1998: What hit Ronaldo before the final?
6 June 2014
Celso de Campos Jr

Nobody really knows what happened with Ronaldo before the 1998 World Cup Final. But that hasn'™t stopped the wild speculation, from conspiracy theorists to shock-jocks, politicians and team-mates...

Edmundo's sponsor allegations
Edmundo, who was on the team-sheet before Ronaldo'™s return to the line-up, claimed to have witnessed his fellow striker'™s "˜fit" after a cry for help from Roberto Carlos. After this, he claims, Ronaldo took a nap before being whisked off to hospital for tests.
Benched, 'The Animal' later suggested Nike influenced Ronaldo'™s return to the team. "Nike'™s people were there 24 hours a day, as if they were member of the technical staff. It'™s a huge power. That'™s all I can say."

The mystery medic
Some players claim that team doctor Lidio Toledo started weeping when he arrived at Ronaldo's room. Toledo denies this, claiming Ronaldo was conscious when he reached him, but breathing heavily and with saliva around this mouth.
The player was then allegedly sent to hospital for neurological tests, which everyone thought would rule him out of playing. The tests came back normal and Toledo, another medic, coach Mario Zagallo and a determined Ronaldo decided the between them that he was fit enough to play.

The nervous breakdown theory
One of Brazil'™s main newspapers claimed that Ronaldo had a nervous breakdown during the cup. Folha de S Paulo wrote that Ronaldo was displaying signs of depression a week before the final, smashing a bike against a wall. On the eve of the game, Ronnie had a "œnervous crisis". Toledo entered the room and left crying, but Ronaldo wasn'™t medicated because of the risk of doping.
They claim that technical co-ordinator Zico opposed fielding Ronaldo, and that the silent departure of the team from the hotel (as opposed to the usual samba party), and absence of a warm-up, indicated a player feud. One group, allegedly led by Dunga, backed Ronaldo's presence, while another, said to be led by Leonardo, opposed it.

The FIFA conspiracy
Now for the really barmy theories: an e-mail allegedly written by a source at TV Globo states that Brazil "sold" the World Cup to FIFA for a cash fee of $23 million.
The idea was to let France win to please new FIFA president Sepp Blatter, and help the French people forget their social problems. FIFA then promised Brazil that the Selecao would have its path "œsoftened" to win the 2002 World Cup, and that Brazil would host a World Cup in the next decade. Hang on a minute...

The fateful injection
A few years after the fiasco, motor-mouthed pundit Jorge Kajuru put forward another theory: Ronaldo had freaked out after having an allergic reaction to an injection to his knee from doctor Toledo. People who believed Kajuru at the time wouldn'™t admit it: after all, the crackpot pundit regularly rants on TV about people "œtaking it up the arse". Crikey.

The sex scandal
According to rock-solid sources (street corner whispers, pub hearsay, etc) Ronaldo'™s breakdown was prompted by an affair between his then-girlfriend at the time, Susana Werner –“ now the wife of Selecao keeper Julio Cesar – and a Brazilian TV journalist.

The Nike ultimatum
In 2000, a Parliamentary Inquiry Commission was set up to investigate the contract between the Brazilian FA and Nike. One of the initial areas of investigation was to be the influence of the Oregon giant on Ronaldo'™s final appearance. But the whole matter was fudged.
One politician blandly asked Ronaldo who was responsible for marking Zidane. "Will it really help?" replied the striker. The commission closed without finding any answers.

http://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/98-what-hit-ronaldo-final

Edited by Damo Baresi: 13/9/2015 02:27:13 PM

Brazil V France World Cup 1998, What Really Happened To Ronaldo – Classic Clashes
By Kumar Saurabh on October 26, 2014 9:22 pm

As far as World Cup finals go, the one played out in 1998 between Brazil and France couldn’t have had a better script. While Brazil were looking to defend the crown they won 4 years ago in 1994, France were playing at home, looking to win the Golden trophy for the first time. The game also saw two legends take on each other, with Zinedine Zidane overshadowing the Brazilian Ronaldo, who himself was embroiled in a fantastic controversy that left the whole of Brazil agitated and in a frenzy.
Consider this- Ronaldo, Brazil’s golden boy, who was expected to lead the side against a resurgent France fell sick just hours before the game. He was dropped from the first team and whisked away to the hospital only to make a dramatic return to the team minutes before kick-off. However there was another twist in the tale. Instead of heroically leading Brazil to World Cup glory, Ronaldo was unable to shake off his sickness and a below par performance from the striker allowed a certain Zinedine Zidane to score twice leading France to a famous 3-0 win over Brazil.
It doesn’t get more dramatic than this in football.

