro and has also worked in Saudi Arabia.
Scolari becomes the fourth coach at Chelsea since Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich bought the club in 2003.
Chelsea finished without any silverware last season, just missing out to Manchester United in the Premier League and then on penalties to United in the Champions League final in Moscow in May. They also reached the League Cup final.
Despite his impressive results, the fans struggled to warm to Grant after the controversial exit of Mourinho who won two Premier League titles and both domestic cups for Chelsea before falling out with Abramovich.
