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Reuters, Monday, June 26, 2006 3:27 PM
The Brazilian team moves with quite an entourage. No, we're not talking about the extra team doctor here, but rather the 600-strong media circus that followed the national team to Germany. "Like a
herd of wildebeests crossing the Serengeti, the Brazilian media descends upon unsuspecting venues, flattening -- and interviewing -- everything in its path," writes Brain Homewood of Reuters. Prior to
Germany, the media circus' first victim was the small Swiss village of Weggis on the banks of Lake Lucerne. While the players prepared for the tournament in relative peace and quiet, emerging only for
training sessions, Homewood said the Brazilian media stampeded through the small town, turning it into a mini-Rio de Janeiro. "There is probably nothing in the sporting world which can compare to the
Brazilian media corps in action," he wrote. For example, Globo television actually sent a 150-strong crew to Weggis just to televise Brazil's training sessions, which were broadcast live, with
commentary. On the other side of the barriers during training, hundreds of reporters would collide, sticking out their microphones and mobile phones to capture comments like "I'm happy to be in the
team," "football is full of surprises," etc. The media-savvy Brazilian players know just the right thing to say, too. Ronaldo, Roberto Carlos, Emerson, Juninho Pernambucano and Cafu are regarded as
the most quotable, while younger players like Kaka, Adriano, and Ronaldinho tend to offer the same answers to every question, Homewood says.
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