FRANCE 98 – Brazil-Norway – The Vice-Consul from Brazil under the spotlight

Anténor Bogea, BRAZIL’s Vice Consul to MARSEILLE, born in the small Brazilian town of San Luis near Belem, is preparing to live through some great moments, with the arrival of the “Auriverde” delegation in MARSEILLE.

In anticipation of match n°35 BRAZIL-NORWAY (Group A), Tuesday 23 June at 21h00 in the stade Vélodrome, the Brazilian Football Federation gave this charismatic character the responsibility of choosing the BRAZIL team’s temporary lodgings.

He also participated in the organisation of cultural events such as an exhibition of Brazilian sculptures and paintings at the Palais de la Bourse, set down for the first two weeks of July.

As much a fan of football as he is of music, Anténor Bogea, an accomplished pianist and composer, will be playing with his group on 7 July (the day of the semi-final in MARSEILLE) as the opening act before Gilberto GIL during the “Fiesta des Sud” festivities at the “Gare d’Arenc”.

Speaking about the BRAZIL team, he’s enthusiastic: “I think it’s a good team with some brilliant individuals like RONALDO (9) and BEBETO (20), even though I feel the squads in 1970 and 1982 were superior. Some say the 1998 Brazilian defence could be better, but I think they’re simply victims of the offensive line being taken by the team’s technical managers.”

“Regarding the arrival of 15,000 Brazilian fans in MARSEILLE, I have no worries. They are here for the football and the festivities.”

“I’m concerned about the opposition from our Argentine neighbours (the only footballing nation having a positive score balance against BRAZIL). Even though I have a liking for the NIGERIA (Group D) team, my biggest dream is of a FRANCE-BRAZIL final, whose result would be, for me, a veritable Cornelian drama.”