Photo: Gil Ferreira/SCO/STF
On a sports program on Rádio Justiça, Marco Aurélio Mello declares his love for Flamengo.
The minister recalls gaffes, such as broadcasting the team's anthem during a Supreme Court session.
Mirella D'Elia\ Gustavo Tourinho\ From G1, in Brasília\
After the interview, Marco Aurélio participated in the session on stem cells (Photo: Gil Ferreira/SCO/STF)
The scene, though seemingly straight out of a fiction book, was real. Amidst the seriousness of a session of the Supreme Federal Court (STF), an intriguing sound broke the silence. Instead of the elaborate speech of one of the 11 members of the country's highest court, the surprise: the Flamengo anthem.
The owner of the device? None other than the then-president of the Supreme Court, Minister Marco Aurélio Mello – who held the position between 2001 and 2003. A fanatic for the Rio de Janeiro team, he makes no secret of his intense passion. So much so that, in addition to this device, he has another one, with a second version of the Flamengo anthem.
At that moment, however, shame spoke louder than love for football. The cell phone was so close to the microphone that the sound filled the entire Supreme Court chamber (listen here). And, faced with his astonished colleagues, the minister even had difficulty turning off the phone. But he didn't think twice: to better illustrate what happened, he recited a passage from the national anthem (click here to listen) in an interview with Rádio Justiça.
Rule of the game
Marco Aurélio recounted this and other picturesque cases in detail to journalists Fábio Ruas and Adriano Oliveira. They conceived, produced, and will present the program "Regra do Jogo" (Rule of the Game), which will be broadcast every Saturday on the station, starting at 14 PM.
The minister participates in the segment “National Passion”, a highlight of the program, which premieres this Saturday (31). Each week, a Judiciary authority will get out of the routine, get rid of the tangle of processes and relax for a few minutes to talk about their passion for their favorite team.
During the informal chat that will air this Saturday, Marco Aurélio also recounted other stories, took a jab at rival Vasco da Gama, commenting on Eurico Miranda's administration (click here to listen), and let slip a dream: he said he wanted to be president of Flamengo. Immediately afterwards, he confessed he was just joking.
Appointment scheduled
But Marco Aurélio wasn't kidding when he said that, whenever he can, he goes to Flamengo games at Maracanã, in the North Zone of Rio de Janeiro. Asked if he will attend the most charming match in the city, against Fluminense, at 18:10 pm on Sunday (1st), for the Brazilian Championship, he didn't hesitate: he confirmed his presence.
After several years battling against relegation in the Brazilian Championship, Flamengo has been experiencing moments of glory in the competition since last year. In 2007, the club finished the championship in 3rd place - its best position since 1992, when it won its fifth title.
This year, after three rounds, the club has accumulated two wins (both at the Maracanã) and one draw (at the Olímpico Stadium in Porto Alegre, against Grêmio). This puts them in second place in the Brazilian Championship. Against Fluminense, Marco Aurélio could help Flamengo become the leader – Flamengo simply needs to win and Cruzeiro, the current leader, needs to suffer a defeat against Coritiba in the Paraná capital.