Ancelotti defends Marcelo following Brazilian coach criticism

Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti has come to the defense of his Brazilian left-back Marcelo, who has come under criticism from national team coach Dunga.

In an interview with the Brazilian newspaper O Globo, the current Selecao boss said he was unimpressed with the defender’s performance during this summer’s World Cup. Dunga stated that the left-back needed to take a more conservative approach at full-back, rather than bombing forward in an effort to create goals and assists.

“How many times did Marcelo go into attack [at the World Cup]? Twenty. How many goals did he score or create? None,” Dunga told O Globo.

“How many times were we caught out with balls going over our defenders’ backs? Three or four.”

“You don’t have to be a genius [to see the problem]. It’s not that I don’t like players who attack. But you need to score to win.”

“It’s not a question of Marcelo, it’s everybody. You have to be efficient.”

Brazil conceded ten goals during their final two matches of the summer tournament.

When informed of Dunga’s comments regarding Marcelo, prior to Real Madrid’s match against Almeria on Friday, Carlo Ancelotti leapt to the defense of his 26-year-old left-back.

“Marcelo is one of the best wide players in the world, if not the best,” Ancelotti told reporters. “Brazil did not have a good World Cup, but that was not Marcelo’s fault.”

Brazil have secured six straight victories since Dunga’s arrival, conceding just one goal.

Real Madrid plays its final La Liga match of 2014 on Friday before heading off to participate in the FIFA Club World Cup in Morocco.

Programming note: Almeria vs Real Madrid will be shown LIVE on beINSPORTS and DishWorld at 2:45pm EST on Friday.