Brazil Uses Him for Mota-vation

Evandro Mota apparently is Brazil’s answer to Tony Robbins, the positive-thinking motivational guru.

Mota, a metallurgical engineer by profession, has been the Brazilian team’s motivational consultant since 1994. To reinforce the idea of winning and helping players envision themselves as champions, he compiles scrapbooks with news clippings about Brazilian victories and shows players tapes of their best efforts.

He also hands each player a folder with a photo of a Brazilian hero and a symbolic phrase before each game. Before the semifinal game against the Netherlands, for instance, the designated hero was Ayrton Senna, the late Formula One race car driver, and the phrase was, “When I win, victory is not personal. It is rather the fruit of the teamwork of the professionals on my team.”