Brazilian Footballer Lucio Offers All Glory to God

|PIC1|28-year-old Brazilian football player, Lucio, says the team that gives God the utmost glory deserves to be the champion in the World Cup 2006.

The Brazil team consists of seven Christians, who are known for regularly praying on the field, and have also been seen displaying shirts with slogans such as 'Jesus Loves You' after scoring a goal, or winning a game.

Brazil defeated Germany four years ago at the World Cup in South Korea and Japan, as Lucio told the German magazine “Neues Leben” (New Life), his team prayed before that match – “not for victory but rather that our team praises God as is His due”.

According to Lucio, even if the Brazilians had lost, they would have shown their Jesus-Loves-You shirts. “We should always give Jesus the glory – in good times and bad”.

The Brazilians are the current world champions.

|AD|The World Cup kicked off 9 June in Munich, with an ecumenical church service held before the opening match. Bishop Wolfgang Huber, leader of the main line Protestant Churches in Germany, called for fair sportsmanship and mercy during the competition.

“Those who do not win, are not failures”, said Huber. Spectators and players alike should enjoy the matches without fear that a negative result will “bring the world down”.

He told how the real victory should belong to faith in God and not to the one, who carries the trophy, said the bishop. He paid his respect to those players who show their devotion to God.

In addition, many Christian initiatives are accompanying the World Cup, which ends 9 July.

Evangelistic outreach projects are planned as well as prayer meetings. Approximately 1,200 local churches are opening their premises for football fans, offering twelve selected World Cup matches on large screens with an accompanying Christian TV program.

Christians affiliated with the Evangelical Alliance in Frankfurt are praying round the clock for a safe and fair World Cup, with the initiative having kicked off with a worship service in front of the main line railway station, 9 June.