Brazilian soccer stars to face Lynn-based opponent

Several members of the 1994 Brazilian soccer team that won a World Cup championship will visit Manning Field on Sunday for an historic exhibition game.The World Cup veterans, who include Zinho, Ronaldao, and Viola, are part of a Brazilian all-star team that will play the Boston Braves FC, a senior soccer team based in Lynn, on Sunday at 3 p.m.”We are going for a win,” said Braves president Spiros Tourkakis, who is also a co-owner and executive vice president of East Coast Seafood Inc. on Alley Street in Lynn. “We’re going to fight hard. They’re a tough team.”Indeed they are. In addition to the former World Cup champion players, the 14 members of the Brazilian team also include Careca and Juninho Paulista, who both starred for the Brazilian National Team with Zinho. Others expected to play are Amoroso, who played in both Germany’s Bundesliga and Italy’s Serie A, as well as Dodo and Ivan.Most of the players on the Brazilian team are former professionals, although Tourkakis said that one still plays for Botafogo, a team based in Rio de Janeiro.As for the Braves, they have 35 players. At least one team member will not play on Sunday: the Braves’ president.”We have a stronger team created to compete with the very talented Brazil (team),” Tourkakis said.Tourkakis said Sunday’s game came about thanks to the involvement of the local Brazilian community.”We worked with local Brazilian people, such as at the Braz United Methodist Church in Saugus, and local Brazilian clubs, to put it together,” Tourkakis said.The Brazilian players will visit the North Shore for three days. The Braves will hold a party for their guests tonight. On Saturday morning, the Brazilian team will practice at Manning Field and then take a tour of Lynn. Tourkakis said he is anticipating a crowd of “at least 2,000” for Sunday’s game, which has received publicity on Portuguese and Brazilian radio stations, Brazilian clubs, the New England Over-the-Hill League, word of mouth, mentions in the press, and local Brazilian associations.