Revisiting Ronaldos traumatic 1998 World Cup final 20 touches on a night to forget

This is a series re-assessing famous individual or team performances in World Cup history. Some will be legendary displays by established world-class players or performances that fell short, others will be once-in-a-lifetime cameos that have nevertheless gone down in folklore.

It’s easy to look back upon historic displays with rose-tinted spectacles or to revise our memories of particular performances based upon what came afterwards. A second look at these games can be revealing.

Twenty touches.

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Even Edmundo, who ended up playing for only 17 minutes against France after he was taken out of Brazil’s starting line-up less than an hour before kick-off, had more touches than Ronaldo.

“The Phenomenon” — a moniker that Ronaldo never particularly liked because of the extra pressure that it put on him to perform — was belatedly there in name at the 1998 World Cup final but, sadly, not in person. Essentially, Ronaldo did little more than take four kick-offs on that extraordinary Sunday evening in Paris.

Analysing that game at the Stade de France makes for uncomfortable viewing, not least because of the story behind that day, in particular what happened in Ronaldo’s hotel room shortly after lunch, and the overriding sense that one of the greatest and most exciting footballers of his generation was in no state, physically or mentally, to take part in the biggest sporting event in the world.

“You were lying on your side, looking at me,” Roberto Carlos recalls in “The Phenomenon”, the excellent film that was recently released about Ronaldo. “I looked at you and you were already — I don’t know…”

“Shaking? Was I already having the seizure?” Ronaldo asks.

“I don’t know if it was a seizure, an epileptic fit,” Carlos replies. “Out of the blue, you started shaking a lot. I was really scared. And I hadn’t realised you’d swallowed your tongue. I didn’t know. I just saw you staring at me, completely stiff. To this day, I don’t know what happened. But it was horrible.”

It is an emotional conversation that, ultimately, ends with the two of them arriving at the same conclusion. “Your whole life was pressure,” Carlos says. “There was Ronaldo ‘The Phenomenon’, and there was Ronaldo Nazario, the human being. And that human side of yours lived with a lot of pressure on and off the pitch. And there came a point when you let it all out.”

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Ronaldo nods. “It all adds up,” he says. “And medically speaking, nothing abnormal was found in my body. So, it was clearly down to emotional stress.”

Rewatching every minute of Brazil’s seven games at the 1998 World Cup adds some weight to that theory. The popular narrative is that Ronaldo was playing out of his skin prior to the final, but maybe the passage of time has played tricks with our minds.

There were glimpses of brilliance, for sure, and four goals, but generally Ronaldo looked like what he was — a world-class player who was struggling with a knee injury and also, at the age of 21, the totally unrealistic expectations on his shoulders.

In Ronaldo’s eyes, that burden grew from the moment that Romario was controversially left out of the squad. Time has not been much of a healer for Romario when it comes to that decision. “Sons of bi*****, liars, ba******, traitors and backstabbers” is Romario’s public take on his omission 24 years later. You wonder what he thinks privately.

The Brazilians were the defending champions, but it is clear that it was not a vintage team that travelled to France in 1998 — they needed an own goal to beat Scotland in the opening match, lost 2-1 to Norway in the group stage, kept only one clean sheet and conceded 10 goals.

Although Ronaldo described the personal criticism that he received during the tournament as normal — Pele singled him out as the worst player on the pitch against Scotland — he didn’t look, or play, as if he was unfazed by the noise.

The frequency with which Ronaldo lost possession in the tournament was alarming — statistically, close to one in every three touches, and in percentage terms more than any other Brazil player at the 1998 World Cup.

The final, unfortunately, was the nadir and, of course, there were mitigating circumstances.

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With the benefit of hindsight, Ronaldo should never have played. Conspiracy theories, from Nike insisting that Ronaldo had to start, to secret agreements being made between the French and Brazilian governments, were rife. Ronaldo has heard them all.

From his point of view, he was adamant that he was going to be in the team from the moment that “everything came back perfect” from the medical tests at the Lilas clinic in Paris.

