Dunga says critics have got it wrong on Brazil

Brazil coach Carlos Dunga hit back at critics who say his style is too defensive.

Dunga, who lifted the World Cup as captain in 1994, also warned against underestimating outsiders North Korea — Tuesday’s Group G opponents at Ellis Park Stadium in Johannesburg.

The Koreans play “a very fast and compact” game, said Dunga.

Speaking after the team trained on the Ellis Park pitch, the 46-year-old coach said there had always been criticism of the Brazil team by the home media.

In the four years since he has been in charge of the Selecao the team “has scored 100 goals so we must be creative in this sense. We have only conceded 30, there is a balance (in the team),” he said.

The former midfielder conceded that the domestic criticism of his more pragmatic approach was “not unjust” but there exists “a different point of view”.

Dunga added: “What concerns me is my work. I believe in freedom of expression but there should be certain limits of respect.

“What I like is winning, I really like to win. It doesn’t matter whether someone likes you or not, what counts is what happens on the field.”

Dunga believes the football being played at the World Cup is very good, saying he was impressed by Japan, particularly in the first-half of their 1-0 win over Cameroon.

“Sometimes the specialists (journalists) are wrong,” he said.