"No better anyway": Brazil president doesn't care about foreign professionals!
Brazil - The Brazilian "Seleçao" is traditionally one of the best national teams in the world, a record-breaking world champion and packed with stars. But if it were up to the country's president, it would look very different.
Head of state Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (78) - or Lula for short - is a passionate supporter of Corinthians from São Paulo and, like so many soccer fans, is not immune to regularly mutating into an amateur coach of his own national team.
In an interview with the radio station"O Povo/CBN", he gave the actual incumbent Dorival Júnior (62) some pretty bold advice.
"I've been arguing for some time that the national team should only be made up of players who also play in the country," said the 78-year-old.
His reasoning is likely to raise a few eyebrows: "The players abroad aren't necessarily better anyway," claimed the president.
A very bold thesis, as the big names in the current team all play in Europe. Starting with Ederson (31, Man City) in goal, Gabriel (26, Arsenal) and Marquinhos (30, PSG) in defense, through to the magic offense around Vinícius Júnior (24), Rodrygo (23) and Endrick (18) from Real Madrid.
In addition, of course, there is the currently injured superstar Neymar (32), who is playing for Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia.
Brazil has "no stars" abroad, according to Lula
Admittedly, there are also capable professionals running around in the domestic Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, as shown not least by Friday's match against Chile, in which Luiz Henrique (23) and Igor Jesus (23) scored the goals for a 2:1 victory.
"The two players who scored the goals are playing for Botafogo in the Brazilian championship," Lula rightly remarked - and continued his suggestion.
"We don't have a star like Garrincha or Romário out there. We have a lot of promising youngsters, but they're not stars yet. We have to give the players here a chance," explained the politician.
However, Lula also admitted that he was not an expert and only recognized Rodrygo, Marquinhos, Ederson and Raphinha (27) from FC Barcelona against Chile, although Lucas Paquetá (27), Arsenal's Gabriel and Savinho (20) from Man City were some of the other top players on the pitch.
"I didn't know the other players. Where are the guys who play here?" asked the head of state. The legionnaires' hearts were probably not exactly lifted by these words from their own president.