Brazil football coach Luiz Felipe Scolari came to the defence of the Rousseff government on Saturday - for the first time since mass protests began two weeks ago.
Scolari's support comes as embattled president Dilma Rousseff admitted in a televised address late on Friday that Brazil can do better and pledged to do more to fight corruption, a day after more than a million people marched to demand better living conditions.
Some members of the Brazil squad, including star player Neymar, had previously expressed solidarity with the demonstrators, but Scolari said the government also wanted what was right for the country.
“We all want a fairer country, with everything you can imagine, and the people who are in government think that as well and are trying to do it. We can’t just crucify them,” he said during a press conference in Salvador.
“You have to realise that the people who are there [in government] think that as well. Often, situations don’t develop in that way.
“We all want to work together towards that objective, which is to figure out in which areas there can be changes in two, five or 10 years, but not in one day.”