Aimé Jacquet and his men entered the history of French sport on July 12, 1998. By dominating Brazil 3-0 in the final of their World Cup, the Blues wrote their legend. “You are forever linked”,
could well launch the French coach to his men after lifting the World Cup in a melting Stade de France.
Conversely, July 12 constitutes a cursed date for Brazilian football, with each defeat in the World Cup being experienced as a tragedy. The 1998 World Cup therefore essentially brings back bad memories for Roberto Carlos. And not only because of his very lax marking on Zinedine Zidane on corners. “ 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 ”, confided to The Team the former Madrilenian.
I thought he was dead
The Seleçao, however, had not prepared for this meeting in the best conditions. Consequence of the discomfort suffered by Ronaldo as the final approached. A discomfort which caused the Inter Milan striker to end up in hospital and to remain uncertain until kick-off. Enough to shake his teammates like a traumatized Roberto Carlos.
“ At first I thought he was playing a joke, but I quickly realized it was serious.said the former defender, who shared R9’s room and was therefore in the front row at the time of his crisis. And Roberto Carlos was not at the end of his troubles “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, honestly, I thought he was dead, he said. What a bad day… »