“I’m fine,” Ronaldo told Brazil’s coach Mario Zagallo 40 minutes before kick-off.

He clearly wasn’t.

And neither were the rest of the Brazil players, as Zagallo would later concede…

Touch No 1 — 03:09

An early sign of things to come. Ronaldo retrieves Leonardo’s loose pass and keeps the ball in with a back heel…

… but his return pass, with the outside of the boot (which is classed by Opta as part of the same touch), is intercepted by Marcel Desailly.

As Jon Champion, who is commentating for FIFA, ponders the physical condition of Ronaldo, Stephane Guivarc’h is put clean through on goal by Zinedine Zidane. Without a goal in the tournament so far, Guivarc’h makes a pig’s ear of the chance.

At the other end, Ronaldo already looks way off the pace. Attempting to receive possession with his back to goal, he is comfortably in front of Frank Leboeuf as Dunga plays the ball into his feet…

… but Ronaldo, caught on his heels, is so slow to react that Leboeuf steps in front of him and wins the ball, to huge cheers from the home support.

Touch No 2: 08.19

Ronaldo receives the ball from Cafu wide on the right.

He takes a touch and comes inside Bixente Lizarazu, the French left-back… but then passes the ball into space.

With no Brazil player remotely close to the area where Ronaldo’s pass ends up, Leboeuf steps forward and takes the ball.

Touch No 3: 13:20

Again wide on the right, Ronaldo takes a pass from Leonardo.

He gives the ball back to his team-mate — his first completed pass and about as routine as it gets.

Touch No 4: 13:47

Ronaldo again drops deep to receive, this time from Junior Baiano, the Brazil centre-back.

He turns inside Desailly but his touch is so heavy that…

… Didier Deschamps takes the ball off him…

… and France build another attack.

Touch No 5: 14:52 

Another pass from Dunga into the feet of Ronaldo.

Ronaldo’s touch is heavy, as the image below shows, and the ball bounces off him.

But on this occasion, Leboeuf is over-eager to win the ball and is penalised…

… maybe a little harshly, for a push from behind.

Touch No 6: 21:49

Ronaldo pulls to the left to receive a pass from Dunga.

One-versus-one against Lilian Thuram, Ronaldo performs his trademark stepover and attempts to beat the France right-back on the outside.

He manages to create just enough space to deliver a left-footed cross. His delivery is poor but…

… Fabien Barthez, in a moment of panic, ends up back-pedalling and catching the ball under his crossbar at the second attempt.

To be clear, Ronaldo is far from the only player struggling for Brazil.

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Rivaldo is on the periphery, too. The image of him below, prone after standing on the ball, and trying in vain to pull Deschamps back as the Frenchman once again comes away with possession, could be used to tell the story of this final. Brazil were on their knees in every sense.

Touch No 7: 22:32

Ronaldo is back out on the left, where Carlos feeds him the ball.

The striker bounces a safe, sideways pass into Rivaldo.

The next passage of play, which leads to France taking the lead, encapsulates so many things that were wrong with Brazil’s performance in this final. It starts with Carlos rolling a ball into the feet of Ronaldo. Or at least that was the plan.

“Ronaldo second best again,” Champion, the commentator, says, as Thuram jumps in front of him to steal possession.

Thuram gallops down the right before linking up with Christian Karembeu, who plays a one-two with the full-back.

Carlos gets back into position to deal with the danger, but his attempt to ball-juggle his way out of trouble ends badly.

The Brazilian takes the ball over the byline and is unable to conceal his frustration.

He takes a swing at the corner flag with his right foot and gets a ticking off from the referee. But that is the least of his worries.

From the corner that follows, Zidane climbs highest to head France into the lead.

Touch No 8: 27:41

Ronaldo restarts the game with Bebeto.

Three minutes later Ronaldo ends up in a heap on the floor after — and this was surely the last thing he needed — Barthez cleans him out after coming off his line to intercept Dunga’s through ball.

