Brazil hails return of Cup champs

President Fernando Henrique Cardoso of Brazil pins a medal on Rivaldo during Tuesday's ceremony. AP

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AP) -- Even a five-hour wait didn't dampen the fans' enthusiasm as they greeted the national soccer team on the second stop of their three-city tour honoring them for winning Brazil's fifth World Cup.

After a stop Tuesday in Brasilia, where they were awarded the National Medal of Honor by President Fernando Henrique Cardoso, the team was greeted by a sea of fans and Rio Gov. Benedita da Silva.

Accompanied by samba singer Zeca Pagodinho, the team parade paraded on top of three sound trucks past legions of fans who had filled Rio's streets and avenues since 3:00 p.m. when the players were scheduled to arrive. They only arrived in Rio at 8:00 p.m.

"I never saw anything like this in my life. Leaving the airport I was moved by the millions and millions of people in the street waiting to celebrate," Real Madrid defender Roberto Carlos told reporters.

Two of the team's stars, Rivaldo and Ronaldinho, did not parade, preferring to head straight from the Rio de Janeiro airport to their hometowns. In Brasilia, defender Lucio, goalie Dida and midfielder Gilberto Silva left the team.

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Few fans seemed to care about the hours-long delay.

"I'm so happy because if they arrived on time I would have missed them because I was working," said 19-year-old nanny Geraldina Silva Xavier as she waited with some 40,000 other fans on Copacabana beach, the team's final destination in Rio.

Before leaving the airport in Brasilia, team captain Cafu placed a fifth star on top of the Brazilian Soccer Confederation logo on the plane's side to symbolized their unprecedented fifth World Cup victory.

When the team arrived in Brasilia captain Cafu and coach Luis Felipe Scolari leaned out from the two sides of the cockpit waving Brazilian flags.

Holding up the World Cup trophy, Cafu was the first to emerge from the plane, followed by Ricardo Teixeira, president of the Brazilian Soccer Confederation, and the rest of the team.

As they descended the red-carpeted staircase, fireworks exploded and an air force band began playing a catchy samba rhythm.

"I am very happy and I am sure all of Brazil is very happy," Ronaldo, the World Cup's top scorer, told a TV reporter who rushed up to him on the runway.

After clearing customs, the players climbed onto two sound trucks that carried them past an estimated 150,000 people who lined the 15-kilometer (9-mile) route between the airport and the "Plaza of the Three Powers," where the Planalto Presidential Palace, Congress and the Supreme Court are located.

After about four hours, the procession finally entered the plaza where a huge crowd of at least 500,000 greeted the players with loud cheers. The Afro-Brazilian drum beats of the Olodum percussion band beat out the national anthem in a samba rhythm. Overhead, Air Force stunt planes wrote "Five-Time Champion" in white smoke.

After reaching the presidential palace, the players and coach Scolari walked up a ceremonial ramp and were embraced, one by one, by President Fernando Henrique Cardoso, who presented them with the National Medal of Honor.

"The team was formidable," Cardoso said earlier during his weekly radio program. "Brazil has great players, which is why we are, and will continue to be, champions."

Flanked by Cafu and Scolari, the president posed for photos holding the World Cup Trophy.

Tuesday was declared an optional holiday in Brasilia, which allowed banks, businesses and schools to choose whether they would stay open or not.

The team now heads to Sao Paulo, where they are expected to arrive around midnight.