By Myles Palmer
RONALDO scored eight goals and redeemed himself.
That’s the story everybody wanted to write.And when he scored twice in the final everyone wrote it.
The wonder boy came back from the trauma of Paris 1998 and the nightmare of a right knee that has been rebuilt twice by surgeons.
It was an inspiring human story about a happy-go-lucky young superstar who finally fulfilled his destiny by winning a fifth World cup for the 170 million futeball-mad Brazilians back home.
As a story it is neat, tidy and perfect.
Unfortunately, I didn’t really see Sunday’s game like that because I remember so vividly what Ronaldo and Rivaldo could do in their prime.
In Yokohama they were walking and jogging, not running. They kept losing the ball.They were passengers.
First half, the Germans came out of the blocks playing fiercely and intelligently.
Far from sitting back and soaking it up,as everyone expected, they seized the iniative and put Brazil on the back foot.
Brazil stuttered and struggled. But they had five chances in the first half. Ronaldo missed three, Kleberson two.
The German game-plan, presumably dreamed up by Michael Skibbe, the coach who is only two years older than Bierhof, worked very well.
There were only three moments of German viciousness: Klose elbowing Edmilson’s face, Schneider trampling on Rivaldo’s chest and Linke’s hack on Ronaldo’s shin.
If keeper Marcos had not tipped Neuville’s 35 yard free-kick onto the post(49 minutes)I think Germany would have won 1-0.
What we saw on Sunday was a Brazilian team who showed how to win by scoring goals against the run of play.A team that had only 42% of possession but won by playing Big Phil’s unique and pragmatic brand of 3-4-3.
After 67 minutes Rivaldo gave Ronaldo a thirty-yard pass and he lost it to the nearest defender and then tackled Didi Hamman to win it back.
Winning that ball back was the first time Ronaldo did anything right in the match.
He then tried to play a one-two with Rivaldo, but Rivaldo always shoots from the D – and he had seen his mate miss three chances already.
So he smashed in a typical Rivaldo shot which dipped viciously and awkwardly towards Ollie Kahn, who spilled it to give Ronaldo a tap-in.
I would blame Hamman for getting caught in possession, rather than Kahn. It was nasty, nasty shot that came awkwardly to him and he was in no position to reach the rebound before Ronaldo.
Yes, it was a mistake, but that was a very hard shot.
Next time I see Ollie I will tell him that I do NOT think Rustu or Seaman or Buffon would have held that shot.
For me, it was the young ’uns wot won it.
The long-striding, resourceful Lucio, who was a three-time loser with Bayer Neverkusen in May.
The lively Ronaldinho,who produced two fabulous assist-passes that Ronaldo failed to convert. His foraging was fantastic. He raced back and won the ball again and again.
The raw Kleberson, who started nervously and then hit the bar and made the second goal.
The grafter Gilberto who did all the ugly work.
Carlos and Cafu were nowhere near as influential as usual.
Big Phil’s Brazil was a gamble. He was betting that 21st century football is not about territory or tacticial superiority. It’s about chances and goals, about finishing.
So Phil picked a team with eight containers and three killers.
And then he sweated and worried and shouted and paced around for 67 minutes until one of his killers did the job.Until Ronaldo scored from his fourth chance in the World Cup Final.
Obviously, the Kahn-factor played a part in him missing the first three.
He missed the first one because of Kahn, the pressure, the last three years of pain.
He missed that bouncing ball because he was having a bad day.
And he hit the third one straight at Kahn because he lacked the poise to aim his shot when the ball came suddenly to him off a defender.
BUT HE BURIED THE SECOND GOAL because he was relaxed and confident after scoring the first goal.
That’s football. That’s the way it is for strikers.
As Christian Vieri said, and I quoted this in The Professor,”Only a striker knows what it’s like to score – and not score.”
Long-term, I worry about the game’s biggest star.
RONALDO is a 25-year old lad who has been in a blazing spotlight for a decade. I fear for his future and very much doubt if he can do another World Cup.
The player who thrilled us in 1996-1998 has gone forever.
In time people will come to understand this : Ronaldo was a powerhouse. Then he became a cripple. And then he came back as a poacher.
He has re-invented himself as a completely different type of striker. And Big Phil helped him through that process of re-invention by believing in his goalscoring talent and creating a highly unusual team around him.
It was risky,the team had some very dodgy spells, but they won all seven games.
Of Ronaldo’s eight goals, six were from crosses.
One was from a through ball against Turkey.The most crucial goal, the seventh, came from a rebound off Kahn.
Six from crosses and one from a rebound means that The
Phenomenon is a now a poacher.
Ronaldo has become a bigger Raul, a right-footed Davor Suker, almost a Latin Gerd Muller.
Hector Cuper has welcomed Ronaldo’s success and said he hopes he can have a big season with Inter.
Is that sincere? Or will Inter try to sell him now?
I think the new, re-invented Ronaldo would be better off in Spain.
He needs a coach who will cherish him and a team that will let him loaf around between goals.
The problem is that only big clubs can afford his wages.
His advisors and doctors have done a great job so far, but a conceptual leap will soon be required by all interested parties.
He would be better off taking a pay cut and playing for a medium-sized club where expectations are lower.
Clearly, Real Madrid will not take a chance on him.
He could not go back to Barcelona because he is a different player now and their fans are hyper-critical.
My guess? If he stays injury-free Ronaldo will continue to evolve as an all-round footballer, rather than regain his awesome acceleration.
He is a very good team player and he still has wonderful skills.
He will play much better than he did on Sunday because nogame will EVER be as much pressure as the 2002 World Cup Final was for him.
And few opponents will be as ferocious or as well-organised as the Germans.
But where Ronaldo will be in a year’s time is anybody’s guess.
So that’s it, really. Delighted for Big Phil. Always hoped he would turn out to be a good coach who knew what he was doing .
His achievement in winning seven games out of seven outright,without extra-time, penalities or golden goals, will stand in football history.
Big Phil created a team and a style of play which owed nothing to any pre-conceived blueprint and everything to the odd assortment talents available to him.
Football is about players. And players makes styles.
Big Phil said to himself : Ronaldo and Rivaldo can’t run and they can’t dribble, but they can pass and shoot. They can score goals. In any game, they can score two goals or more, so I will have Ronaldinho, Gilberto and Kleberson to get the ball and give it to them.
They were able to beat Turkey,China, Costa Rica, Belgium, England, Turkey again and Germany.
July 1st 2002.