|
 |   |
|
EVENTS Fantasy Central Inside Game Video Plus Statitudes Your Turn Message Boards Email Newsletters Golf Guide Cities 
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE
|  |
Put me in, coach Ronaldo tells inquiry he was fit for 1998 World Cup final
Updated: Wednesday January 10, 2001 1:41 PM
BRASILIA (Reuters) -- Brazilian striker Ronaldo told a Congressional inquiry commission on Wednesday that he only played in the 1998 World Cup Final after medical tests showed he was fit to do so, despite suffering convulsions hours before the game. Ronaldo was testifying to a lower house panel investigating the Brazilian Football Confederation's multi-million dollar sponsorship deal with sportswear giant Nike. He was adamant that the decision to play in the final at the Stade de France on July 12, 1998, was based on medical evidence and on his own wishes rather than outside pressures. "I only played after medical tests showed I was clinically and physically fit to do so. If the tests had showed otherwise, I would not have played," he said. A composed Ronaldo gave a measured and lucid account of events on the day of Brazil's 3-0 defeat by France. He explained that he had woken from an afternoon nap to find a group of concerned players around his bed. Team doctors told him he had suffered convulsive fits and colleagues began to console him because he would be unable to play. "I asked what I could do to show that I was fit to play. The doctors told me I would have to undergo medical tests," he said. His version tallied with that of former coach Mario Zagallo, who said he selected Ronaldo after seeing the results of tests and confirming that the player felt well enough to play. Most commentators agreed that Rondaldo was a shadow of his normal self in the game. Questioned insistently whether he had suffered pressure from sponsors to play in the game, Ronaldo said such speculation was groundless. "The only thing Nike have asked of me is that I wear their boots. It is my own job to score goals with them," he said. However, commission members remained dissatisfied with the player's refusal to reveal the terms of his own sponsorship contract with Nike. Ronaldo said the terms of the deal are confidential, and are distinct to the contract between Nike and the Confederation under investigation. He refused to reveal whether he received premium payments for games played for Brazil, and described allegations that the contract obliged him to play in specific games as "absurd and incorrect." Commission chairman Aldo Rebelo said Ronaldo had no legal right to silence on the issue of his contract, and said the panel would convene a second session behind closed doors. Ronaldo said he would consent to the details of the contract being divulged, providing Nike agreed to waive the confidentiality clause. The interrogation was mainly good-humored, and commission members were full of praise and encouragement for the Inter Milan player, who is now recovering from injury. However, Ronaldo could not hide his irritation at some of the more wayward questions. One federal deputy curiously asked if he could not have marked France's Zinedine Zidane more closely. Another asked simply why Brazil had lost the final. "Winning and losing is just part of the game. I don't see the need to create all this mystery and intrigue just because we lost," Ronaldo said. Congress is conducting a wider two-pronged inquiry into allegations that Brazilian football is riddled with corruption, fraud and unethical practices. Ronaldo agreed that Brazil's domestic football is poorly organized, with too many games. He suggested strengthening the players' union to address some of these problems.
| ||||||||||||||||||||
