YOKOHAMA, Japan, 30 June — Brazil star Rivaldo is determined to bring the curtain down on his World Cup career in the best possible fashion — with victory over Germany in today’s final.
The 30-year-old Barcelona ace said yesterday he does not expect to be on the international scene in 2006, and that the showdown with Germany will be his last match in the World Cup.
“Because of my age I think I can say this is going to be my last World Cup game. So I want to win it,” Rivaldo told reporters. The former FIFA World Footballer of the Year is still smarting from Brazil’s collapse in the 1998 World Cup final, and is determined to atone for that defeat by beating the Germans.
Rivaldo feels the loss to France also unfairly deflected attention away from his own performances throughout the 1998 tournament — making him hell-bent on finishing with a flourish.
“In the 1998 World Cup I played very well in all the games,” Rivaldo said. “Everybody said that if Brazil had won the final I would have been chosen as the best player of the World Cup. But we lost and I was chosen as the fifth best.”
Rivaldo has had a mixed World Cup in Korea and Japan, cast as a villain for faking injury against Turkey in the first round but showing flashes of genius as Brazil have powered into the final.
With five goals so far — one behind teammate Ronaldo — Rivaldo could end up winning or sharing the coveted Golden Boot for tournament top goalscorer if he gets on the scoresheet against Germany. He insists though that personal glory is irrelevant when placed beside the needs of the team.
“If I score, great. If I can win the golden boot, then that would be nice. But the priority is the team and that’s all I’m thinking about,” he said after Brazil enjoyed a light-hearted training session at the Yokohama Stadium yesterday.
Contemplating his last appearance in the World Cup, Rivaldo said he also believed other players in the squad would be wise to adopt a similar approach.
“It’s important that some of the other players start looking at Sunday as their last ever match in a World Cup, even the ones that are only 23 or 24. “I’ve told them that a lot can happen in four years — they should treat this match as if they are never going to get another chance,” he said.
Ronaldinho finally comes
in from the cold
After spending six months frozen out of football last year, Ronaldinho has come in from the cold to help Brazil into the World Cup final against Germany.
The story of their campaign may have been the rebirth of Ronaldo, but it is the Inter Milan star’s 22-year-old teammate who has done as much as anyone to keep Brazil on course for a fifth title.
Ronaldinho’s blinding pace unhinged England’s defense in the quarterfinals to set up a goal for Rivaldo, and his audacious free-kick caught out David Seaman to seal a 2-1 victory for Brazil.
Arguably he has been the most important component of Brazil’s vaunted ‘Triple R’ strike-force, surging forward from just behind Ronaldo and Rivaldo and pulling opposing defenders out of position.
“It’s a real plus that he is coming back for the final,” Ronaldo said, commenting on Ronaldinho’s return following his suspension for a harsh sending off against England. “We’ve replaced him very well so far, but he is a match-winner.”
That Ronaldinho has sparkled at the World Cup should come as no surprise. He was hailed as the new boy-wonder of Brazilian football after starring in Brazil’s winning 1997 FIFA Under-17 World Championship campaign, a tournament he finished as top scorer.
He confirmed his burgeoning talent at the 1999 Copa America, scoring an extraordinary individual goal against Venezuela which has passed into Brazilian folklore.
His talents at that tournament attracted the attention of several clubs in Europe, and early last year he looked to have completed a dream move from Gremio to France’s Paris Saint Germain.
But within days the transfer ran into problems.
Gremio, insisting they had not sold him, appealed to FIFA for intervention leaving Ronaldinho languishing on the sidelines and barred from playing until the dispute was settled.
