Changing room visitor Clinton praises US spirit

Changing room visitor Clinton praises US spirit

PRETORIA - Former US President Bill Clinton got to his feet to celebrate [ˈselibreit](庆祝) his team's last-gasp(最后一刻) goal againstAlgeria [ælˈdʒɪəri:ə](阿尔及利亚) at the World Cup on Wednesday and gave the players a speech about the Americanspirit [ˈspirit](精神) afterwards(后来).

"He spent 45 minutes in the locker room(衣帽间)," US Soccer president Sunil Gulati said.

"He was so proud of the team -- they didn't get frustrated [frʌˈstreɪtɪd](沮丧) by the fact they missed some chances today and didn't let the last game affect them (a 2-2 draw with Slovenia [sləuˈvi:njə](斯洛文尼亚) where they had a late goal disallowed).

"That's the American spirit, that's what President Clinton said in the locker room after the game."

Landon Donovan's stoppage-time(伤停补时) goal put the US through to the knockout [ˈnɔˈkaut](淘汰) round as Group C winners, with Gulati saying Clinton was on his feet celebrating like the thousands of other American jubilant(兴高采烈的) fans in the stadium [ˈsteidjəm](体育场). Donovan was thrilled by the dressing room visitor.

"He is very charismatic [ˌkærɪzˈmætɪk](有魅力的), you can tell how touched [tʌtʃt](感动) he was by the moment and it was really nice to have that," he said.