Delighted Brazilians optimistic about World Cup

By Pedro Fonseca

RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Delighted Brazilians let off fireworks, released balloons and draped giant yellow team shirts over landmarks to celebrate the announcement that their soccer-obsessed country will host the 2014 World Cup.

Brazil has won the World Cup five times -- more than any other nation -- and its dazzling football prowess is a defining character of the vast, multi-racial nation.

With typical optimism, Brazilians said they were sure the country could overcome decrepit stadiums and rampant urban violence to stage a successful spectacle in 2014.

But some said the money might be better spent on tackling Brazil's social problems and the divide between rich and poor.

"The Cup is good for Brazil, for tourism. Visitors will find out there are good people here," said Renato dos Santos Alves, a 25-year-old musician in Sao Paulo, Brazil's largest city.

"But on the other hand, having the Cup in a country with loads of hungry children is a distraction from the problem."

Brazilians watching television in offices cheered as FIFA President Sepp Blatter, flanked by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, made the announcement in Zurich.

"It is of huge importance for the country. There is plenty of time to organise and to build what needs to be done," former player Junior, who played for Brazil 74 times, told Reuters.