He had revolutionized his position, to the point of impacting an entire generation. A fantastic combination of technique, speed and power, Ronaldo Nazario – first of his name – emerged in the 1990s as the best center forward in the history of football.
Crowned world champion twice (1994, 2002), the man nicknamed R9 could have won the most prestigious competition in 1998, but he came across a big challenge.
French team. And this evening of July 12, the former Ballon d’Or was not in his normal state.
“I thought he was dead”
Close to Ronaldo, Roberto Carlos, another star of the Seleçao, gave his testimony for L’Équipe. “ At first I thought he was playing a joke, but I quickly realized it was serious.. I ran to get our doctor. “Ronnie” was a star and he faced enormous pressure. I think if he had been in full possession of his means, we would have won. When there was this shock with Barthez (at 21e minute),
honestly, I thought he was dead. What a bad day…
Victim of a nervous breakdown, Ronaldo finally managed to get back on his feet to play the match, without success, like this emblematic action against the French goalkeeper. The star came up against exceptional Blues. Roberto Carlos confirms this.
“ Our mistake was to have thought that we would win this final without problem, but unfortunately for us Zizou scored the only two headed goals of his career that evening.
concluded the former defender. Still friends today, Zinédine Zidane, Roberto Carlos and Ronaldo had to replay this match more than once…
