"When I stopped being a football player, it's true that politics didn't even enter my head, " Romario conceded.
From then on, says Vickery, Romario embarked on the "pointless statistical accumulation" of trying to reach the 1, 000-goal milestone.
But I feel fortunate to even have my name mentioned amongst either of these great players, be it Maradona or Romario.
Romario, again, seems to have his answer ready - he is paid by the public now, rather than by a private company.
Back then, Carlos Alberto Parreira's team were a solid, well-drilled unit who relied heavily on the individual skill of Romario and Bebeto.
It is clearly a story which Romario has told many times before.
He was one of several celebrities from the world of sport and entertainment who were elected to Congress, including former footballer Romario.
BBC: Brazilian clown Tiririca takes elected seat in congress
Romario and Ronaldo are exhilarating to watch and Denilson could also prove to be one of the best players in the tournament.
People say that I remind them of Romario because I have the mentality of a striker and the body of a midfielder.
In terms of Romario and Maradona, I think it's important to remember that these individuals are among the top players in football history.
And yet in the Brazilian parliament, 900km from his home city of Rio, Romario has one of the best attendance records of any MP.
If Brazil 2014 falls short on facilities for wheelchair users, it won't be for lack of effort on Romario's part to hold organisers to account.
In the semi-finals, Brazil squeezed past an inspired Swedish team thanks to a single Romario goal to set up a final against fellow three-time winners Italy.
He recalls Romario's distress at picking up an injury before the 1998 World Cup - a tournament "which could have been his definitive statement as a footballer".
Some time later, squeezed behind his desk, in his small parliamentary office, Romario explained how the date of his conversion from sporting tyro to public servant could be traced to a precise event.
That left Brazil, led by Romario, carrying the South American challenge, while Italian Roberto Baggio hauled his team through the knockout stages in a trio of match-winning performances against Nigeria, Spain and Bulgaria.
From his perch in a box seat, Brazilian soccer great Romario de Souza Farias summed up the event: "Carnival means the union of all the different people, and all the different races, " he said.
President Lula launched the logo at an event in Johannesburg which was attended by former Brazilian players Carlos Alberto, Cafu, Romario, and former boss Carlos Alberto Parreira, who guided Brazil to the World Cup crown in 1994 and coached South Africa in the 2010 tournament.
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