Thursday, July 9, 2009

Soccer diplomacy between Lula and Obama

Damn Lula, do you really have to rub it in?
President Barack Obama seemed pleased with the gift he received Thursday from Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, but it was bittersweet nonetheless.

Silva gave Obama, a big sports fan, an autographed yellow Brazilian soccer jersey at the start of their morning meeting at the G-8 summit in Italy.

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

Silva repeatedly said, "Yes we can," which was Obama's campaign catchphrase and apparently what the Brazilian president had in mind while his team trailed…

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs later said Obama ended his 30-minute session with Silva by patting the Brazilian's back and vowing, "we will not lose a two-point lead again."
A quick piece of advice for Obama: give Lula a revenge gift of a U.S. soccer jersey signed by the 2008 gold medial winning squad who beat Brazil 1-0.

On a more serious note, both presidents discussed several topics from Brazil’s relations with Iran to the political mess in Honduras.

Image- AP
Online Sources- AP, the Latin Americanist, AFP, FOX News

No comments: