Aug. 23, 2006

What was your favorite moment from seeing Barcelona?
Meeting Ronaldinho!!

What was the funniest moment?
When I was speaking Portuguese to Ronaldinho, I got a little tongue tied for a second.

Did you (or your teammates) talk to any of the players? What did you talk about?
I talked to Ronaldinho. He was walking away and I yelled to him in Portuguese: "Ronaldinho, can you please sign my jersey?" He literally turned around from ten yards away and walked over to me to sign my jersey. He seemed just as excited as I was when he found out I was Brazilian. He asked where in Brazil I was from and I told him Rio de Janeiro. Then he asked me where my parents were from. He was super excited to know that he and my dad come from the same area. He was very friendly. He talked to me like I was one of his buddies. He is the best player in the world, but he is also very humble. I respect him now even more than I did before. Security was trying to pull him off the whole time but he just kept brushing them off and talked to me. He also stayed to take a couple of pictures with me. It was the most exciting moment of my life.

Did you see any similarities between your practice and their practice?
Yes, it was very similar.

Did they do any similar drills to the drills that your team does in practice?
They warmed up with 5 v 2 just like we do.

Did you see things that you want to try this season?
Yes...Joga Bonito

Are there any lessons that you learned that you are going to share with your teammates who didn't attend the practices?
What I really enjoyed about their practice was that they were all having fun. They joked around and were smiling all practice, but at the same time got the work done. They had incredible team chemistry.

Describe your thoughts when you first saw the team.
I was in shock. Everytime a new player came out of the bus it became less believable.

How do you think this experience will help LMU soccer this season and in the future?
It is great motivation for the season. What were the chances of them choosing LMU? This was a once in a lifetime opportunity. We will take this moment and remember it during the season.

Was it what you expected?
Definately more than what I expected. This is what people from my home country, Brazil, can only dream about. I am extremely grateful.