Luiz Felipe Scolari has accepted responsibility for Portugal’s elimination from Euro 2008.
Speaking after Portugal’s 3-2 quarter-final defeat to Germany, Scolari denied that the timing of his announcement to join Chelsea made any difference to his side’s chances.
The Brazilian is set to fill the vacant managerial position at Chelsea on 1st July, an appointment that was announced during Euro 2008.
“If I had not announced we would have lost anyway,” said the Brazilian. “We lost because we did not do things right or with more quality. It has nothing to do with that.
“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.
“We made mistakes for the goals, though I can argue that on the third goal there was a foul. But that was a mistake, because we can’t wait for the referee to signal a foul.
“I’m upset because I think Portugal had the ability to be among the best four (teams). But we made mistakes today and couldn’t get the result.
“We lost but we played the match in a way that pleased us. In general, I’m satisfied with what the players did in the competition and I’m proud.”
On his five-year tenure in charge of Portugal, Scolari added: “I leave with a clear conscience, I always did my best and today was no exception. I did the best I could, hoping the players would do the same. And they did.”