The Fit
“When I saw what it was, I despaired,” Edmundo told congress. “Because it was a really strong and shocking scene.” He ran through the hotel hitting on all the doors and shouting for everyone to come.
A congressmen asked the striker for more details. “Was Ronaldo hitting out or shaking?”
“Hitting out a lot,” replied Edmundo.
“Lying down?”
“Lying down and hitting himself with his hands like this, with his teeth . . . “
“Together?”
“Locked together and with his mouth foaming.”
“His whole body hitting itself?”
“The whole body, yes.”
Hours before the game, Ronaldo finished his lunch with the team at the Chateau de Grande Romaine in Lésigny and returned to his room with Roberto Carlos. According to Carlos, Ronaldo suddenly started convulsing and frothing at his mouth as he descended into a fit. It was Edmundo and Cesar Sampaio who rushed to the striker and administered first-aid. Before the doctors could arrive at the scene, it was this duo who prevented Ronaldo from fatally swallowing his own tongue.
Having recovered from the fit, the striker fell deep asleep and woke up to not remember anything. The dressing room was under a lot of stress and rumours were flying thick. While the rest of the team boarded the bus and left for the stadium to play the biggest game of their career, Ronaldo was whisked away to a hospital to conduct neurological tests. Declared completely fit, the striker arrived 40 minutes before the game and though his name was missing from the initial team-list, he made his way to the starting eleven.

The Game
To bill the 1998 final as a Ronaldo vs Zidane finale would be a tad bit unfair. Though Ronaldo and Zidane were both charismatic and important players to the team, Brazil and France were by no means a one-man army.
Led by Leornado and Rivaldo in the midfield, with Dunga sitting as the holding midfielder, the 1998 Brazil squad was a fine balance of talent, youth and experience. Cafu and Roberto Carlos provided the team with width on the wings with Ronaldo and Bebeto leading the attack upfront.
France on the other hand was orchestrated by Zidane, Petit and Deschamps in the midfield and played infront of an adoring stadium that egged them on for a historic victory.
Zidane looked like a man on a mission in the finals and was brilliant for France in the midfield. The French maestro showed his worth on the biggest stage as he rose to head in twice in the first half, giving the hosts a comfortable lead going into the second half.
Ronaldo on other hand looked subdued, much like his other team-mates and wasted the few opportunities he had in front of a brave and competent Barthez.
In the end France won 3-0 as Petit scored a late counter-attacking goal and Zinedine Zidane was awarded the Man of the Match.
Ronaldo though returned to Brazil with his team-mates and the national football team was soon embroiled in a controversy that stained the fabric of the Brazil football jersey in the years to come.

The Aftermath
“Ronaldo was scared about what lay ahead. The pressure had got to him and he couldn’t stop crying. If anything, it got worse because at about 4 o’clock, he started being sick. That’s when I called the team doctor and told him to get over to our room as fast as he could.” (Roberto Carlos)
Following Brazil’s dramatic loss in the World Cup finale, the details surrounding Ronaldo’s sickness was made public. Such was the public reaction to the news that an official enquiry was made to find out what exactly happened to the Brazil national team before the finals.
What happened to Ronaldo before the game? Was he poisoned or drugged and was there a major conspiracy behind his ‘timely’ fit? And if Ronaldo was so sick, why was he allowed to play in the finals? Who allowed him to play? Was he forced by Nike or were the medics irresponsible enough to play with the striker’s life?
Questions were flying thick in Brazil and people wanted some answers.
“Imagine if I stopped him playing and Brazil lost. At that moment I’d have to go and live on the North Pole.”
This is what Lidio Toledo, the team doctor, had to say when asked why he didn’t prevent Ronaldo from playing in the finals despite him suffering a fit hours before the game. Was he under pressure to give the green signal to Ronaldo? To say that the team officials weren’t under tremendous pressure to let Brazil’s golden boy play would be a laughable suggestion.
When manager Zagallo was quizzed regarding his decision to field Ronaldo, he replied that the striker was deemed fit by the medical authorities and hence allowed him to start the game. His answer however betrayed that he too was under pressure to allow the striker to start the game.
“I kept thinking about taking him off. But he said he felt well wnough to play and if I had played Ronaldo after he said he was fit, I’d have been under even more criticism.”
“Faced with this reaction, I chose Ronaldo. 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.”
Speaking to the Congress in Brazil, Zagallo insisted that he had to put Ronaldo on.
“If you invert the situation and I didn’t put Ronaldo on and then Brazil lost 3-0, people would say ‘Zagallo is stubborn, he had to put him on, Ronaldo was the best player in the world’. So I think I would do the same again.”
There were also rumours doing the round which suggested that it was Nike who forced Ronaldo to start the game. Ronaldo was Nike’s leading football superstar at the time and somehow this rumour stuck and allegations and inquiries were made. Some much so that an official enquiry was done by the Government to investigate the details of the new contract signed between Nike and the Brazilian Football Federation.
Edmundo who was benched following Ronaldo’s miraculous return an hour before the final suggested that Nike had a role to play in the team selection. He revealed that Nike officials were present 24×7 and had a commanding presence in the team.
“Nike’s people were there 24 hours a day, as if they were member of the technical staff. It’s a huge power. That’s all I can say.”
Ronaldo was even called down as a witness in the investigation. The Brazilian star was subjected to a series of questions and was eventually asked as to which player was responsible for marking Zidane?
The striker could not remember the team-mate who was responsible but swiftly added that whoever was responsible did not quite do a good job on the Frenchman.

