Pele asks Brazilians not to boo their team

Soccer great Pele appealed to Brazil's notoriously fickle fans on Tuesday to get behind their team during the upcoming Confederations Cup.

The only player to win the World Cup three times was dismayed by recent games in which home fans barracked Brazil's players and their manager Luiz Felipe Scolari.

"This is a team that is under construction, this is a 15-day tournament, so let's not boo them," Pele said to applause at a promotional event in Sao Paulo. "Let's support the players, even if things don't work out because this is us preparing for the World Cup."

The eight-team Confederations Cup takes place in Brazil from June 15-30 and is considered a major test run for next year's World Cup, both for players and organizers.

More than 80 percent of the tickets have been sold for this month's tournament and it promises to be the most successful ever commercially.

Brazilian fans have a reputation for color and flamboyance when overseas, but at home they are demanding and fickle. As the only team to win the World Cup five times, Brazilian supporters are unforgiving when their expectations are not met.

In last week's 2-2 draw against England it took fans just 12 minutes before they were hounding their own players. They also greeted Scolari's second-half substitutions with chants of "Donkey, Donkey".

Fans were more positive in Porto Alegre on Sunday when Brazil overcame France 3-0.

But Pele warned the team was not the finished article and said it must improve if it is to win next year's World Cup on home soil.

"We are prepared for the Confederations Cup, but the World Cup is another story," said Carlos Alberto Torres, the captain of Brazil's 1970 World Cup-winning side. "We have another year to prepare for that."

Reuters