Athletico 100 years: Carneiro Neto, the immortal

The omnipresent influence of Carneiro Neto in the Paraná sports press is unprecedented. Carneiro has done so many things for so long in so many different languages ​​that talking about local journalism without mentioning him is almost as difficult as summarizing his biography.

Antônio Carlos Carneiro Neto was born in Wenceslau Braz, grew up and learned football in Guarapuava, became a radio and newspaper reporter in Ponta Grossa, in 1964, and arrived in Curitiba the following year to study at the Colégio Estadual and graduate, some time later, at the Faculty of Law of Curitiba.

A born journalist, he worked on all active and extinct television channels in the city. In newspapers, ditto, with emphasis on decades of daily chronicles in Gazeta do Povo. On radio, it was the best of its time.

He passed through all the stations as a reporter, narrator, commentator and, often, head of the whole thing, like in the good times of B2 in the 1970s. Or in the prefixes he created at the end of the 90s, Banda B and CBN, where he still makes a daily comment. Since last year, he has participated with his friend Augusto Mafuz in a podcast on UmDois Esportes, Carneiro & Mafuz, a hit with the audience.

He published eight books about football and its circumstances, of which I highlight as essential “Atletiba – A Paixão das Muldões” (1994) and “É Disso Que o Povo Gosto” (2019), two best sellers, the last one with his famous (and plagiarized) catchphrase in the title. With justice, he was elected to the Academia Paranaense de Letras in 2016. Therefore, he is an immortal.

The best storyteller in the city, Carneiro is one of those “library men” who keeps the memory of his time on the tip of his fierce tongue. Intelligent, cultured, with fine humor and “haute gomme”Carneiro is the best character in his narratives.

And over the years, the “secret” that everyone knew was revealed: he is also a great athlete and participated in the club’s history in the most diverse senses and moments.

As he himself would say, it is a privilege to be a contemporary of Carneiro Neto.