Coach Carlos Alberto Parreira said that he bares responsibility for Brazil's World Cup finals exit in accordance with local traditions. "In Brazil when the national team loses the coach is to blame so I believe we will follow this script once again," Parreira was quoted as saying by BBC Sport after the defeat to France. The defending champions bowed out from the quarter-finals after losing to France 1-0 on Saturday. "We never prepared for this moment. This is a very difficult moment for all of us. "I would like to thank the players. I didn't do my job because my job here was to get to the final," Parreira said. Parreira, who guided Brazil to World Cup glory in 1994, hailed the French team for their exquisite performance. "France had a very experienced team, they defended very well, with nine men back to defend and we could not score a goal." "They also had (Zinedine) Zidane and (Thierry) Henry," he said. "So they were very fast when they went into attack and our marking was not good enough." The Brazil boss also singled out France captain Zidane for praise, labeling the 34-year-old playmaker as "wonderful".
Zizou was hailed by both coaches "We have known Zidane for many years and he is one of the best players in the world for the last decade. He played so very well. "We tried to stop him, but we did not man-mark him because Brazil does not play with individual marking," he added. France coach Raymond Domenech echoed Parreira's comments about Zidane. "You all seem surprised by how well Zinedine Zidane played, but that's just what you get with Zizou!" he insisted. However, Domenech noted that it was not all Zidane behind the victory. "I could mention any of the 14 players who did a job for us tonight, and even those who stayed on the bench made contributions," Domenech said. "This victory belongs to the whole squad." "It wasn't so much Zidane followed by the others, but rather Zidane together with the others," he added. Domenech pointed out that the semi-final game against Portugal on Wednesday will not be a walk in the park for the former champions. "The Portuguese will not be easy to get past. But I am looking forward to meeting them. We are in the semis and we must savor the moment. These are great moments," he said.
