Pope to kids: I wasn't 'bravo' at soccer, so I played goalie
Posted May 21, 2017 7:00 am
ROME (AP) - Pope Francis has told children at an Italian sports center he didn't play soccer very well as a youth and was stuck with the nickname "stiff leg."
An 11-year-old boy asked Francis during a parish visit in the Rome suburb of Acilia Sunday afternoon if he had played soccer as a child.
Francis, a keen soccer fan in his native Argentina, said since he wasn't "bravo" he usually ended up playing goalie.
The pope said: "When I was your age, I played soccer, but I wasn't 'bravo' at playing soccer, and where I come from, they call you 'pata dura,' 'stiff leg.'"
He added: "I was a 'pata dura' and that's why I usually was the goalie, so I wouldn't have to move around."
Pope Francis caresses a child as he leaves the Casal Bernocchi Sporting center, in the outskirts of Rome, Sunday, May 21, 2017. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
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Pope Francis salutes children as he leaves the Casal Bernocchi Sporting center, in the outskirts of Rome, Sunday, May 21, 2017. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
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Pope Francis delivers his blessing in the Casal Bernocchi Sporting center, in the outskirts of Rome, Sunday, May 21, 2017. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
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Pope Francis salutes children as he leaves the Casal Bernocchi Sporting center, in the outskirts of Rome, Sunday, May 21, 2017. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
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Pope Francis leaves the Casal Bernocchi Sporting center, in the outskirts of Rome, Sunday, May 21, 2017. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
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Pope Francis listens to some questions made by children in the Casal Bernocchi Sporting center, in the outskirts of Rome, Sunday, May 21, 2017. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
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Pope Francis arrives to meet children in the Casal Bernocchi Sporting center, in the outskirts of Rome, Sunday, May 21, 2017. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
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Pope Francis arrives to meet children in the Casal Bernocchi Sporting center, in the outskirts of Rome, Sunday, May 21, 2017. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
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Pope Francis listens to some questions made by children in the Casal Bernocchi Sporting center, in the outskirts of Rome, Sunday, May 21, 2017. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
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Pope Francis is greeted by children in the Casal Bernocchi Sporting center, in the outskirts of Rome, Sunday, May 21, 2017. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
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