Ruin and Resurrection: Ronaldo, 1998 and 2002

Ronaldo Nazário went into the 1998 World Cup final as the best player in the world and walked through it like a ghost after a seizure hours before kick-off. Four years and two knee injuries later, he scored both goals in the 2002 final.

Paris, 1998

On the afternoon of the final, Ronaldo suffered a convulsive fit at Brazil's team hotel. He was left off the team sheet, then put back on it shortly before kick-off, and played the final barely involved while Zinedine Zidane headed in two corners. France won 3-0. Nobody has ever fully explained what happened that afternoon.

The knee

In November 1999, playing for Inter, Ronaldo ruptured a tendon in his right knee. In April 2000, six minutes into his comeback against Lazio, it gave way again in front of a stunned Stadio Olimpico. Many thought he would never be the same player.

Yokohama, 2002

He arrived at the 2002 World Cup with a strange wedge of hair on his forehead and scored in almost every game. In the final, he pounced when Oliver Kahn spilled a shot from Rivaldo, then let Rivaldo's dummy run through and rolled the second into the corner. Eight goals, the Golden Boot and Brazil's fifth World Cup, the Penta.

Frame the moment

Our framed poster Ruin and Resurrection tells the story in posterised artwork with the fixture, venue and date. Choose A4 or A3, framed and ready to hang, with free shipping across India. See more in our World Cup posters.

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