Gordon Brown talks football with Socrates
SAO PAULO - British Prime Minister Gordon Brown took time out from politics during a visit to Brazil on Thursday to tour a football museum and reminisce with one of the country's most famous players about the 1982 World Cup.
Raith Rovers fan Brown visited the national Football Museum at Pacaembu Stadium in Sao Paulo which pays tribute to Brazil's finest exponents of the sport.
The Scot met former captain Socrates and spoke of when he watched him lead the South Americans to a 4-1 victory over his country at Espana 82.
"I recall first going to the World Cup in 1982 and seeing Scotland play Brazil and remember to this day how Scotland scored first but then Brazil scored once, twice, and then a third, and a fourth," Brown told reporters.
Brown, who is visiting Brazil as part of a four-nation trip to seek solutions to the global financial crisis, noted that it was the son of a Scotsman, Charles Miller, who introduced football to Brazil in 1894.
Brazil is the only country to have qualified for every World Cup and the only one to win it five times.
Brown announced that the English Football Association and the Brazilian Football Confederation had agreed to step up co-operation, with England helping to create a national refereeing school in Brazil.
Britain and Brazil had also agreed to share expertise and experiences on security and other matters as they each prepared to host a major world sporting event, Brown said.
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London hosts the 2012 Olympics while Brazil will stage the 2014 World Cup.