PARIS -- Looking back on Brazil's World Cup victory coach Luiz Felipe Scolari paid homage to European Footballer of the Year Ronaldo but singled out Rivaldo as the competition's best player.

"I always put the squad first," Scolari told soccer magazine France Football in an interview published on Tuesday.

"But the success of a squad is only possible if great players help it.

"That was the case with Rivaldo who, for me, was the best player in the World Cup.

"Tactically as well as in his shots, he was very strong. And I'm not mentioning his new frame of mind.

"He changed his approach to football," said Scolari, who has quit the Brazil team to take over as coach of 2004 European championship hosts Portugal.

But Scolari also paid homage to Ronaldo and to Brazil's medical staff who made it possible for the Real Madrid striker to make it back to his best after years plagued by a knee injury, Reuters reported.