By Xinhua
Rio De Janeiro : Brazil’s national football coach Dunga criticised the fans who booed the national team during the World Cup qualifier against Uruguay Wednesday in Sao Paulo.
“If I do not rely on my friends, who will I rely on?” asked the coach at the press conference Thursday.
He admitted that the team was not playing well in spite of the 2-1 victory over the Uruguayans. But he stressed that the athletes expected a more positive reaction from the public when they were playing at home.
Dunga revealed that even the most experienced players complained about the fans’ attitude.
“We expect the fans to cheer the team up in a difficult time. That is not one particular player in the field. That is not Dunga. That is the Brazilian team. That is my country,” he added.
The coach compared the situation to the attitude presented by Argentina’s fans in the match against Colombia on Tuesday. As Colombia headed towards a 2-1 win, the Argentineans cheered up their team even more, he said.
Dunga also justified his decision to replace striker Ronaldinho with midfielder Josue in the second half of the match, for which he believes “90 percent” of the public might have called him “crazy”.
He explained that it was necessary to “fix” the team in the middle and, as a consequence of his decision, “Brazil got the victory”.
Despite the replacement, he emphatically defended Ronaldinho, who was booed as he left the field on Wednesday. According to the coach, the Barcelona midfielder/striker needs to be “happy” to play well.
“What he likes doing the most is to play football. We have to leave him more relaxed.”