Scolari shoulders exit blame
24 Jun 2008 - 11:53:39
Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari accepted the blame after his side crashed out of Euro 2008 with a 3-2 quarter-final defeat to Germany in Basel.
The Brazilian is now set to take charge at Chelsea, but rejected claims that the confirmation of his exit from the national team contributed to their unexpected downfall.
He said: "If I hadn't announced it, we would have lost anyway. We lost because we didn't do things with enough quality.
"It had nothing to do with this or that. Some people will imagine and will write that, but it had nothing to do with that.
"I am responsible for choosing the players and placing them on the field in certain places, so the person most responsible for Portugal not being in the last four is the Portugal coach, who chooses players and tactics.
"I am very sad because the Portuguese team could be in the last four. But in this game, a decisive game, we had some lapses of attention which meant we couldn't get the result we wanted.
"I've spent five and a half years in Portugal and had an excellent relationship with the national federation and the fans and the people.
"Maybe one day I will coach Portugal again, why not? It is not my immediate project, but it is a country that will be in my heart and I will never forget them."