Brazilian journalist accidentally interviews Luiz Felipe Scolari imposter

Brazilian columnist and TV personality Mario Sergio Conti couldn't believe his luck when he boarded a flight from Rio to Sao Paulo and found himself sitting next to legendary Brazilian national team coach Luiz Felipe Scolari. 

His luck seemingly continued, as Scolari answered some questions and Conti was able to turn the interview into an article that was published in two of Brazil's leading newspapers.

Then his "luck" ran out, as it was revealed the man on the plane was not, in fact, the same one who led Brazil to a World Cup title in 2002, but rather an imposter named Wladimir Palomo.

Palomo had performed in a comedy sketch in Rio. Traveling with him to Sao Paulo was a Neymar lookalike.

Somehow, Conti failed to recognize that neither man was who he appeared to be. 

"Everything was a huge misunderstanding," Palomo told the BBC, not really explaining why he answered a journalist's questions in character as Scolari even after finishing his role in the comedy sketch. 

Palomo later claimed he simply gave Conti his personal opinion: "Everyone is a coach in Brazil during the World Cup."

Perhaps the most bizarre part of the whole story is that Palomo gave Conti a business card that read  "Wladimir Palomo - Scolari look-a-like" after their encounter on the plane. Conti thought it was merely a joke - something the real Scolari would do - and published the interview nonetheless.

For his part, Conti seems to have taken the embarrassment arising from his error in stride, despite widespread mockery on social media in Brazil.

"It was a mistake: I really thought he was Felipao," Conti explained. "But there was no bad faith involved. At least this mistake has not harmed anyone, it has not influenced the elections or hit the stock markets."