Lula, the goal "president"
He is not the president of his native Brazil. But this Lula does command something and by an ample margin, the strikers chart of the South American U-17. Luiz Marcelo Morais dos Reis, is his full name, and he has converted eleven goals in the seven matches that his national team has disputed in the tournament, establishing a new record in the category.
Lula is not a forward, but an offensive halfback, "meia", as his function is denominated in Brazil. It happens that he has a great technical repertoire when defining in front of the goal, a quality that he supplements with a remarkable opportunism: he is always in the right place and at the right time to beat the rival goals. A terrible combination for any defense.
The fact he wears jersey Nº 10 doesn't inhibit him, he doesn't feel the weight of the responsibility. On the contrary, he considers it as a stimulus to be overcome at each instant. He plays freely. It's enough with remembering that goal against Bolivia, in which he avoided a rival that crossed his path and defined before goalkeeper Alex Arancibia. It was the fourth goal of Brazil in that match and the second in Lula's personal account. The green and yellows won by demolition in that match, 7-2, last March 8 in Ambato.
But not everything has always been happiness for the Brazilian. He says that two years ago he stayed outside of the national team that participated in the South American U-15, Bolivia 2005 because of an injury. He watched the matches on television. Now, this game organizer born April 10, 1990, in Sao Paulo, is having his personal revenge, he is the top gunner in the U-17.
He relates that when he was 8 years old he went to a training session of Corinthians with Rafael, his friend and partner in this Brazilian national team (he is the right wing). Lula who took his first steps with Santa María (a futsal club from São Caetano), didn't have the intention of staying in Corinthians. He only accompanied Rafael.
There Lula began to show his qualities. He always acted in midfield and already began to exhibit his goal scoring capacity at a very young age. He has been top striker of the Brazilian U-17 championship and of the Nike Cup of Brazil.
The 11 goals are already a record for a South American U-17, and he still has two matches left to increase it.
ALFIERI PHOTO
He is considered a calm boy that enjoys to dance the samba and to play video games, where he imitates Frenchman Zinedine Zidane, and doesn't question how he said goodbye to the World Cup of 2006. "It doesn't matter if they expelled him for giving a header. I won't change what I have always thought of him because of that mistake. He is one of the best halfbacks in the history of football", he says.
But Zidane is not his only idol. The other referent that he has is his countryman Ronaldinho. "I would like to play with him in Barcelona", says Lula, who is one of the most requested players by talent scouts and entrepreneurs. "I feel very well in Corinthians. Everything has its time. When it comes time to leave, I will do so, but I don't believe this is the right moment", comments the paulista in a not very understandable Spanish.
Lula admits that if he was not a footballer he would be a player of table tennis. During their stay in Ecuador, he has been practicing this activity, without leaving the video game console aside, in which he recognizes Maicon as the one that dominates virtual football the most.
Maicon intervenes and he comments that he has even eaten Lula's dessert as prize for beating him in a video soccer game. The young player has not neglected his family during the tournament, nor his girlfriend Adriana (for 11 months now), whom he calls every other day.
This is Lula, Brazilian football's new promise, who in this South American U- 17 has become a "president", but of the goal.
