Even veteran heads of state are at it! Cavaco Silva couldn’t help himself when he bid an upbeat “goodbye and good luck” to Portugal’s World Cup hopefuls in Belém on Monday. He joined in the fun with Cristiano Ronaldo and some of the boys, posing for a group selfie before the team flew off to the USA.
But he was able to deliver a speech in presidential style, telling the young men that they carried the “joy and dreams” of the Portuguese people with them – people who “believe you will perform well and are hoping you will be up to the challenge. You are idols to them, and that is also a responsibility,” he added.
Before ending the speech, Cavaco had one special request.
“Make the Portuguese people happy. We will all be rooting for you.”
And then came the serious business of trading gifts. Some would say Cavaco came off best.
The national football federation (FPF) gave him a Portugal football jersey with his own name and the number 12 on the back of it, as well as a national team tie – while the president presented the group with a Portuguese flag.
FPF president Fernando Gomes said: “We didn’t want to miss the chance to pay our respects to the President and express our confidence in representing our country and our people with dignity in yet another journey that we hope will be a glorious one.”
The football hopefuls were then treated to lunch at the palace before heading to the airport to fly on their way to their next big challenge.
