Brazil Lula and US Obama Engage in Soccer Diplomacy

Obama and Lula with Brazilian jersey Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and United States President Barack Obama took time out from their overloaded Thursday agendas to talk about the United States' defeat to Brazil in last month's Confederations Cup Final played in South Africa.

"We'll never let your players overturn a 2-0 lead again," Obama quipped after receiving a Brazilian national football team yellow jersey, with the number 5 and signed by the whole team, including star Kaka, at the start of their morning meeting at the G-8 summit in Italy.

During their banter, which reporters partly heard through a translator, Lula spoke animatedly of the June 28 match between the US and Brazilian national teams in the Confederations Cup series. The game was a crushing loss for the underdog US team, who led at the midway point, 2-0, only to lose 3-2.

Lula repeatedly said, "Yes we can," which was Obama's campaign catchphrase and apparently what the Brazilian president had in mind while his team trailed. Obama smiled gamely; if he felt Lula was rubbing it in a bit, he didn't let on.

"Hey, look at this," Obama said of the jersey, signed by the Brazilian team's players. "Beautiful. All right, wonderful. I like that."

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs later said Obama ended his 30-minute session with Lula by patting the Brazilian's back and vowing "we will not lose a two-point lead again".

Obama and Lula's meeting, either their fifth or sixth according to Gibbs, was a last minute add to the US President schedule after President Hu of China had to leave the summit to tend to protests in Western China.

Brazil was invited to the G8 meetings as part of the G8 plus G5, a group that includes South Africa, Brazil, India, China and Mexico. Lula also gave his G5 counterparts a Brazilian national team jersey.

Mercopress

Tags:

You May Also Like

Piracy: In Brazil, If It Can Be Copied It Will Be

Brazil has always been the target of pirates, starting in the 16th century, when ...

Brazil’s Soy Exports Reach Record 4.4 Million Tons

In Brazil, exports of soybean reached a record 4.44 million tons in May, up ...

Brazil's Petrobras refinery

Brazil/Algeria Accord to Bring Gas to Brazil

Brazilian state-controlled oil company Petrobras and Algerian state-owned Sonatrach, signed on Saturday, May 26, ...

Bio Jewel, a Brazilian Product Made for Export

Countries in Europe, like Italy, France, Portugal and Spain are the main buyers of ...

Itaú-Unibanco Bank Merger Gets Brazil’s Seal of Approval

A year and nine months after the merger of two of Brazil’s largest private ...

It’s Carnaval: For 5 Days Brazilians Are Encouraged to Drink, Dance and Have Sex

Since Friday the world’s largest street party is going on in Brazil. In Rio ...

US Arbortext Gets Brazilian Partner

US-basead Arbortext, Inc., a leading provider of Enterprise Publishing Software, yesterday announced it has ...

Brazilian Market Ends Rush Up Touched by US News and Oil Prices

Latin American markets were mixed, as Mexico was fueled by some key earnings reports, ...

President Sarney Might Have Been Brazil’s Mandela. But He Opted for Politics

Every politician has one instinct for power and another for history. Desiring political strength ...

Brazil’s Beef Exports Grow 78% in 2004

Brazilian bovine meat exports have produced a revenue of US$ 1.555 billion between January ...