Although clearly in discomfort at the time, Ronaldo eventually gets to his feet.

When play restarts, Baiano decides to give Ronaldo an old-fashioned up-and-under to deal with — a truly bizarre piece of play from the centre-back, especially as the ball arrives at his feet midway inside his own half and under little pressure.

Baiano flicks the ball up…

… and then smashes it, high and hard into the Paris sky, and in the general direction of Ronaldo.

Picture Peter Kay’s ‘ave it sketch in the old John Smith’s advert.

Thuram wins the aerial dual, Deschamps is first to the second ball despite being five yards behind Bebeto (Deschamps was outstanding, by the way) and France are once again in possession, only seconds after sportingly giving the ball back to Brazil after Ronaldo’s injury — they may as well have kept it in the first place.

Touch No 9: 41:53

Spotting Ronaldo’s run in between Thuram and Leboeuf, Aldair slides a ball into the path of the striker.

Ronaldo drives forward and attempts to go on the outside of Leboeuf.

But Leboeuf, deputising for the suspended Laurent Blanc, reads Ronaldo’s intentions, expertly executes the tackle and even wins the throw-in.

“Again, easy meat for Leboeuf,” says Champion, as the home fans rejoice.

“I think it’s fair to say he’s not looked his normal self,” adds the commentator as Ronaldo walks away forlornly.

France are on the attack again. A bad error of judgment fromBaiano gifts Guivarc’h a golden opportunity to make it 2-0, but the striker shoots too close to Claudio Taffarel in the Brazil goal, and he turns the ball behind for a corner.

Brazil just about manage to deal with that set piece, but are undone from another corner seconds later, and once again Zidane is the scorer.

Touch No 10: 46:28

Ronaldo’s penultimate touch of the first half is another kick-off with Bebeto.

Touch No 11: 46:43

His final contribution before the interval is to win a free-kick. Cesar Sampaio’s pass into him is high…

… but Ronaldo controls the ball well.

Deschamps is penalised for a high foot, and Carlos’s speculative 35-yard free kick is deflected behind for a corner that comes to nothing. The half-time whistle sounds moments later. Brazil look crestfallen.

Touch No 12: 45.01

Brazil kick-off the second half, which means that a quarter of Ronaldo’s touches so far have been from the centre spot.

Touch No 13: 49:32

Another pass from Dunga into Ronaldo, who has dropped into a pocket of space to receive.

Ronaldo turns, blindly, into trouble — Emmanuel Petit, to be exact.

His pass is blocked by the France midfielder…

… and possession is turned over again.

Touch No 14: 55:49

Ronaldo’s best moment of the match. Perhaps his only good moment of the match.

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After one Carlos free kick too many, Brazil try something different. Carlos makes a late run on the outside and…

… after being played in by Rivaldo, the left-back sends over a cross that runs beyond the far post to Ronaldo.

Ronaldo controls the ball with his head, takes one more touch and…

… drills a right-footed shot from inside the six-yard box.

Unfortunately for Ronaldo, it is straight at Barthez, who manages to hold onto the ball, not just save it.

As the France fans in the stadium celebrate Barthez’s save, Ronaldo remains unmoved.

Touch No 15: 61:55

Rivaldo chests the ball down to Ronaldo close to the edge of the France penalty area.

Although Petit recognises what is developing and challenges from behind, Ronaldo gets there just ahead of him and hoists the ball over the head of Desailly.

Rivaldo wins the header but his effort is never going to seriously trouble Barthez.

At the other end, Guivarc’h misses another sitter, wildly blazing over the bar after Cafu’s mistake. It seems remarkable to think that Thierry Henry, David Trezeguet and Christophe Dugarry were all behind Guivarc’h in the pecking order.

Guivarc’h’s profligacy keeps Brazil in the game and there is another lifeline for them moments later. Already on a yellow card, Desailly recklessly, and needlessly, lunges for a ball that he is never going to get, sending Cafu sprawling.

