Lúcio had a successful career, while representing some of the best clubs in the world such as Bayern Munich, Inter Milan and Juventus, besides winning the 2002 FIFA World Cup with the Seleção.

The 39 year old defender was also one of the marquee players in the Indian Super League (ISL), when he spent the 2015 season with FC Goa.

FIFA.com caught up with Lúcio to talk about the FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017, football in India and the Brazilian U-17 national team.

When asked about his experience of playing in India, Lúcio told FIFA.com: “It was great. The people are full of admiration for footballers, especially Brazilian ones. They know the game has a great history in our country and how successful we’ve been. It was a wonderful experience for me to feel their heartfelt kindness.”

“Overall, my memories are very positive, especially in terms of the football, friendships and well-organised competitions. A particular highlight for me was the friendships I made with Indian players. It was wonderful to have the opportunity to visit their families at home. That was always really nice.”

Talking about football in India and the impact of the FIFA U-17 World Cup, he said: ” Football still has some catching up to do in India. It still needs time and a lot of development work in order to continue to grow. The basics need to be worked on every day, so that the passion for the game can increase and be shared by the Indian people.”

“First and foremost, I think the tournament (FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017) will provide them with experience. It will give football a stage to become bigger and better known.”

Please visit FIFA.com to read the full interview:
www.fifa.com/u17worldcup/news/y=2017/m=10/news=lucio-no-reason-to-get-complacent-2914870.html

(Photo courtesy: FC Goa)