If I had to choose between my wife and my putter... well, I’d miss her.
Lucio
Football without God would not make Lucio happy, the Brazil captain explains A few months ago I had the opportunity to interview Lucio, the Brazil captain for the third time – I had done so previously before the 2002 and 2006 World Cups.When we met at the Inter Milan training ground, he told me that he had two big ambitions left in football: “Firstly to win the Champions League, because in the 2002 I reached the final with Bayer Leverkusen but was not able to win. In 2010 without a doubt, my greatest goal will be the World Cup. But without a doubt my great dream for 2010, is to win one more World Cup with the Brazilian National Team”. He has already completed the first half, when Inter Milan won the 2010 Champions League last month.
Lucio’s first memory of the World Cup was in 1994. Then aged 16, he watched Brazil play on television as his country won the World Cup for the fourth time. He recalls: “Even though it was far off, I imagined what it would be like to win the World Cup. In Brazil, everyone dreams of this”. Sixteen years later Dunga, captain in 1994, is the head coach and Lucio, the captain.
In 2002, Lucio was also in the winning Brazil World Cup team. Playing, he says “was a special moment. It was a time when I could see the hand of God in every day. We were a great group and it was a very important moment in my life and in my family’s life”. In the 2006 World Cup Brazil was unable to retain the trophy but Lucio established a record by playing for 386 minutes without committing a foul.
A Christian since childhood – his mother brought him to Church, Lucio says he has had “various experiences with God where God has shown that He can take me farther than I could imagine. Sometimes our thoughts can be so small, but God has greater plans for us.”
He says “ It was through these experiences that I accepted Jesus and knew that God had great plans for my life. God has done things in my life that I never imagined, as a professional, playing in great clubs, great titles, having a wife and children who are healthy and walking in the same path towards Jesus.”
“ My family all understand what God has done for us, the love He demonstrates for us every day, and His mercy in our weakness and in the fact we are sinners. I believe God shows true love when we fail and He loves us and takes care of us just he same. I believe this is what brings us closer to him each and every day.
However, sometimes people question Lucio’s faith, saying “You are rich and famous, why do you need Jesus?’” Lucio explains: “I believe this is a wrong idea many people have. I have personally heard people say many times ‘You are happy and joyful because you have money and you play for a big club, or for the National Team or because of good living conditions’. I think these are totally irrelevant and untrue.
“I believe that the fact I play for a great club, play on the National Team, the fact I have a wife and family who support me just shows me that I need God all the more because of the demands of the club, the National Team, and the attention I need to give to my wife and children. This is where we need God the most because He gives us great talents and opportunities, but with them come great responsibilities. I believe it is in these moments where we need God the most. I always tell people that we need to seek God first and He will take care of the rest.
Today, if I only had football, fame, titles, but didn’t have my family and didn’t have God, I would not be happy. This is why I don’t believe what some people say. I believe that in order to be happy, you have to be right with God. You have to be searching after God and walking with Him.
“The difference that Jesus makes in my life is great because the world judges your worth by who you are and what you have. For Jesus, independently of what you have, who you are, where you play, what you do, quite apart from your work or your profession, Jesus loves you the same. For me, I see this when I win, when I lose, when I get home after a bad match we were unable to win, and even when I fail. In God’s eyes, I am the same person and He is going to continue to love me just the same.
This is what I believe is the difference Jesus makes in my life by giving me second chances and renewing His mercy every day. I believe this is true love and is what motivates me to do what God wants each and every day”.
This article appeared in The Times. online edition in June 2010.