Admirers, family, friends and co-workers went to say goodbye and pay their last tributes this Monday (20) to former presenter Léo Batista, who died on Sunday (19) at the age of 92, due to complications caused by a tumor in the pancreas. .
The wake of one of the best-known voices in Brazilian sports journalism takes place in General Severiano, the headquarters of Botafogo, his favorite club.
The family members said goodbye first in a closed ceremony, and, from 2 pm (Brasília time), the entry of journalists with whom he interacted throughout his more than 50 years at Globo, and admirers who took posters to say goodbye to the presenter. The ceremony continues until 4:30 pm. The family did not release information about Léo Batista’s burial.
“Seu Léo was unique. I think that living with him over these years was unique because it is rare to have someone who is the personification of the history of sports television journalism in Brazil”, stated Renato Ribeiro, general director of sports at Globo, in an interview with SportTV.
“Living with him in the newsroom, the younger generations, and we were all younger than Léo… Listening to his stories, he liked that, I think he fed off that, sitting and telling his stories to his younger people. It was an exchange, we learned from him, and he fed off that”, added Ribeiro.
“It’s a very difficult time. We worked together for 18 years, but the friendship didn’t end. It’s been 35 years of friendship, and Léo has always been in his own way, fun, happy, with a word to help his colleagues, to advise, to teach. Léo had this ability to always be connected to everyone, always wanting to help”, said Mylena Ciribelli, journalist who worked with Léo Batista on the presentation of the Sunday Esporte Espetacular.
“The only certainty we have is that one day we will leave. But it is so difficult to prepare for that. For those who stay, it is difficult to prepare, imagine for those who understand that they are leaving? And Mr. Léo had a lot of vitality, he really liked what he did, he liked life, he liked telling stories”, said Alex Escobar, presenter of Gols do Fantástico, a show that Léo Batista presented until 2007.
