Lugano, director of São Paulo, talks about Corinthians Democracy and says he has played with a gay athlete | Saint Paul

– Corinthians is my biggest rival here (in Brazil). Socrates was a phenomenon, a beast as a player. It was a very particular moment in Brazilian society, Lugano said of the movement led by the Corinthian midfielder in the early 1980s, amid the dictatorship installed in Brazil, along with other athletes, such as Casagrande and Wladimir.

– (Socrates) had a way of expressing himself, a charisma and a notable social concern – Lugano said, before citing what he called “the other side of the coin”.

– I also heard Emerson Leão, a strong personality, who was part of Democracy. He said Corinthians Democracy was very beautiful, but that they would not let him train, Lugano continued, about the former goalkeeper who defended Corinthians at the time and was critical of the players’ movement.

– It is true, democracy is very beautiful to decide everything, but if suddenly six wanted to train and ten didn’t, wouldn’t they abandon you? The story is very romantic, Socrates is a phenomenon in a very special social and political context, but, well, we have to give it the necessary dimension, added Lugano, who is now a colleague of Raí, brother of Socrates, in the São directory Paul.

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In the interview, Lugano was also asked about the presence of gay players in soccer and said he saw the problem “very naturally.”

– I had a homosexual partner and there was controversy at first, but it depends a lot on the behavior. If he’s efficient, if he’s a good person, he does his job and doesn’t hurt anyone, it doesn’t matter (sexual orientation), he said, not to mention the name of the athlete or the team they played together on.

– Soccer is theoretically a macho environment, I think we all had the experience of having shared (work) with some homosexual player. Do your best to be happy. I see it very naturally.

Long-time captain of Uruguay’s team, Lugano said he has a habit of listening to the narration of the 1950 World Cup final match, the Maracanazo, when the celestial team beat Brazil 2-1.

– I listened a lot in moments of tension in the national team. Suddenly, when I was going to train in Paris. Or in Turkey, we were bad in the national team, we had to recover from difficult situations, and it was something that gave me a sense of responsibility.

– It was motivating and a sense of belonging. I don’t even know why. It made me feel like I always had to take something else, that it was my responsibility. Few of my colleagues know this. I was not going to tell you that I was traveling in an Aston Martin in Paris, on the Champs Elysées, drinking mate and listening to the report by Maracanã.

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One of the most eye-catching episodes Lugano had to contend with as Uruguay’s captain was Luis Suárez’s bite on Italian Chiellini at the 2014 World Cup. He defended the striker, who was sent off and received a strong hook from FIFA. :