The Conclusion
No conclusion has been reached as to what exactly happened to Ronaldo that caused the fit. Though there were several rumours doing the rounds and strong suspicion persisted in the Brazil regarding some wrong-doing, no concrete evidence surfaced in the aftermath of the 1998 finals. Later however, a rumour suggested that Ronaldo was administered an injection of xylocaine, a common anaesthetic for his ailing knee. It was explained that the drug had entered a vein accidentally, which caused his ‘fit’.

The Rumours
Though this argument made a lot of sense, rumours and conspiracy theories have a habit of not dying down easily, especially one surrounding Brazil and a World Cup final defeat.
Ranging from plausible to downright absurd, these are the some of the best rumours that were strongly backed by the Press during the time, some of which still finds vocal support with the fans.

1.FIFA Convinced Brazil To ‘Sell’ The World Cup
A ‘source’ at TV Globo revealed that Brazil had sold the World Cup to France with FIFA and Nike playing a part in the negotiaitions.
According to the source, Brazil was paid a figure of $23m (£15m) in bribes to help France win the trophy which in turn would satisfy the French and European fans. In return, Brazil were promised a ‘safe passage’ in the 2002 World Cup (Hang on…) and would be awarded the right to host a World Cup in the coming decade (What??) The ‘source’ alleged that Ronaldo refused to be a part of this negotiation and hence was dropped from the team. However when threatened by Nike, the striker caved in and lined-up to gift France the World Cup.

2. Nike and CBF Forced a Sick Ronaldo To Play
Other conspiracy theories suggest that ronaldo was indeed sick but was forced by CBF and Nike to play in the finals as he was the poster boy for both the federation and the sports company, with millions on the line. Having spent a fortune on advertisements and marketing, Nike couldn’t afford to have their star player sit out the finals.
3. The French Drugged Ronaldo
Plain and simple. Hours before the match, the French somehow got their way to poison Ronaldo in order to ensure that Brazil would lose their champion goal-scorer. Though the poisoning was only partially successful, it was enough to subdue the striker and dampen the spirit in the dressing room, allowing Zidane to fly high and guide France to World Cup glory.
Here’s the classic Nike advertisement on the Brazil from 1998, with Ronaldo clearly stealing the limelight and being the centre of attraction. And yes, he does miss the final shot in the advertisement. Quite suspicious some would say.


http://www.thehardtackle.com/2014/tht-classic-clashes-the-1998-world-cup-final-and-what-really-happened-to-ronaldo/

Edited by Damo Baresi: 13/9/2015 02:32:06 PM

The mystery of Paris that refuses to go away
When Brazil's star striker fell ill just before the last World Cup final it set off a trail of questions and allegations that has yet to run its course
Alex Bellos
Saturday 29 June 2002

Brazil have reached the World Cup final. They are favourites to win it. Ronaldo, their leading scorer, has his sights on the Golden Boot. He is the team's talisman, the one man the whole world wants to watch. But the tournament has taken its toll physically, and there are worries about the striker's form . . .

The parallels between the 1998 and 2002 World Cup finals are clear. The Brazilian cast will be similar in Yokohama tomorrow: as well as Ronaldo, veterans of France four years ago include Cafu, Roberto Carlos, Denilson and Rivaldo. And only a victory will erase the memories of what happened on that long July 12 day.

The result has overshadowed Brazilian football for four years. When Pele, earlier this week, said that Ronaldo playing well depended on his mind and not his body, he spelt out the widely held belief that the striker's emotional ordeal is not over yet.

For his part, Ronaldo declared yesterday that he was feeling "very calm" before the final. "Everyone keeps on reminding me of 1998 but I don't know why," he said. "I keep on forgetting it and have no problem with it. I am just finding tranquillity to play a good game, and to bring the title to Brazil."

