Brazil’s football confederation accepts Luiz Felipe Scolari’s offer to resign as national team coach

BRAZIL’S Football Confederation (CBF) has accepted coach Luiz Felipe Scolari’s offer to resign, along with his entire backroom team.

Brazil's coach Luiz Felipe Scolari yells instructions to his players during the World Cup third-place soccer match between Brazil and the Netherlands at the Estadio Nacional in Brasilia, Brazil, Saturday, July 12, 2014. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

BRAZIL’S Football Confederation (CBF) has accepted coach Luiz Felipe Scolari’s offer to resign, along with his entire backroom team.

Scolari had promised to win the home tournament, but Brazil was eliminated in the semi-finals after a horror 7-1 semi-final loss to Germany - the national team’s worst defeat in its 100-year history.

Brazil also lost 3-0 to the Netherlands in the third-place match.

Scolari’s contract ended after the World Cup and he handed over the command of the team after the Dutch match, saying it would be up to the CBF to decide whether he would remain at the helm of the five-time world champions.

In a statement, the CBF said president Jose Maria Marin accepted what it called “Scolari’s resignation.”

“Scolari and his staff deserve our respect and our gratitude,” the statement said.

“They were responsible for making the Brazilian people regain their love for the Selecao even though we did not reach our greater goal (of winning the title).”

Scolari’s replacement was not immediately announced. Assistant Carlos Alberto Parreira, the coach who led Brazil to the 1994 World Cup title, was also departing.

But speculation is mounting that former Corinthians boss Tite, 53, is the next in line for the post.

Scolari took the reins for the second time in November 2012 and the Confederations Cup success at Spain’s expense in June last year suggested the Brazilians could be counted favorites for the World Cup on home soil.

But they were unconvincing even in topping their first phase group and only beat Chile on penalties in the second round.

Against Germany the five-times world champions were ultimately humiliated without injured starlet Neymar and the Dutch loss further eroded what credit Scolari had left.

Originally published as Brazil’s football confederation accepts Luiz Felipe Scolari’s offer to resign as national team coach