1994 captain Dunga slams Flamengo's Danilo: “Unacceptable” | OneFootball

Dunga did not like Danilo’s remarks in Thursday’s (18) press conference

A hero of Flamengo’s Libertadores-winning campaign, Flamengo’s Danilo came under heavy criticism from Dunga, captain of Brazil’s 1994 World Cup-winning team. In the former defensive midfielder’s view, the red-and-black defender misspoke at the press conference he gave last Thursday (18), ahead of the clash with Haiti in the second round of the World Cup.

— I never imagined I would hear a player say, ‘We’re going to try to win.’ Or say that we are inferior to France, Argentina or Portugal. That was unacceptable, and the fans do not want to hear that kind of statement. You cannot give that impression to the public — said Dunga.

— The thing that worries me the most is hearing Danilo say that full-backs no longer exist and that the characteristics of the game need to change. That had been one of our strengths since 1958. Play down the flanks has always been a trademark of Brazilian football — added the man from Rio Grande do Sul.

SO WHAT DID DANILO SAY?

In a lengthy chat with the press, Danilo addressed several points. The Flamengo player spoke about Endrick, also commented on Brazil’s performance against Morocco, among other topics. In addition, the hero of the tetra spoke about the five-time champions’ favoritism and the role of the full-back, which irritated Dunga.

— I said: ‘Guys, we have to be clear, we do not have the maturity that a team like France has today, or that Argentina itself has; we do not have that maturity as a team.’ That does not mean we cannot do well and show that we can win and go far. However, our tools for playing these matches have to be different. We have to use a different kind of mechanism to face this type of game — began Danilo.

— Since my time at Manchester City, I have always said that if you need a full-back to run the flank and provide width all the time, I would not be the right fit. But if you need a player who understands the moments and closes the spaces, then I am, very much so. But not because of my age or my supposed physical condition — I do not know where they got that from (laughs) — I have always been this kind of player. The boss is very attentive to that; he sets up the strategies well. I ventured forward once or twice like in the old days — he added.

DANILO AS A CENTER-BACK OR A FULL-BACK?

On the bench against Morocco, Danilo is expected to start this Friday (19) against Haiti, in the second round of Group C at the World Cup. If at Flamengo the ‘hero of the tetra’ plays as a center-back, for the national team the experienced player is expected to line up at full-back, taking Ibañez’s spot.

The ball starts rolling at 9:30 p.m. (Brasília time) at Lincoln Financial Field Stadium in Philadelphia, United States. The match will be broadcast on free-to-air channels Globo and SBT, as well as SporTV (pay TV) and CazéTV (YouTube). However, Coluna do Fla will provide details of the match with a focus on the red-and-black players.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.