Ronaldo equaled Pele's achievement and the beautiful game played by Brazil at International Stadium last night led the team to a 2-0 triumph over the percentage football of Germany.
Brazil deservedly claimed an unequalled fifth title at Asia's first World Cup. The "Phenomenon" scored twice to bring his tally of World Cup goals to 12, the same as Pele.
A moment of brilliance from the reborn player of the tournament turned the tide, when Ronaldo fashioned and then finished off with a strike in the second half, with the score at 0-0.
PHOTO: REUTERS
The two-time FIFA player of the year robbed the ball from a German defender, wheeled and laid it off with a deft touch to Rivaldo, who shot from 20m. Kahn was well positioned, but could not gather the ball and somehow it was Ronaldo who was on hand to slot the ball home.
While the rainy conditions contributed to Kahn's spill, the "best goalkeeper in the world" will be the unhappiest German player today, having said before the final that Brazil may have had the best forwards in the world, but they had to beat him first.
Well, Ronaldo did -- twice.
PHOTO: REUTERS
His second goal came from a buildup on the right-hand side by Kleberson, who turned the ball across the goal to Rivaldo, who dummied and let the ball run through to a waiting Ronaldo.
The 25-year-old coolly turned and drove the ball home past a despairing Kahn.
In the matchup between the German goalie and Brazilian striker, it was attacking play that won the day and the first World Cup of the new millennium.
Captain Cafu lifted the Cup and the Brazilian players, draped in the flags of their country, celebrated with their ecstatic fans.
The first half was an intriguing affair, with Germany matching Brazil and gaining most of the possession, but suffering some close calls in the process.
After 17 minutes, Ronaldo signaled his scoring intentions when he drove wide from a half chance and later beat Kahn when Ronaldinho threaded a pass into the penalty area. The Inter Milan forward sidefooted but missed by a couple of meters.
He was foiled once again on 29 minutes, when he could not quite control the ball under pressure and Kahn blocked.
Germany's two attempts in the first half were from wing play. But Cafu had marshaled his defense and managed to contain the threat with the help of goalie Marcos.
Kleberson came closest for Brazil five minutes from the end though, when he hit the bar from 30m out with a swirling shot after being set up by Roberto Carlos.
Then, it was Ronaldo once again, who managed to twist and turn inside the penalty box, only for Kahn to save with his legs the last shot of the first half.
It looked as though Germany, playing a compact and simple game full of running and vigor, might be able to upset the favorites.
It had the best chances at the start of the second half, with Neuville drilling a free kick from 35m to the top right of the goal, but Marcos pulled off a great diving save. Dietmar Hamann blasted a shot over the bar on 12 minutes and then Neuville narrowly missed getting on the back of a Schneider ball swept into the center which Marcos cleared up.
But any thoughts the Germans may have had of snatching the game were swept away by the majesty of Ronaldo, when he scored his goal 22 minutes into the second half.
His second goal sealed the victory and there was no way the Germans were going to recover from the brink of defeat.
While Germany played with pride and competence, the joy and ability of Brazil claimed soccer's greatest prize on its biggest stage at what may in retrospect be called "Ronaldo's final."
A magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck off the southern coast of Mindanao in the Philippines at 7:38am today, prompting the US Tsunami Warning System to issue an alert for neighboring countries, including Taiwan. The system issued a purple alert indicating a "tsunami threat." The potential threat zone includes Taiwan, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Yap and Palau. Philippine authorities were assessing the damage from the quake, with the office of civil defense seeking to verifying initial reports that 15 people had been killed and 129 injured in the region, mostly from falling debris. Arlene Hollero, disaster chief of Maasim town in the Philippines' Sarangani Province,
‘GRAY ZONE’ PRESSURE: Beijing’s activities are intended to create the deceitful impression that China has jurisdiction over the area around Taiwan, the CGA said Taiwan’s rights over its territorial waters and exclusive economic zone must not be violated by any country, the Mainland Affairs Council said yesterday, adding that it will not accept any unprovoked actions. The council issued the remarks in response to the China Coast Guard conducting maritime enforcement drills near eastern Taiwan and claiming to fully exercise China’s maritime administrative law enforcement authority. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) has been closely monitoring the situation and is taking concrete steps to defend the nation’s sovereignty and secure its waters, the council said. China has no sovereign rights over the waters off eastern
RESILIENCE: Taiwan plays a key role in semiconductors, energy, information infrastructure and advanced manufacturing, AIT Director Raymond Greene said Taiwan’s continued investment in deterrence and resilience remains vital, especially in uncrewed systems and other emerging technologies, American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Raymond Greene said yesterday. Greene made the remarks at the annual National Strategic Summit on Supply Chain Resilience held by the Research Institute for Democracy, Society and Emerging Technology (DSET), a government-backed think tank. As Taiwan last year became the US’ fourth-largest trading partner and supply chain security is becoming more important, cooperation in emerging technologies continues to deepen between the two countries, he said. The US is committed to accelerating innovation, building key infrastructure, strengthening cooperation
RIGHT DIRECTION: Taiwan’s efforts to prevent forced labor include a proposal to ‘fully prohibit’ employers from withholding workers’ documents, an official said Taiwan is to establish a mechanism to restrict imports of goods linked to forced labor, the Executive Yuan said yesterday, after the US proposed imposing additional tariffs on Taiwanese goods over labor concerns. “The Ministry of Labor and the Ministry of Economic Affairs are to establish an interministerial review procedure,” Executive Yuan spokesperson Michelle Lee (李慧芝) said at a news briefing in Taipei. “The government is to use the Foreign Trade Act [貿易法] as the legal basis to restrict imports of goods produced with forced labor” and bring its supply chain governance more in line with international standards on human rights, resilience
RSS