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Saint Taffarel saves the day
Heroic effort in goal sends Brazil back to finals
Posted: Tuesday July 07, 1998 09:40 PM
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Taffarel was seen by some as the weak link of the powerful Brazilians. The Dutch probably now disagree (AP) |
MARSEILLE, France (AP) --
In Brazil, a
goalie with a knack for defending penalties gets the nickname "saint." And
it was St. Taffarel who saved them against the Dutch.
The balding 32-year-old picked off shot after shot against the relentless
Dutch strikers. But he saved the best fo last, blocking two attempts in a
penalty-kick shootout to send Brazil to the World Cup final against France
or Croatia.
Yet Taffarel is far from a consensus. Many Brazilians protested when coach
Mario Zagallo insisted on making him the No. 1 goalie. In practice, he has
the worst record in defending penalties.
"The coaches say, 'Hey, you don't get even one.' But I just say I'll stop
them when it counts," he said.
It rarely counted more than on Tuesday, after Brazil and the Netherlands
had played to a 1-1 tie over 120 minutes and headed to the penalty box to
decide.
Ronaldo, Rivaldo and Emerson tallied for Brazil, Frank de Boer and Dennis
Bergkamp for the Dutch. Not a miss, and Philip Cocu was up.
He stepped up confidently to the line and fired midway up on the right
side. Taffarel dove to knock it away.
Dunga converted, and Ronald de Boer had the match at his feet. He picked
the lower left corner, and so did Taffarel. Save, game over, and the
Brazilian bench emptied to mob their hero.
There had been one moment more important than this, the '94 Cup final. And
Taffarel was there, stopping the fourth shot by Daniele Massaro and giving
Brazil a record fourth Cup title -- and the beginning of "sainthood."
In the explosion of relief and joy after the second save, there was a
special moment with Zagallo, his mentor, defender and sponsor.
"It made me proud to see him crying and happy," Taffarel said. "He gave me
this moment so many times calling me to the team. ... He went against many
people who didn't want me on the team, and I'm grateful."
Brazilians tend to love or hate Taffarel, ever since he emerged a decade
ago as a phenomenon among goalies. In 1990, at the age of 24, he was a
starter on Brazil's World Cup team.
Brazil lost that Cup, and Taffarel began a long slide that reached a low
point when he was benched on Italy's Parma.
Still, Carlos Alberto Parreira -- with Zagallo's backing -- called him up
for the '94 Cup.
It was downhill again after that, and Taffarel seemed to be playing out
his career on Atletico Mineiro. But Zagallo wanted his experience on the
renewed national team he was assembling.
Experience counts, but Taffarel lives only for the next victory.
"Today is an unforgettable day, but we have to forget it," he said. "We
haven't won anything yet. It's just one battle. I'm happy to live this
moment."
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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