AFP
Brazil's football confederation will not renew the contract of national coach Luiz Felipe Scolari (pictured), local media reported on Monday, after the five-time World Cup winners were mauled by Germany in a humiliating 7-1 defeat on home soil.
News of Scolari's fate broke just after midnight Sunday, hours after Germany defeated Argentina 1-0 in Rio de Janeiro to win the 2014 World Cup.
Brazilians had long been hoping that they would be playing in the final and would likely win the tournament.
On Saturday, speaking after Brazil lost the tournament's third place game 3-0 to the Netherlands, Scolari said that he would let the Football Confederation, or CBF, decide his future.
The Netherlands defeat came after Germany crushed Scolari's Selecao 7-1 on Tuesday at the Mineirao stadium in Belo Horizonte.
That defeat was Brazil's most devastating performance since losing the 1950 final Cup game to Uruguay in Rio de Janeiro, a black mark on the nation's psyche known as the "Maracanazo."
The Football Confederation, or CBF, also fired the whole technical committee, including technical co-ordinator Carlos Alberto Parreira, local media reported.
Parreira had managed Brazil to a World Cup victory in 1994.
Scolari, 65, best known by his nickname Felipao, led Brazil to a World Cup victory in 2002 in Japan. He took over the team in December 2012, replacing the sacked Mano Menezes, just before Brazil hosted the Confederations Cup.
Brazil won that tournament, seen as a dress rehearsal for the World Cup, 3-0 in a final match over reigning champions Spain.
Brazil then began preparing for what they hoped would be a sixth World Cup trophy.
Critics however remained unconvinced by Scolari's decision to ditch Brazil's "jogo bonito" of skillful play and focus on strength and rough tactics, arguing that results mattered more than an artful game.
Brazil emerged from the first round of the World Cup tournament as top of its group, but had to resort to penalties to defeat Chile in the following round.
Once in the quarter finals Brazil defeated Colombia 2-1, but in the rough game they lost their key player Neymar due to a foul that fractured the star's vertebra.
When the Neymar-less team faced Germany it was clear within the first 30 minutes that they would not play in the final.
Brazilians will not easily forget the July 8 disaster, now known as the "Mineirazo," an event that shocked its supporters around the world.
Scolari accepted full responsibility for the humiliating thrashing. "Who is responsible for chosing players? It's me. The responsibility for the catastrophic results are mine," he told reporters after the Germany game.
