Brazil defender Marcelo has leapt to the defence of his Selecao teammate Fred.
The experienced striker has been widely criticised at this summer's World Cup, but Marcelo has insisted that the forward plays a key role for the national team.
"In this team everyone has the ability to make play, dribble and create dangerous situations," Marcelo told reporters at a press conference.
"In this team, it's not important who scores the goals. When someone scores, it's as if we'd all scored. Fred is a leader on and off the pitch."
Brazil return to Group A action against Cameroon on Monday.
