Deaf-blind Brazil fan follows World Cup heroes with help of interpreters
  • 6 years ago
Brazilian football fan Carlos Junior, who is both deaf and blind, celebrated the victory of his team against Costa Rica in the second round of the World Cup with the help of friends who are interpreters.

Carlos was born deaf and his eyesight began to deteriorate when he was 17 years old due to Usher syndrome, a rare genetic disorder which affects a person's seeing and hearing ability.

The footage shows interpreter Renato Rodrigues describing to Carlos Junior what is happening in the game using his hands and a table with a miniature pitch on it.

Carlos Junior cheers along with his peers after Neymar and Philippe Coutinho scored stoppage-time goals to give Brazil their first win in Russia.

At the end of the match, Renato describes the reactions of Brazilian players and Costa Rica to Carlos.

‘’I described Neymar crying and being hug by other footballers as well as the upset of Costa Rica players.

Renato Rodrigues, an interpreter and friend of Carlos for ten years, explained why he met with other interpreters to make it possible for "Carlinhos" to experience the match:

‘’We wanted Carlinhos to feel the emotion that millions of Brazilians feel.

‘’It was a great experience guiding Carlinhos along with my friends Helio Fonseja, Beatriz Canuto, Vinicius Alves and Carlos Santana in a very exciting football game for all of us.’’

‘’He (Carlos) got emotional and said he wants more for the next match,’’ Renato concluded.

Brazil will be playing Serbia tomorrow (June 26).
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