It is no secret that Kobe Bryant is a huge soccer fan. Kobe grew up in Italy where soccer is by far the most popular sport and that love for the sport rubbed off on him as a child.
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During the 2014 World Cup, Kobe has made his presence known with the five-time NBA champion doing the rounds in Brazil while making appearances at three different games in the tournament thus far.
Kobe recently sat down with FIFA.com to talk about his love for soccer. The Los Angeles Lakers superstar gave some interesting answers to questions asked including one the below:
Kobe, you visited the Confederations Cup last year and now you are at the World Cup in Brazil. You must be a huge football fan…
Kobe Bryant: I am actually. I grew up in Italy. From the age from six to 14 I played soccer every day. It is actually my favorite sport.
With Kobe playing 18 years in the NBA and widely considered as one of the greatest players in the history of the league, it’s a little surprising that soccer would be the sport that he considers his favorite.
Of course, there’s a big difference in playing and watching. Kobe also said recently that soccer is his favorite sport to watch, but simply plays for fun as he did in Brazil earlier this week.
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Along with dubbing soccer his favorite sport, Kobe has chimed in on who he believes will win it all. Although Kobe has a soft spot for Italy, Spain and USA, it seems as though the superstar the host country of Brazil will win via FIFA.com:
Who is your favourite for the Trophy?
Wow… It is hard to go against the home team in Brazil. It would be nice to see a Brazil versus Argentina final. Germany looks very, very strong too and it is hard to go against them as well.
After the first round of games, Netherlands has had the strongest showing beating the defending champion Spanish squad, 5-1. Brazil also played well in their first match against Croatia beating the Croatians, 3-1, but it could be argued that the Dutch and German squads are the best team in the tournament at this point in time.
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