Benjamin Henry’s breakfast with Brazil legend Paulo César, from Leblon to World Cup memories | OneFootball

In L'Équipe’s reporting, a 2014 breakfast encounter in Rio saw Brazil great Paulo César hold court as the World Cup reached his city. The conversation blended warmth, mischief and sharp opinion.

On a Leblon morning, feet in the sand beside his folding chair after his daily swim, he waved the reporters over. He promised to entertain first, then have them pick up breakfast at a place of his choosing, a pact eased by a prior acquaintance in Touraine.

Before Brazil had been humiliated by Germany, the former OM forward delivered. He spoke of the privilege of playing with Pelé and said the 1970 triumph was his greatest football emotion, insisting that trophy belonged to the team, the first to win it three times, and that nobody could touch it. He labelled Luiz Felipe Scolari a middling stopper and a bruiser who left out Ronaldinho, and said Dunga was forever on his backside.

For one and a half hours, in impeccable French with an inimitable accent, the attacking midfielder with 58 caps and 8 goals for Brazil played to the gallery, deliberately provocative and fully aware of his effect. He evoked a childhood in the favela, racial segregation, glory, parties, carnival and glitter.

He voiced regrets too, notably leaving OM after only a year. The chat later drifted into a small shop at the foot of his Rio apartment. True to his word, after an abraço, the bill was paid.

Source: L'Équipe

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