Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari admitted he had experienced the "worst day of my life" after his side suffered their worst-ever defeat at the hands of Germany in the World Cup semi-final.
Germany eviscerated the Seleção 7-1 on an evening of record-breaking in Belo Horizonte: the highest score in a World Cup semi-final, Brazil's biggest defeat since their 1920 6-0 loss to Uruguay, and a record 16th World Cup goal for Miroslav Klose.
Scolari, who coached Brazil to their 2002 World Cup win, said: "I think it's probably the worst moment of my life. I've lost other matches. When you lose 4-0 or 5-0, it's basically the same thing.
One of the few things Scolari got right was informing his players how many goals they'd sieved
"Naturally, if I were to think of my life as a player, as a coach, as a teacher, this was the worst day of my life. But life goes on.
"I'll be remembered probably because I lost 7-1, the worst defeat Brazil have ever had, but that was a risk I knew I was running when I accepted this position. Life goes on. That's what I'll do."
Scolari admitted the result was "catastrophic" for Brazil and said he took full responsibility.
He added: "Who is responsible when the team plays? Who is invited as the coach? Who is responsible for picking the team? I am. It's me.
Scolari consoles a distraught Oscar, Brazil's pointless goalscorer on the night
"So the catastrophic result can be shared by the whole group. My players will tell you we will share our responsibilities. But who decided the tactics, I did. So the person responsible is me."
Germany coach Joachim Löw believes Brazil cracked under the pressure of being hosts.
"Let's put it into context: the hosts were unable to deal with the pressure," Low said. "We had a clear, persistent game-plan and if we were courageous and believed in our own strengths, we would win this match.
"That the result would be so emphatic was not to be expected. Scoring three in four minutes the hosts were in shock, confused, and never returned to their original organisation. We were extremely cool and realised they were cracking up, and we took advantage of that."