Nonetheless, the cloud of that extraordinary day will surely hang over the players in yellow and green tomorrow. Hours before the final at the Stade de France, Ronaldo suffered a mysterious seizure and was whisked to hospital and out of the starting line-up. Then he made an apparently miraculous recovery and was hastily returned to the team sheet, only to underperform in Brazil's heaviest defeat in 68 years of World Cups. Not surprisingly, the match soon transcended its sporting importance to become one of the resonant events in the country's contemporary history.

Whereas the world's media soon moved on to other subjects, Brazil's did not. Within weeks, a lawyer began a civil action in a Rio court, demanding explanations. Concurrently, the Rio regional medical council started a professional ethics action against the two team medics (they were both unanimously absolved).

But the most detailed investigation happened in Brazil's national congress. And because the main protagonists all gave testimony, the public was offered unprecedented insight into what really went on behind the scenes on the day of the final. The details that emerged were riveting.

The squad had lunch at the Chateau de Grande Romaine in Lésigny, near Paris, then went back to their rooms, which they were sharing in twos. Ronaldo was with Roberto Carlos, next to a room with Edmundo and Doriva.

Suddenly Ronaldo started to have a fit. His entire body convulsed, he frothed at the mouth and began to shake uncontrollably. Roberto Carlos, overwhelmed by panic, started screaming for help. "When I saw what it was, I despaired," Edmundo told congress. "Because it was a really strong and shocking scene." He ran through the hotel hitting on all the doors and shouting for everyone to come.

A congressmen asked the striker for more details. "Was Ronaldo hitting out or shaking?"

"Hitting out a lot," replied Edmundo.

"Lying down?"

"Lying down and hitting himself with his hands like this, with his teeth . . . "

"Together?"

"Locked together and with his mouth foaming."

"His whole body hitting itself?"

"The whole body, yes."

Cesar Sampaio, the defender, was the first person to administer first aid. He got to Ronaldo before the doctors did and, with Edmundo holding him down, put his hand in Ronaldo's mouth to unravel his tongue and prevent him swallowing it.

Ronaldo, still only aged 21, then fell asleep. According to Edmundo, the team doctors decided that the best course of action would be to pretend that nothing had happened when he woke up.

"We went back to our rooms, we rested," said Edmundo. "But, you know what I mean, everyone was worried. My room was linked, so I saw everything. Every five minutes someone came and stared, and Ronaldo was there, sleeping like a baby."

Collective trauma
Ronaldo woke up and went for tea. But he was subdued. Leonardo, in a distressed state, insisted that Ronaldo be told what had happened. The doctors broke the news and said he would be taken for tests. Only if the tests were fine would he be able to play the final.

When the squad took the coach to the Stade de France, Ronaldo instead went to the Lilas clinic in Paris. Forty minutes before the kick-off he showed up with the all-clear, insisting he should play. "Faced with this reaction," said Zagallo, "I chose Ronaldo. 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."

Zagallo told congress: "If you invert the situation and I didn't put Ronaldo on and then Brazil lost 3-0, people would say 'Zagallo is stubborn, he had to put him on, Ronaldo was the best player in the world'. So I think I would do the same again." Lidio Toledo, the team doctor, stressed the pressure he was under to let Ronaldo play. "Imagine if I stopped him playing and Brazil lost. At that moment I'd have to go and live on the North Pole."

When Ronaldo's health scare was revealed after the match, the situation's unique circumstances lent itself to fabulous conspiracy theories. Here was the world's most famous sportsman, about to take part in the most important match of his career, when he suddenly, inexplicably, fell ill. Was it stress, epilepsy, or had he been drugged?

There was a ready-made scapegoat: the clothing manufacturer, Nike. Ever since Nike and the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) had signed a $160m (£105m) contract in 1996 - the largest ever sponsorship deal with a national team - there had been fear that Brazil had given over too much control. Perhaps Nike had forced Ronaldo to play, against medical common sense? It may have sounded far-fetched, but it was the conspiracy theory that stuck.

Nike was the perfect scapegoat. It crystallised many people's fears about the way big money was changing the game. In Brazil, this worry combined with the xenophobic distrust of a foreign company. And it did not help that many players - such as Edmundo and Leonardo - had made leading comments about "what really happened".

The parliamentary inquiry's primary motive was to establish if there was any truth in the Nike conspiracy. Aldo Rebelo, a communist congressman, was able to launch the investigation since he believed the CBF-Nike contract violated "sovereignty, autonomy and national identity" - which are guaranteed by the Brazilian constitution.

