It looked headed in the right direction, and then all went horribly wrong.
After the historic 7-1 debacle against Germany and the ensuing 3-0 disappointment against the Netherlands that left the Seleção in 4th place at their tournament, Luiz Felipe Scolari has resigned as manager, according to Globosporte as well as Sky Sports’ Paulo Freitas.
The news is somewhat surprising given he was handed the backing of the Brazilian Federation (CBF).
“To me, he stays,” said incoming CBF president Marco Del Polo earlier today. “What happened was a tactical error. That was the problem. But we all make mistakes. It can happen to anyone. The important thing is that he did a good job. The campaign and the preparations were good. A base exists.”
Scolari had earlier put his future in the hands of the CBF, saying before the third-place match, “After it’s over I will submit my report to the Brazilian Football Confederation and they will make a decision.”
Instead, the failure under enormous home pressure led to Scolari ultimately stepping down, taking matters into his own hands.
Many weren’t happy with how Scolari managed his team, with Brazilian journalist Tariq Panja describing his coaching style as “belligerent.”
Scolari had his hands tied when he lost star Neymar and captain Thiago Silva for the match against Germany, but things went worst-case-scenario as the eventual winners poured on the goals before “taking it easy” in the second half.
Freitas also reports the departure of Scolari’s right-hand men, technical director Carlos Alberto Parreira and assistant manager Flavio Murtosa.