Luiz Felipe Scolari was generous in defeat after his Portugal side fell at the last hurdle to surprise champions Greece in the Euro 2004 final.
Scolari, who coached Brazil to victory in the last World Cup, said Greece should be congratulated for their 1-0 triumph and not condemned for their defensive approach.
"Of course I'm not happy with the result," said Scolari. "Greece have a wonderful defence and they generally look to capitalise on their opponents' mistakes.
"We have been better in some parts of the game but they have scored, we didn't and I want to congratulate my colleague Otto Rehhagel and all the Greek team.
"I also want to say to the Portuguese people that this is not the end of the story for us, we are European vice-champions, we are going to keep working and we are going to win something in the future."
Scolari added: "I do not think Greece winning is a backwards step for football. It's up to the more offensive teams to find the way through this system."
