London: Brazil coach Dunga came to the defence of one of his predecessors on Monday, saying Chelsea was too hasty in firing Luiz Felipe Scolari.
Scolari is revered in Brazil for guiding the country to its fifth World Cup title in 2002. He also won the Copa Libertadores with both Gremio and Palmeiras.
"In football you need quality and Scolari is an established trainer despite the fact he was sacked today," Dunga said Monday through a translator ahead of Brazil's friendly with Italy in London.
"There's no doubt about his skills, he is a world champion."
Scolari, who coached Portugal for six years, was fired Monday after only seven months in charge at Chelsea despite a strong start that brought the London club 10 wins from 13 Premier League games to start the season.
Chelsea, however, has slipped to fourth place in the standings, seven points behind leader Manchester United, after Saturday's 0-0 draw against Hull. Against the major contenders in the league — Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal — Chelsea has lost four and drawn one.
"Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson is a very strange case, he is the only one who has been in charge for many years," Dunga said of the Scot, who has been at United for 22 years. "European football and Brazilian football coaches have not enough time to train and to get to know their teams, so it's difficult. It's a question of time.
"The pressure is huge on a coach because football is under scrutiny the whole time. A coach has to get to know his players in order to get the best out of them."
Brazil midfielder Gilberto Silva, who left Arsenal to join Panathinaikos last year, echoed Dunga's frustrations.
"It's hard to transform a club when you're a new coach," Gilberto said. "Some other managers have the same problem adapting but they need time. Maybe the next year will be stronger and the team will do well but the squad has a lot of quality."
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