Portugal lash out at Chelsea for disrupting their Euro campaign

Chelsea confirmed the Scolari appointment within minutes of Portugal securing their place in the last eight with victory against the Czech Republic on June 11. 

On his way: Luiz Felipe Scolari receives an embrace from Portugal federation president Gilberto Madail as he announced his decision to join Chelsea to the team in Neuchatel, Switzerland

'It rocked the Portuguese, who lost their next two games - a meaningless final group. match against Switzerland when they fielded a reserve team and, more importantly, Thursday's quarter-final exit to Germany.

Portugal FA president Gilberto Madail broke his silence yesterday on Chelsea's behaviour, saying: 'The timing of the decision was unfortunate. It was a lack of respect. It was not the best moment for us.

'I wish Chelsea had consulted us before and we could have chosen a better time. I know Scolari had nothing to do with it and I was surprised, not by the appointment because he is a great coach, but by the timing.

Feel the pain: Big Phil can't hide his feelings as his time with Portugal comes to an abrupt end against Germany

'Chelsea are a very important European club but we are talking about a national team in the top 10 in the FIFA world rankings. Chelsea are nothing compared to the Portugal FA.'

Two years ago, the English FA's bid to attract Scolari collapsed because the Brazilian wanted to delay negotiations until after the World Cup, refusing to disrupt his team's preparations.

This year, Portugal have been beset by distractions. Not only has the manager been sorting out his £6million Chelsea salary but star players such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Deco have been dashing off between games to discuss  their futures with agents.

In this climate, one of Europe's most gifted squads failed to sustain a challenge for the title and Madail said: 'I knew when we entered the tournament that Scolari would leave. 

'We respected his wishes. His cycle with Portugal had ended because he wanted a new experience with a club. There was nothing we could do. We could not match Chelsea's offer.'

Scolari will go down as Portugal's most successful coach. At Euro 2004 he led the hosts to their first major final but they lost to Greece.

See you later: Luiz Felipe Scolari commiserartes with two of his Chelsea players, Paulo Ferreira and Ricardo Carvalho, after Portugal's defeat by Germany

He took them to the World Cup semi-final two years ago, only to lose to a Zinedine Zidane penalty against France.

Madail must now begin the task of replacing Big Phil for next season's World Cup qualifiers and Manchester United assistant manager Carlos Queiroz will be on his list.

The last thing Sir Alex Ferguson needs, as he fights to keep Ronaldo, is to lose his trusted sidekick and a fellow countryman of the winger who wants to leave.