Sao Paulo lawyer also has yellow and green office, a yellow and green car and only eats yellow and green food — but for how much longer?
As his country hangs its head in shame after last night’s 7-1 thrashing by Germany in the World Cup semi-final, Brazilian lawyer Nelson Paviotti faces an interesting choice: will he don one of the yellow and green suit and tie combinations that he has been sporting since his country’s triumph in the 1994 World Cup?
20 years ago, Paviotti, who practises in a small law firm in Sao Paulo, made a promise to himself to wear only the Brazil colours if the national team beat Italy in the USA ’94 final.
After Romario, Bebeto and co. achieved this feat — winning 3-2 on penalties — Paviotti not only kept his sartorial pledge, but went further, eating only yellow and green food, decorating his office in yellow and green and painting his car yellow and green (having installed a speaker on its roof that plays the Brazilian national anthem during his commute to work).
Initially, the colourful attire caused raised eyebrows among fellow lawyers who thought that Paviotti may not be able to appear before a judge dressed so garishly.
But it was established that there is no rule to prevent the yellow and green, so long as it was in suit form, and Paviotti’s unique style has won him fame within the local legal profession.
The football-mad lawyer has said that he’ll stick to his eccentric ways even if Brazil don’t win the World Cup. But he surely hadn’t anticipated the level of last night’s capitulation. Time for a new black, red and yellow number?
There is more on Paviotti in the video below.