On the eve of his side’s World Cup Group G clash with Portugal tomorrow, Brazil coach Dunga took the opportunity to apologise to fans for his outburst last week.
“I will refer to this one more time, please,” Dunga said at a press conference, where Goal.com's Ewan Macdonald was present, when asked to comment on his derogatory remarks to a journalist following his side’s victory over Ivory Coast on Saturday.
“I would like to apologise to the Brazilian fans for the way I behaved in that press conference as the fans have always supported the national team.
“It was to do with my personal problems, personal issues. As a Brazilian, like any Brazilian fan, I just want to work, that's all. But be that as it may I want to apologise to the Brazilian fans for any expression or outburst I might have had that wasn't what it should have been. In short I want to work for the Brazilian national team.
“Brazil has to win, otherwise I'm going to have tremendous problems,” he continued, confirming he would not field a reserve side against Portugal despite having already secured qualification for the second round.
“We have to win tomorrow. It's not always possible but we have no option: we play to win, we play to win.”
Dunga also confirmed the Julio Baptista would come in to the side in place of the suspended Kaka.
“Julio Baptista has already played in the Copa America,” he said. “He adapts himself very well to the midfield and going forward. We know that Kaka is a unique player but on the other hand Julio can take long distance shots at goal. He has played for the Brazilian team for a long time.”
The coach also offered some words of condolence to the victims of the floods that have rocked Brazil in the last few days. An estimated 120,000 people have been made homeless after a week of rain in Alagoas and Pernambuco states.
"As for the people of Pernambuco affected by the floods, we offer a vote of solidarity for the people there,” he said. “We always assured we'd play in Recife, a very hot place, and we always win when we played there.
“We pray that the people of Pernambuco hit by the floods will overcome this natural calamity, and that our victory, let's hope, will at least alleviate their suffering to some degree.”