Brazil better team than Real Madrid - Scolari

Real Madrid are the best club side but are not as good as world champions Brazil, according to World Cup-winning coach Luiz Felipe Scolari.

Scolari also acknowledged surprised at the success of his tactics in steering Euro 2004 hosts Portugal to a 2-1 victory over Brazil in a friendly international in Oporto in March.

"The Brazilian national side is better, national sides in general are better than club sides. I bet if you play 10 matches, Brazil would win five or six, draw three and maybe lose two," Scolari told Reuters in an interview.

"Real has for sure the best club side in the world but it is not possible to compare them to a national side although they are in essence an international select," the Portugal coach said in Eindhoven where his team drew 1-1 with the Netherlands in a friendly international on Wednesday.

"You see Arsenal for instance, they have more than 15 players who are also part of the national side in their countries. But even with this powerful squad, they are not leading the premier league."

Scolari said Real Madrid owed their success to being a very well run club with extremely capable people in key positions.

"I think everything starts with (coach Vicente) del Bosque. What people see in Del Bosque ... is not only the figure of the coach. They see the manager and the father, the friend, a person who has a very good relationship with his players and gives them peace of mind to work," he said.

"So, everything starts there. In fact, it starts even higher, at director's level. They are well structured and ambitious with great projects."

"In charge of that, they have two former and experienced players: (Jorge) Valdano and (Emilio) Butragueno... So there is an understanding which passes through del Bosque and goes all the way to the players themselves. They have quality in all sectors. In every part of the team, they have a star."

"The great maestro of this orchestra is (Zinedine) Zidane, no doubt about it. When he is really on his day, forget about it. If he is left with the chance to organise the game, he will take control of it," Scolari said.

Real Madrid appear to have such balance that David Beckham would struggle to find a place in their line-up if he were to join them as is being rumoured in British and Spanish media, according to Scolari.

"There is always a place for a player like Beckham but I don't really know where he would fit in the (Real) team because he plays in the same position as Figo," he said.

"Things are quite organised (in the middle) with (Claude) Makelele there already and switching Beckham to the wing eventually would not work because Figo in the middle is a different kind of player from when he plays open on the right."

"In terms of marketing it could be an option, but on the playing side I do not see any need (to sign Beckham) because they are already well served by Figo."

"That does not diminish my judgement of Beckham's qualities which are many. If not, I wouldn't be comparing him to Figo who has been already voted FIFA World Player of the year. They are players of different characteristics but in my opinion, I think that Figo is a more complete player overall."

Figo did not play because of injury when Scolari's new team beat Brazil, the side he steered to a record fifth world title in 2002, boosting Portugal fans' hopes of success as hosts of next year's European championships.

"I was definitely surprised because to beat Brazil is very, very difficult," said Scolari, who has notched up two wins and a draw in his four matches as Portugal coach.

"(Portugal's) triumph over Brazil after 37 years gave us a great boost in confidence and let the Portuguese fans believe a good job is being done and we can believe in our potential."