Luiz Felipe Scolari has left a decision on his future as Brazil’s coach to the country’s federation after the World Cup hosts’ campaign ended in more disappointment.
“It is up to the president to decide. We will hand in a final report and then leave it to him to analyse what needs to be done,” said Scolari after Brazil lost 3-0 to the Netherlands in the third-place play-off in Brasilia on Saturday.
“I’m not going to discuss it with you,” he told reporters. “Winning or losing, that is what we would have done.”
Scolari’s contract expires with the end of Brazil’s campaign but there have been suggestions that he could stay on until the end of the year.
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The defeat on Saturday after a 7-1 mauling by Germany in the semi-final in Belo Horizonte.
Some Brazil fans expressed disgust with their team after the match on Saturday.
Although it was Germany who thrashed the home team, fans said they would rather Germany be handed the trophy in Rio than see neighbours Argentina win it.
“I am supporting Holland,” said businessman Diogo Chaer, who wore a Dutch shirt in Brasilia, the capital. “Our team is useless.”
In Rio, some fans stayed to the end to dance at a post-match concert, but others slunk away from the Fan Fest on Copacabana beach after the Netherlands largely outplayed the five-time world champions.
“I’m off to another party. Dreadful match,” said Francisco Ramos, a 21-year-old soldier wearing a Brazil strip.
Brazilians began to leave the Fan Fest even before half time with their side trailing 2-0 and still clearly feeling the effects of their horror show against Germany.
Lucas Carvalho, a 23-year-old electrical engineer, wore a Dutch jersey and orange top hat, though he added a Brazil scarf.
“I was in Belo Horizonte for the Germany game,” he said. “That’s why I am wearing the Dutch shirt. I stayed to the end against Germany. I’ll remember that historic match for years.”
Hugo Leite, a journalist from Salvador in the north, also wore a Dutch jersey. Of Brazil’s team he said: “I don’t much like the team, the coach or the way they play.”
Eduarda Alves, a 16-year-old Rio student, said she would back the Germans on Sunday.
“The Argentines can just go home,” she said.
Siblings Leonel Freitas and Marina Freitas agreed an Argentina victory would be hard to stomach.
“Our team needs to start afresh,” said Freitas said. “I’ll never support Argentina. Argentina can never win in Brazil.”
Twitter was once again aglow with sardonic comments, one fan tweeting: “Can you remember when Brazil used to play football?”
Another noted that goalkeeper Julio Cesar was now “historic” in that he has conceded more goals in his World Cup career than German record marksman Miroslav Klose has scored.
Klose broke Ronaldo’s record in taking his tally to 16 against Brazil last Tuesday while Julio Cesar has now conceded 18 across two World Cups – 14 in this event.
Scolari maintained that there were plenty of positives from a World Cup in which Brazil finished fourth. “At the end of the tournament we were not so good but we finished fourth and we must praise the players.”
He said the game against the Dutch “was very even but we conceded a goal early on and the Netherlands got the breaks”.
Brazil fell behind when Thiago Silva gave away a second-minute penalty for a foul on Arjen Robben and Robin van Persie converted from the spot. Daley Blind and Georginio Wijnaldum added further goals at the Estadio Nacional Mane Garrincha.
The home players were loudly jeered as they made their way off the field, having become the first Brazil team to lose successive home games for 74 years.
Scolari said Brazil’s campaign was about more than a first-half collapse against the Germans in the semi-finals and continued to insist that his players deserve more merit for their victory in last year’s Confederations Cup.
“There were really good moments in games. We can only lament a six-minute spell against Germany, but it happened and today I can’t criticise the team.
“They didn’t play badly, or deserve to lose 3-0. This group was very good at the Confederations Cup. They have good quality and the road is open to create a much better team in 2018” at the next World Cup in Russia.
Scolari defended his own record, pointing to his past successes as coach of the Brazil team that won the World Cup in 2002 and of the Portugal team who finished fourth in 2006.
“I have been in three World Cups, two with Brazil and one with Portugal, and in all of them I have got to the semi-finals,” he said.
“Sometimes in football things can happen in the space of a couple of minutes that change everything. The Germany defeat was the worst in our history but we also have to see the positive sides.”
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