RIO DE JANEIRO, March 5 (Reuters) - Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari stood up for specialist dribbler Neymar on Tuesday, saying the flamboyant forward's reputation for falling down easily was undeserved and exaggerated. "He gets fouled 10 times a match, and possibly one or two of those free kicks shouldn't be awarded, but then that is normal in football," Scolari told a news conference on Tuesday. "The coaches who criticise Neymar, who claim he falls over or simulates fouls, do that because it's an easy way out for them.

Brazil legend Pele has criticised the showings of youngster Neymar from his old club Santos when playing for the national team, expressing fears the team will not do well at next year's World Cup on home soil. "I am very worried by the Brazilian side. We had three years with (coach) Mano Menezes and did not obtain any benefit from those three years," said Pele, 72, in an interview with Estado de Sao Paulo daily published on Wednesday. Pele reserved some of his toughest criticism for Neymar, touted as the Selecao's big star of the future if he can live up to the hype.

Brazil have a long way to go if they are to add a sixth World Cup victory to their collection on home soil next year, striker Neymar believes. In an interview with German press agency SID, a subsidiary of AFP, after the 2-1 defeat by England at Wembley, Neymar said the Brazilians needed to improve their team game. "We tried everything we could, but it wasn't enough," said the 21-year-old, billed as the new Pele. Brazil have slipped alarmingly down the world rankings in the past two years and are now a lowly 18th.