Luis Suarez won an unlikely defender on Thursday in the form of a possible opponent to Uruguay in the World Cup. Brazil's Fred said that the nine-game suspension and four-month ban handed to the Uruguayan for biting Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini was too harsh.
"It's undeniable that Suarez made a mistake, but I think this punishment was too harsh," Fred said. "As a fellow player and a human being I understand what footballers go through on the pitch.
"There's a lot of tension and disputes for spaces; it's always very nervy."
Speaking at a news conference ahead of Brazil's round of 16 meeting with Chile, Fred revealed Suarez's situation was debated among his Selecao teammates, and the Fluminense man suggested a majority of them were not troubled by the sanctions imposed by FIFA.
But the fact Suarez won't even be allowed to train with Liverpool until October disturbed Fred.
"A punishment as tough as that can destroy the life of an athlete," he said. "Everybody is laying it down on him. While I do think Suarez deserved some punishment, I really wished we could all still see him playing in this World Cup."
Although Fred is sponsored by the same kit company -- adidas -- as Suarez, they are not acquaintances.
Uruguay, Brazil's executioners in the 1950 World Cup, could meet the Selecao in the quarterfinals if both sides win their games on Saturday. However, the Celeste face an uphill struggle in their match against the impressive Colombians in Rio, as Suarez has been their main man in the tournament so far, thanks to some poor displays from fellow striker Edinson Cavani.
The Brazilians, however, are pretty aware of the challenge presented to them by the Chileans, even though a fake Twitter account in Fred's name claimed that Brazil could already consider themselves through to the quarterfinals.
"I would never tweet that," Fred said. "Chile have one of their strongest teams in recent memory. They are fast and very technical and their key players are quite experienced.
"I have watched some videos of their matches and last year the Selecao fought hard to beat them in a friendly in which they pretty much scored with the only chance they created", said Fred, referring to the 2-1 win in Toronto, last October, a few days after Chile shocked England at Wembley.
The Fluminense striker, however, looked a very different player than the last time he appeared in front of the cameras in Brazil's Teresopolis HQ, in Rio's Peak Disctrict. After coming up empty in the first two Selecao games, Fred was in the verge of statistical maelstrom, since no Brazilian No. 9 had ever failed to score in three World Cup matches.
One of the few players in the squad who actually has previous experience in the tournament -- as Ronaldo's understudy in 2006 -- he celebrated breaking his duck against Cameroon as if Brazil had won the title in Brasilia last Monday.
The somber expression he carried around in the last few weeks gave way to smiles and even a couple of jokes -- he was pictured jokingly trying to bite Neymar in a Selecao training session on Wednesday.
Fred even promised he will keep his moustache as a good-luck charm for more goals in Brazil.
"I am keeping it until the end now, and I am sure that there's something good waiting for us," he said.
Fred has an impressive scoring record at the Mineirao, the stage in which Brazilian and Chileans will battle on Saturday: 42 goals in 48 games.