Tens of thousands of people, many waving the green and gold national colors, lined the streets for 18 kilometers to hail their heroes, who arrived three hours late, due to excess luggage accrued while shopping in Los Angeles.
The rapturous reception from millions of fans was to be extended in Brasilia, headed by President Itamar Franco, before the team and its celebrations continued on to Rio de Janeiro.
The story was a little different in Italy, where coach Arrigo Sacchi flew home to jeers from disgruntled fans.
About 1,000 supporters, some with tears in their eyes, gathered at Rome's Fiumicino airport to see the squad return from Los Angeles where they lost Sunday 3-2 on penalties.
The players, many looking dejected, received a warm welcome but some fans waving banners for Italian club Lazio and chanting "Signori" heckled Sacchi.
Sacchi did not play league top scorer Giuseppe Signori in the final.
"They're ignorant and I've had it up here to with ignorant people," Sacchi told reporters.
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Brazil's win over Italy in the World Cup final got a 12.4 overnight rating, Nielsen Media Research said Monday. The overnight rating topped the 10.2 overnight rating for the United States' second-round loss to Brazil on July 4.
The rating is the percentage of the television households in the nation watching a program and the share is the percentage among televisions which are on at the time.
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The World Cup will have a sudden-death overtime format by 1998 but it could still end in a shootout, officials said Monday.
A day after penalty kicks decided soccer's world championship for the first time, Joseph Blatter, general secretary of FIFA, said changes would be made to the overtime system by the 1998 World Cup in France.
He said Brazil's victory in a 3-2 shootout over Italy had left a hollow feeling among players, coaches and officials. Blatter said FIFA would have a new systemby 1998.
He said the replacement probably would be modeled on the "Golden Goal," FIFA's version of the sudden-death overtimes of football and hockey, which has been used in various youth tournaments.
(Reuters, AP)
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