Brazil coach Dunga hits back at Thiago Silva over Brazil captaincy

Brazil coach Dunga

Rio de Janeiro, Nov 18: Brazil coach Dunga has hit back at Thiago Silva, who criticised coach's decision to strip the central defender of the Selecao captaincy.

Dunga took charge of Brazil in July following the team's 1-7 loss to Germany in the World Cup semi-finals, reports Xinhua.

One of his first decisions was to replace Silva with Barcelona star Neymar.

"Nobody loses when you get to the national team because nobody is the owner of anything," Brazil's 1994 World Cup-winning captain was quoted saying by the Folha de S.Paulo newspaper.

"When I took over there was no No. 9 or No. 10, no goalkeeping coach or fitness coach. Likewise there was no captain. I respect every player but this is my way of working."

Silva earlier said that nobody had spoken to him about the decision.

"It seems like you lose your place, like they have taken something away from me," he said.

Silva was left out of Brazil's 4-0 friendly win over Turkey last week and is expected to again miss Tuesday's clash against Austria in Vienna.