Ronaldo eventually gave evidence. He was the star witness, yet his testimony was the least revealing. He appeared well briefed and the congressmen were starstruck. Aldo Rebelo, presiding the hearing, even took his son along to ask for an autograph.

Even though the purpose of the inquiry was to look into the allegations against Nike, in fact the company came out very well. But perhaps because the inquiry was unable to find a wider conspiracy, Brazilians still feel a lingering disquiet that the events of the 1998 World Cup have never been satisfactorily explained.

For example, the doctors told congress that since there were no traces of anything in Ronaldo's medical tests, his fit was unexplainable and unique in the history of sports medicine. But few people believe this. In January this year, a further explanation emerged in the Brazilian press. It was alleged that Ronaldo - who had been having knee problems during the tournament - was given an injection of the common anaesthetic, xylocaine, 10 minutes before his fit. The drug entered a vein accidentally, which sometimes causes this reaction.

This, surely, is the most plausible solution to the mystery of what happened to Ronaldo before the last World Cup final. Yet still those traumatic memories haunt the Brazilian camp - especially given the striking parallels in the build-up to this final. Tomorrow, the entire country will pray Ronaldo can finally lay those ghosts to rest.

It was down to Nike, drugs, doctors or bribes - delete as appropriate

CONSPIRACY 1

Nike and the CBF forced Ronaldo to play

Ronaldo had a fit shortly before the game and was not well enough to play. The CBF intervened and forced him to play, since there was a hidden part of the Nike-CBF contract that dictated he had to play in the World Cup final. This was because Nike had invested so much in him for its marketing campaign.

CONSPIRACY 2

Brazil sold the World Cup

Brazil's players received a total of $23m (£15m) in bribes, the promise of Brazil hosting the 2006 World Cup, and an easy passage in the 2002 World Cup to throw the game. Ronaldo refused to have any part in this, hence Edmundo's name was in the list in his place. But Ronaldo changed his mind after Nike threatened to withdraw his sponsorship money. The idea was for Brazil to lose on a golden goal, but since they were so shaken by the deal, France - who were unaware of the plot - scored three times in 90 minutes.

CONSPIRACY 3

Ronaldo was drugged

The striker's indisposition on the day of the final was the result of sabotage by France, who wanted to put out Brazil's best player.

CONSPIRACY 4

Ronaldo was unwell

Ronaldo had a secret medical problem which he had kept hidden all his life.

CONSPIRACY 5

The blue pill

The doctors gave him a "blue pill" as a painkiller. But it had tranquillising effects that made him "sleepy".

· Alex Bellos is the author of Futebol: The Brazilian Way of Life (Bloomsbury, £9.99)


http://www.theguardian.com/football/2002/jun/29/worldcupfootball2002.sport3

Edited by Damo Baresi: 13/9/2015 02:37:05 PM

Ronaldo wandered around listlessly like a zombie in the final, Brazil played the game virtually with 10 men.

I was reminded of Ronaldo mystery illness on the eve of the World Cup Final by what has recently happened recently with Lance (Buddy) Franklin & The Sydney Swans in the AFL Footy Finals.

Apparently Buddy had an epileptic fit in a cafe in Bondi. He played footy the next day but played shithouse. Now they are saying he has a "mental health' issue & is out of the team for the entire AFL finals.

Now, Sydney bought Buddy Franklin on an approx $10 million dollar contract over 10 years. So it's pretty serious right?
Except it doesn't seem to be serious enough for his girlfriend/partner, Jesinta Campbell (who is away filming some show) in Japan, to fly back to be with him? If it's depression or schizophrenia or bi polar, wouldn't he be better off with her back by his side? Or if it's not serious enough for her to come back to Australia for him then why isn't he playing for Sydney in the footy finals? They have paid out big, big money for him to help them win big finals.

There's something going on here.

There were strong rumours connecting Buddy Franklin to drug use before he left Hawthorn to go to Sydney.
I wonder if drug use has caused or worsen his mental illness?



Edited by Damo Baresi: 15/9/2015 12:22:35 PM

Quite simply, nope.

Depression doesn't mean sad, and mental health is far too complicated to simplify into saying one thing will improve the situation for all sufferers.

To use my own experiences with bad depressive moments, they have on occasion been worsened by having people around me actively worrying about me because I felt I was being a burden and thus ruining their lives too. I find it perfectly plausible that Buddy did not want Jesinta to leave her work assignment because he felt it would jeopardise her career to do so.

It's important he has support, but he doesn't need the world to stop for him. His parents rushed over to him, he is looked after.