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Scolari’s reputation suffers a blow after Germany loss

Luiz Felipe Scolari will head for Chelsea with his pride and his reputation for getting the most out of his players having suffered bruising blows at the hands of a German side that has reclaimed the status of favorites at Euro 2008.

Scolari claimed a blunder by referee Peter Frojdfelt could have cost Portugal their chance of a place in the last four after they went down to a 3-2 defeat against Joachim Loew’s side in an exhilarating quarter-final on Thursday.

But the Brazilian, who led his native country to World Cup glory in 2002, also had to admit that the failure of the defensive scheme he had laid out for his talented side was also at the root of their exit from the tournament.

Portugal departed with justifiable cause for complaint after Germany’s third goal was headed in by Michael Ballack after he had shoved Paulo Ferreira in the back.

That gave the Germans a 3-1 lead when Portugal were pressing for an equalizer and Scolari voiced his frustration over the failure of the Swedish officials to spot the foul.

“I do not want to say Germany benefited from that, but all the TV screens show Ballack clearly pushed our player. Unfortunately the referee did not see it and we stopped,” he said. “I do not know if it would have changed the match. We could have lost by 2-1, but when we are pressing the opponent and we concede a third goal we have to start all over again, our opponents grow in stature. I can’t guarantee it would have changed anything, but if it is a foul it has to be given by the referee.”

Ballack’s controversial goal took the wind out of Portugal’s sails as they pressed for an equalizer after Nuno Gomes had reduced their deficit to 2-1 five minutes before halftime and although substitute Helder Postiga headed in with three minutes left, there was no way back for them.

Portugal had only themselves to blame for the fact they had to chase the game. Paulo Ferreira failed to track man-of-the-match Bastian Schweinsteiger’s run to meet Lukas Podolski’s cross for the opening goal and both the center-backs and goalkeeper Ricardo were at fault when Miroslav Klose nodded in Schweinsteiger’s free-kick for the second.

“What went wrong?” asked Scolari, with a weary shrug of the shoulders. “The dead ball situations for one and there were other things that did not go correctly. We had designated certain players to mark Ballack and others, but the players changed who they were marking on the free-kicks and Germany made the most of that.”

Flick paid tribute to Schweinsteiger, who came back from suspension after being red-carded in the group stage defeat by Croatia and was the key player in a reshaped German side.

“He promised to come up with a great performance and he lived up to that,” Flick said.

With Loew confined to the stands, Flick said meticulous planning had been crucial to the German win.

“We had planned everything down to the last detail and in the end we executed the plan relatively easily,” he said. “We fought from the first to the last minute and we can be proud and happy.”

Despite his frustration with the way his side defended, Scolari accepted responsibility for his squad’s exit from the tournament.

“I am responsible for choosing the players and the tactics, so the main person responsible for Portugal not being in the last four is the coach,” Scholari said. “It makes me very sad because we were good enough to be in the last four. We made some mistakes of attention, but in general what the players did satisfied me and I am proud of having worked with them.”

Scolari also dismissed a suggestion that the announcement of his departure for Chelsea may have influenced Portugal’s fate.

“If I had not announced that we would have lost anyway. We lost because we did not do things right or with more quality. It has nothing to do with that,” he said.
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