Pope Leo XVI received on Tuesday at the Vatican to Napoli, a brand new champion of the Italian series, joking about his own football affinities.
The team, led by the Italian international Giovanni Di Lorenzo, arrived at the papal audience one day after a triumphal parade by bus discovered by the center of Naples.
“The press says that I am a fan of AS Roma, but of nothing! This is what the press says. Not everything they read in the press is true,” said the Pope, according to a transcription.
León, the first Pope from the United States, continues and practices sports, including tennis. People who know him described him to the media as a follower of AS Roma in Italy.
The president of Napoli, Aurelio de Laurentiis, gave him a blue shirt of the club signed by the players, with the number 10 and his name in Italian, “Pope Leone XIV”.
“You are a number 10, so you are a great striker,” De Laurentiis told him. León responded with a smile and a simple “thank you.”
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Pope Leo XIV gives blessings to players and managers of Napoli
Coach Antonio Conte, whom De Laurentiis presented as “deeply Catholic,” kneel and kissed the Pope’s hand, before León told him that he had seen many times on television.
In a brief speech, the Pontiff stressed the importance of team spirit and collaboration, as well as the educational value of sport, especially for young people.
The victory reaches “at the end of a long road, in which the most important thing is not a punctual feat or the extraordinary performance of a champion,” he said.
“The championship is won by the team, and when I say ‘team’ I mean the players, the coach with the entire squad, and the club,” he added.
León finished his speech blessing the players and managers of the club and congratulating them, also on behalf of his personal cook.
“She is from Naples and says: My best wishes! She would also like to be here, Mrs. Rosa, (s) a big fan,” said the Pope.
With Reuters information
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