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Living up to Brazilian #10 Rivaldo follows in footsteps of Brazilian greats Pele, Zico
Posted: Monday December 20, 1999 12:18 PM
MADRID (Reuters) -- Following in the footsteps of such Brazilian heroes as Pele and Zico by wearing the revered golden number-10 jersey can prove an intolerable burden, but Rivaldo showed he has the necessary pedigree by carrying off the 1999 European Player of the Year award on Monday. The Golden Ball award, given by France Football magazine, was almost as much for Rivaldo's part in helping Brazil to lift this year's Copa America as it was for hitting 24 goals in Barcelona's romp to their second successive Spanish league title. After he demonstrated his stunning skills in only brief bursts for much of his early career, 1999 was the year when the 27-year-old from Recife finally flourished on a consistent basis. His efforts for both club and country meant Rivaldo -- born Vitor Barbosa Ferreira -- became only the second Brazilian to lift the prestigious award after Ronaldo in 1997. Down the left side of the field, Rivaldo is a constant threat to any team, no longer drifting in and out of games, with the speed of a top-class sprinter allied to phenomenal dribbling skills. Fourth Barcelona player to winRivaldo, who wears the number-11 shirt at Barcelona, becomes the fourth player from that club to be crowned the European Player of the Year. Luis Suarez was the first member of the Catalan soccer giants to win the Golden Ball in 1960, the fifth year of its existence. There was then a 13-year wait until Johan Cruyff won in 1973 and 1974 and it was under Cruyff's tutelage, when the Dutch legend was the Barcelona coach, that Bulgaria's Hristo Stoichkov won in 1994. But Barcelona soccer fans feel that at least half another Golden Ball belongs to them. Ronaldo was an Inter Milan player when he won two years ago, having moved across the Mediterranean to Italy during that summer, but he played the first half of the year at the Nou Camp. Then, as now, Rivaldo followed in Ronaldo's footsteps, joining Barcelona in August 1997 from Deportivo Coruna. However it was hard at first for die-hard Catalans to forget their former idol and they jeered his Brazilian replacement for several matches after his arrival. Not the finished articleBarcelona's previous three winners all won at the height of their careers, but many pundits feel that the best is yet to come from Rivaldo and that he can reach another level if he can fine-tune his mercurial skills. Rivaldo has been voted the best foreign player plying his trade in Spain for the last two seasons by the Spanish soccer magazine Don Balon but the respected publication still felt moved to state in September: "Rivaldo has a problem. "Every Sunday he demonstrates his obvious quality when he brings supporters to their feet with his dribbling, shooting and all the other rabbits that he pulls out of his magician's hat. "But he plays in his own world, never bothers to go looking for the ball of his own accord and wastes opportunities with dumb errors," it scathingly added. His tendency to dwell on the ball certainly cost Brazil dear in the 1996 Olympic semifinal match against Nigeria when he was robbed while in possession and Nigeria pulled back a goal. The Africans went on to win the game -- and then the gold medal -- while Rivaldo had to face the public derision at home, for Brazil coming up short in Atlanta. It has taken him time to learn his lesson despite his grueling post-Olympic experience. "Everything is going to improve, I'll try and pass the ball more quickly," he said at the Copa America in Paraguay in June. There are signs since then that, despite Barcelona's mediocre domestic form this season, he is fulfilling not only his potential but also that promise to himself. This year's Golden Ball may be the first of many similar honors to come his way.
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
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