As Ronaldo and company stepped onto the tarmac at Charles de Gaulle airport ready to contest World Cup '98, elsewhere in France one of their compatriots was unpacking his boots almost unnoticed by the rest of the world. Unknown right-back Demetrius Ferreira had just been loaned to Nancy and was joining up with his teammates at the strangest of times.

"I was stuck in a hotel room watching Brazil games on TV, and I remember just wanting to go home again to be with my wife," he recalls. Among the stars on display, Ferreira already knew Cafu, Cesar Sampaio and Roberto Carlos from his time as a fresh-faced 16-year-old with Sao Paulo club Palmeiras, and the urge to succeed in Europe convinced him to stay.

Indeed, while his old comrades were going on to greater things, Ferreira's own career had begun to fizzle out at lesser clubs XV November and Guarani, until Nancy came calling out of the blue.

"They took me on loan without having ever watched me play, and all I knew about France was Platini," he says. Whether the coaching staff at Nancy had seen him play or not, they soon grow to appreciate his instinctive technique, dangerous crosses and penetrating runs forward.

Two seasons later, he earned a move to Bastia and helped the Corsican outfit reach the final of the Coupe de France in 2002. An instant crowd favourite at Furiani, his combative displays reflected the hunger of someone who had always had to make his own luck, and the big clubs were soon taking a closer look.

Weakened by the departure of Fabien Laurenti to Ajaccio and an injury to Sébastien Pérez, Marseille took him on a six-month loan in January 2004, three days after his 30th birthday. "I'm like the supporters, I'm a simple man," he said after joining. "Even if being at Marseille is a dream and recognition at last for all my work, I won't let it get to me. You have to give 100% here and that's what I like. I'm a fighter."

Blistering displays in the Mediterranean outfit's UEFA Cup run last season, not least an outstanding performance against Liverpool, had a long list of clubs including Bolton, Blackburn, Bologna and Galatasaray keen to lure him away from the Vélodrome. But he signed on for another two years with Marseille in the summer of 2004.

When Philippe Troussier was appointed Coach in November 2004, he began with a three-man defence that kept the Brazilian on the sidelines, and the former Japan boss preferred Habib Beye at right-back when he reverted to a classic 4-4-2 formation. Castigated for refusing to turn out for the reserves, Ferreira nonetheless fought his way back into the side in the closing stages of the 2004/05 season - thanks in part to Frédéric Déhu's injury.