By sitting in his room and frantically clicking his mouse an England fan in Taipei got involved in the biggest drama of this World Cup.
As if you didn't know already, this was the orchestrated hate campaign against Cristiano Ronaldo -- dubbed the "king of diving" by local papers -- and the crowning of German Lukas Podolski as the tournament's best young player.
Led by an e-mail campaign and a Web site called ihateronaldo.com, the Portuguese player was voted out of contention after his efforts to get England's Wayne Rooney sent off in their quarter-final match were beamed around the planet.
PHOTO: EPA
Of course, England fans were bitter about yet another failure at the World Cup. But the boos resounding around the stadium throughout the Portugal versus France game every time Ronaldo touched the ball showed his actions had touched a nerve.
It didn't help Ronaldo's cause that he was caught blatantly diving in that game and then blabbed like a newborn baby after Portugal lost. Even in the match for third place against Germany, Ronaldo was catcalled.
Portugal has been accused of gamesmanship throughout the tournament and took part in the dirtiest World Cup game ever, the 1-0 win over Holland that produced 16 yellow cards and four reds.
Chinese-language newspapers here have also got in on the act and have printed dozens of pictures of Ronaldo on his knees calling for penalties. They are calling him the "heavenly king of pretend falls" (
On the ihateronaldo.com Web site soccer fans, including those from Taipei, added to the reasons for hating Rooney's Manchester United teammate.
They claimed there was video evidence he head butted Rooney at the start of the game and said he dived against England at Euro 2004. Most of all, it seems, they disliked Ronaldo because he's a pretty boy who cheats.
Comments on ihateronaldo.com, such as this one from Tim were typical: "I am a primary school teacher and today, in a straw poll, 25 of my 29 ... pupils answered `yes' to the question, `Would you like to see Cristiano Ronaldo die a peasant's death?'"
Some brave Portuguese fans joined the fray in support of their star player.
"That scene of Ronaldo and Rooney before the match, where Ronaldo goes to Rooney and rubs his head against Rooney's head, that only shows their friendship," one named Bernado wrote.
But no one was listening to the apologists. As a result of the backlash against Ronaldo, thousands of fans around the world went to the FIFA Web site and voted for Ecuador's Luis Valencia as the tournament's best player instead.
In 24 hours there was a complete turnaround. Previous leader Ronaldo's vote rose slightly from 210,290 to 241,775, while Valencia's shot up from 195,377 to 331,087.
Interestingly, the BBC's Web site reported that many of Ronaldo's backers for the title of best young player were Scots, who were keen to piss off the English.
The winner of the award was announced on Friday, when FIFA added three players of its own to the popular vote and then picked the winner, Podolski.
Their criteria for judging were "certain technical qualities such as skill, style and charisma, but also other important facets such as a sense of fair play and a genuine impression that they are playing merely for the love of the game."
Podolski scored three times, had 21 shots and drew 15 fouls.
FIFA made no mention of the e-mail campaign against Ronaldo, but Holger Osieck, a FIFA boss, did say that the player's behavior at the finals did not help his cause.
Ronaldo's antics at the World Cup have made it difficult for him to return to Manchester, England, where he has been pilloried by the tabloids. He was quoted after the Germany game as saying it was unlikely he would play for United this season.
Ronaldo has been linked with Real Madrid and some commentators on ihateronaldo.com wrote his act against Rooney was a deliberate attempt to cut ties with England and facilitate a move to Spain.
If this was his intention, Ronaldo should be renamed the "king of pratfalls," because his actions have not made him friends -- even in Spain -- as the boos that followed his every move have shown.
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