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Ronaldo wants to do something special
Brazilian star eager to impress in final against France
Posted: Saturday July 11, 1998 11:30 AM
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Ronaldo: "I have done a lot to help Brazil get a fifth title but I know I should do better" (AP) |
PARIS (AP) -- Watch out, France. Soccer's
best player says he may have some surprises in store in Sunday's World Cup
final. "The most beautiful victory is when you realize that you've
succeeded in surpassing yourself, that you've done something you didn't
think you were capable of," says Ronaldo, a two-time FIFA player of the
year considered something of an underachiever here despite his four
championship goals. "I have done a lot to help Brazil get a
fifth title but I know I should do better." In an interview with
French daily L'Equipe Saturday, the 21-year-old soccer superstar
said he was impressed by the France lineup the Brazilians meet in the
final. "It's a good team composed of great players," Ronaldo said.
"Honestly it's going to be a very difficult match because there's a quality
team facing us." He most fears French play maker Zinedine Zidane.
"The whole French team plays around him, it's Zidane that makes the team
good or not, he determines everything," he said. By his standards,
Ronaldo has been low key in this World Cup. He's scored four goals but
hasn't been the driving force of the Brazil team people expect him to be.
The Inter Milan striker offers little excuse for his lack of brilliance.
"They say that a player should give everything during a World Cup, but
what if you've already given everything before the World Cup started?" he
told L'Equipe. "It is difficult. "Pressure is part of my job and
it's only normal that people ask more and more from me. I know that the
whole of Brazil expects a lot from me at every match." Ronaldo said
he had some trouble with the Brazilian style of play which was different
from the Inter Milan tactics he is used to. "I had to change my style," he
said. Although the Brazilian team is a gathering of brilliant
individual stars, Ronaldo says it is really together for this match. "We
are all here to get the same thing, a fifth title," he said.
Constant attention from the media doesn't really faze Ronaldo. He dismissed
rumors that he's getting too fat. "It's not even worth it to talk
about that. I've always said there is a lot of space to fill in Brazilian
newspapers, on the radio or on television," Ronaldo said. "Whether
you're the best player in the world or the worst one, it's the same thing.
The press doesn't make a distinction and doesn't hand you things for free
either." But the Inter Milan striker is getting tired of questions
about his future. Ronaldo won't talk about the possibility of becoming
Brazil's captain or even coaching after he retires from playing.
"Later, I'll think about another life," he said. "But for now I can live
with the pressure."
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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