Desailly has already left the pitch by the time the red card is brandished.

Touch No 16: 70:45

Hugging the right touchline, Ronaldo receives the ball from Sampaio.

Ronaldo is on the fringe of the game in every respect. So much so that you wonder why he is still out there. The bigger question, of course, was why he had been allowed to start in the first place.

Lidio Toledo, Brazil’s team doctor, said later that he was placed in an impossible position. “Imagine if I stopped him playing and Brazil lost. At that moment I’d have to go and live on the North Pole.”

Ronaldo could — and in normal circumstances surely would — go forward with the ball from the position below.

Instead, he comes back inside and then hesitates.

Eventually, Ronaldo passes backwards – his pass so wayward that…

… it misses both of Brazil’s central defenders.

Aldair is forced to go back into his own half to retrieve the ball.

Touch No 17: 71:11

Does a handball count as a touch? Ronaldo runs across to receive a quick throw-in from Cafu.

He slips, the ball hits his arm and he ends up being penalised.

Touch No 18: 72:44

Dunga pilots another ball into Ronaldo’s feet.

With Petit putting pressure on him from behind, Ronaldo is unable to keep the ball close.

To try to recover the ball, he goes into a challenge with Deschamps with his studs up.

Ronaldo turns away from Deschamps but…

… Petit wins the next tackle and Ronaldo is left on the floor as France come away with the ball.

The numerical advantage has done little to change the pattern of the game. Brazil look ragged and toothless. Denilson, introduced from the bench at the start of the second half, slides a pass straight into an advertisement hoarding. Rivaldo is close to anonymous.

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As for Ronaldo, he is the best part of five yards offside when Edmundo, on for Sampaio, lofts a ball in behind.

Touch No 19: 81:35

Edmundo is about to become Deschamps’ latest victim. The France captain dispossesses the Brazil substitute deep inside his own half.

As Ronaldo comes across, Deschamps appears to try to nutmeg him. The ball bounces off Ronaldo’s foot…

… back into the path of Deschamps and the Frenchman escapes. It has been that sort of night for both players.

Incredibly, and damningly, it is France who look more like scoring again, despite the fact they are playing with 10 men. On for Guivarc’h, Dugarry finds himself through on goal, following a beautiful exchange with Zidane, but he snatches at his shot.

With the game in the first minute of injury time, Denilson clips the top of the crossbar. It is the first time that Brazil have seriously threatened since Desailly was dismissed more than 20 minutes earlier.

The game is up for Brazil but France are not finished. Breaking from a Brazil corner, Patrick Vieira plays in the rampaging Petit, who has charged from one end of the pitch to the other. Petit’s low, angled shot finds the bottom corner and France are in dreamland.

Touch No 20: 93:00

The television cameras are still showing replays of Petit’s goal when Brazil restart the game — the blessing for Brazil is that it is over seconds later.

This was, at that point, their biggest defeat in the World Cup and, inevitably, Ronaldo’s part in it was the main talking point afterwards, in particular the story behind how he came to be on the substitutes’ bench one minute and in the starting XI the next.

According to Zagallo, it was the player who insisted that he should be in the team.

“Faced with this reaction, I chose Ronaldo,” the Brazil coach said. “Now was it his being chosen that caused Brazil to lose? Absolutely not. I think it was the collective trauma, created by the atmosphere of what had happened.”

Four years later, at the World Cup finals in South Korea and Japan, it was about the four Rs — Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho and, more than anything else, redemption.

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The journey between those two World Cups would have broken some players. Aside from the unforgiving media spotlight at home, which alongside all the conspiracy theories included a detailed investigation in Brazil’s national congress, Ronaldo suffered terrible misfortune with injuries at Inter Milan.

That side of his story — the mental and physical strength that he showed to come back from setback after setback to lead Brazil to glory in 2002 — is easily forgotten.

The same cannot be said for the 1998 World Cup final.

(Top photos: Getty Images/Design: Sam Richardson)

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