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We were never in danger, claims Brazil Posted: Friday June 21, 2002 9:17 AMUpdated: Friday June 21, 2002 9:26 AM
"We knew we could turn the game around," said midfielder Kleberson. "We stayed calm and tried to keep our heads together. We knew what their tactics were, the high ball into the area." Rivaldo said the most difficult moment had been when goalscorer Ronaldinho was sent off early in the second half. "When Ronaldinaho was sent off, it got complicated because playing with a man down against England is difficult," he said. "When we went behind, we knew we still had time and, if we continued the way we were playing, we knew we could score at any moment." Ronaldinho put the four times champions 2-1 ahead in the 50th minute only to be sent off seven minutes later. Rivaldo had equalised Owen's goal in first half injury time. Roberto Carlos said Brazil showed their winning mentality after the sending-off and the better team won. "A team that wants to win can play with eight, or seven, it doesn't matter," he said. "Our team has a winning mentality, we are right on the path. Today, we won well. The team that won was the team that played better and which went after goals all the time." Defender Lucio, whose failure to cut out a pass forward from Emile Heskey led to Owen's goal, admitted he had made a mistake. "We know these things happen occasionally. Unfortunately it happened to me, but you just have to keep your head in the right place," he said. "We know that when we win, everyone in the team wins -- when we lose, everyone loses." Fellow defender Roque Junior said Lucio's performance in the remainder of the match should be remembered rather than his only mistake. "Everyone makes mistakes, that was a difficult one when you are running with your back to the ball. "He tried to clear it, the ball hit him, lucky for Owen. "He played really well for the rest of the game, this is what we have to look at, not the mistake. We just gave him backing (at haltime) but he is there to do the best for him and the team." Midfielder Gilberto Silva said Brazil's next opponent -- Turkey or Senegal - had better watch out in the semifinal on June 26. "Brazil are not here on holiday, we showed we can win. A lot of people didn't believe in our qualities, every day we prove we are good enough to win." Lucky shot Ronaldinho, who scored what looked to be a freak goal, said he knew he had a chance of catching goalkeeper David Seaman off his line. Ronaldinho deceived Seaman with a high, looping free kick from some 35 meters out on the right wing that dipped at the last minute and sailed into the top corner of the net. It was not immediately clear whether his effort had been intended as a shot or a cross, but Ronaldinho insisted it was the former. "(Brazil captain) Cafu had alerted me that their goalkeeper played off his line," said Ronaldinho, who was delayed for nearly two hours after being picked for the post-match doping test. "I had a shot at goal and I was lucky." Cafu played for Real Zaragoza in 1995 when it beat Arsenal in the European Cup Winners' Cup final after Seaman conceded a similar goal late in the game. Ronaldinho set up Brazil's first goal when he ran through the middle of the England defense, but spoiled his performance by getting sent off for a foul on Danny Mills shortly after his goal. "It was all very quick, the referee decided to send me off. Unfortunately, there's no way back," he said. "It wasn't a red card offence. Mills himself, who suffered the foul, told me this and everybody in the stadium saw it." Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari said Mills had kicked Ronaldinho shortly before the incident. Ronaldinho will miss Wednesday's semifinal against Turkey or Senegal as he serves an automatic one-match suspension. He will hope that FIFA do not extend the ban, as this would cause him to miss the final as well if Brazil qualify. Ronaldo complains of thigh pain Brazil striker Ronaldo, substituted during the second half of the 2-1 win over England, complained of a pain in his thigh after Friday's quarterfinal. "My muscles felt tired, I had a pain in the right thigh," he said. "It's nothing to worry about, we have time to recover, something which didn't happen after the (second round) game against Belgium." Ronaldo said there was no doubt he would start Brazil's semifinal Wednesday against either Senegal or Turkey. For the first time in the tournament, Ronaldo failed to get on target and remains on five goals. He has been caught up by his teammate Rivaldo who scored the first half equalizer. "It's still a diffcult path, there are no easy games and nobody is going to give us a present," said Ronaldo. "Justice is done, we deserved this win, we attacked the whole
time even when we were a man down."
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. |
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