Germany coach Jurgen Klinsmann was euphoric after beating Portugal 3-1 in the third place playoff and grabbing the 2006 World Cup bronze medal. "It's impossible to put into words what happened here this evening. You can't top that," Klinsmann told a press conference after the game. "The fans were fantastic, and the team played like men possessed." He said. "I'll need a few days to let all this sink in and fully comprehend the extent of what we managed to achieve." Klinsmann dished out praise for his team but it was Bastian Schweinsteiger, who scored a brace and set-up a third, who received an honorable mention. "I'm so incredibly proud that the team managed to put in such an excellent performance. "The way Bastian Schweinsteiger turned the whole game with those three shots is the kind of amazing thing that can only happen in football," the 41-year-old boss added. Germany's players were one of the younger teams to compete in the 2006 World Cup, with Schweinsteiger only 21 years old and Klinsmann's coaching career beginning in 2004. Klinsmann, who lives in California, refused to make any decisions about his future with the Mannschaft. "After the match, Franz Beckenbauer came up to me and said, 'You have to carry on'. I told him, 'We'll see'."
Scolari "I don't know, I've got to let all this sink in," he said. "A lot, a lot has happened in the last two years. I need to come to terms with it. I just need some more time to think about it." Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari also praised Klinsmann and Germany after the match, but insisted he was pleased with Portugal's performance. "Germany were very effective, particularly with their long-range efforts, and there wasn't much we could do about that," the coach said. "I was also really pleased to see how Jurgen Klinsmann's stock has risen in Germany. I'm one of his greatest admirers." Scolari went on to express his gratitude to Portugal's team. "Over the past three years, the team has come on in leaps and bounds," the man who guided Brazil to the 2002 World Cup title said. "I'm not unhappy with what the team has achieved. We've been together for 52 days now and during this time, we've grown as a group," he added. Just like his German counterpart, the Brazilian tactician remained vague about his future. "I'm not going to comment at the moment," said Scolari. "I'm going to have to give it some thought, and then we'll see what happens."
