Ronaldo: The road to redemption with Brazil at the 2002 World Cup

In the 5th and last instalment of BBC Sport's World Cup icons series, we research Ronaldo's Golden Boot-winning redemption with Brazil successful 2002.

The comeback had lasted conscionable six minutes.

There was a collective, anxious intake of breath. Was this the extremity of the game's astir devastating forward?

Two years later, arsenic the shot nestled into the country of Oliver Kahn's extremity with the aforesaid ruthless precision that characterised a full career, Ronaldo's effect was a resounding 'no'.

Brazil were satellite champions. The frenzied celebrations rippled astir Yokohama's International Stadium, done a delirious Rio de Janeiro and via millions rejoicing successful beforehand of their tv screens astatine home.

Il Fenomeno had silenced the critics and seemingly defied science.

He had not lone flooded the wounded problems that threatened to derail him astatine Inter Milan but besides exorcised the demons that lingered from Selecao's World Cup last decision against France successful 1998, erstwhile their prima antheral suffered a seizure earlier the game.

Ronaldo had reclaimed his throne arsenic the top among football's pantheon of goal-getters and his iconic grin, similar his dazzling feet, lit up TV screens astir the globe.

"He was fantastic, amazing," Brazil team-mate Cafu tells BBC Sport. "It showed the intelligence spot Ronaldo has to flooded the problems. It has been the communicative of his life."

The Brazil squad of 2002 person a WhatsApp radical called 'Penta'.

Twenty years connected from triumph successful Japan and South Korea, Cafu inactive messages regular arsenic they reminisce astir the nation's 5th satellite title. For Ronaldo, it is simply a invited reminder of his redemption.

The emergence was stratospheric.

After scoring 44 goals successful 47 games successful his archetypal 2 seasons astatine Cruzeiro, Ronaldo went to USA '94 arsenic a 17-year-old inactive bearing braces. He did not play a azygous minute, alternatively celebrating similar a giddy kid waving an inflatable banana successful Pierluigi Casiraghi's Italy garment pursuing Brazil's punishment shootout triumph successful the last astatine the Rose Bowl successful Pasadena.

A determination to Europe, connected the proposal of team-mate Romario, followed and paved the mode for a relentless goalscoring spree with PSV Eindhoven.

"You could archer consecutive distant helium had a definite happening astir him," explains erstwhile team-mate Boudewijn Zenden, who would bent retired successful Ronaldo's penthouse and adjacent bought a Portuguese For Dummies publication truthful they could pass better.

"He was lightning accelerated and immoderate goalscoring opportunity, the one-on-ones, helium ever scored.

"There was lone 1 mode and that was towards the goal, ever with gait and ever with a bully finish. He had tricks and could dribble anybody, but it was ever objective and lethal."

Off the pitch, helium was ever bully amusive and Zenden remembers dressing his mate up arsenic a clown connected a sojourn to Maastricht Carnival.

"As soon arsenic helium started smiling, everybody recognised him!" laughs the Dutchman. "He was a truly bully guy, ever with a grin connected his face, ever successful for a joke."

When it came to football, though, Ronaldo was deadly serious.

Asked by a newsman however galore goals helium would people successful his archetypal play successful the Netherlands, helium said without a blink of an eye: "32."

"The writer started laughing," recalls Zenden. "But Ronaldo didn't find it funny."

Ronaldo scored 32 home goals that play - 35 successful 36 games erstwhile you adhd the scintillating hat-trick against Bayer Leverkusen successful the Uefa Cup to his tally.

Now the property weren't laughing, they were wholly captivated. So were PSV fans, belting retired his name, portion pundits gawped astatine this teenage phenomenon.

Ronaldo's upward trajectory continued from PSV to Barcelona successful 1996 for a world-record £13.2m, wherever helium scored 47 goals successful 49 games successful 1 play - galore of specified bewildering solo prime helium unsocial was worthy the entranceway fee.

He was crowned the world's champion subordinate earlier different grounds transportation successful 1997, this clip to Inter Milan for £19.5m. A 2nd satellite subordinate of the twelvemonth grant and a Ballon d'Or followed.

"You cannot springiness him 1 accidental due to the fact that helium volition score," adds Zenden. "That is his power. If you suffer him retired of sight, you are dead."

Aged 17, Ronaldo was an unused subordinate of Brazil's 1994 World Cup-winning squad

Just 4 years aft helium warmed the seat successful the California sunshine, Ronaldo arrived astatine France '98 arsenic the astir implicit guardant successful the world.

"He was a changeless danger," remembers erstwhile Brazil team-mate Savio. "A subordinate with a batch of talent, a batch of capacity, a batch of resources successful the tract and - past tells america each - the champion 9 successful shot history. Phenomenal!"

He'd already scored a wonderment extremity successful Paris a period earlier arsenic Inter bushed Lazio to triumph the Uefa Cup and past lit up the archetypal six games of the World Cup to beryllium awarded the Golden Ball. But it is the melodramatic build-up to the last and his forlorn show astatine the Parc des Prince that is remembered.

Ronaldo woke from his slumber aft the squad luncheon to beryllium told he'd had a seizure, been unconscious for 2 minutes and would not play that evening.

Cafu was 1 of the archetypal to his edifice country aft the convulsions: "We were precise disquieted due to the fact that helium was 1 of the cardinal players of the team. He didn't question with america connected the bus, helium went to the infirmary and past came straight to the stadium."

Ronaldo convinced the aesculapian squad to bash fittingness tests but it was not until soon earlier kick-off caput manager Mario Zagallo was persuaded the guardant was good to start.

In the location dressing room, Lilian Thuram and his France team-mates were convinced it was a ploy.

"We thought 'no way, Ronaldo is playing, they are conscionable making this up to effort and fool us'," the defender remembers.

"In games similar this, tiny margins and however a subordinate is feeling tin marque a difference.

"Who knows, if Ronaldo had been astatine 100% of his abilities and feeling well, possibly Brazil would person won?"

Little did Ronaldo cognize things would get worse earlier they got better.

Brazil, without Ronaldo astatine his best, mislaid 3-0 to France successful the 1998 World Cup last successful Paris

Medical unit successful Milan marvelled astatine Ronaldo's ferocious physique. Powerful, nimble, the fast-twitch fibres of a cheetah. They calculated helium could tally 100m successful astir 10.2 seconds. He could cod the shot deep, swivel and crook defenders' legs to jelly with his accelerated alteration of gait and direction. The Brazilian was redefining what it meant to beryllium a centre-forward.

But Ronaldo's unprecedented carnal armoury was besides his weakness. He was explosive to the constituent his assemblage could erupt, and suffered from instability betwixt the kneecap and femur.

In November 1999, helium ruptured a tendon successful his close genu and needed surgery. Five months later, during his instrumentality successful the archetypal limb of the Coppa Italia last against Lazio, it went completely.

Ronaldo was lone connected the transportation six minutes erstwhile helium shaped to execute 1 of his iconic measurement overs, but alternatively his limb gave mode - tendons ripped, kneecap displaced, the seemingly indestructible improvement agonisingly reduced to a howling heap connected the Stadio Olimpico turf.

One Inter physio said it was the worst wounded he'd ever witnessed, different suggested Ronaldo needed a miracle. Even 2 years retired from Japan and Korea, his World Cup hopes were successful superior doubt.

And, boy, determination were doubts. From doctors, from Ronaldo, from the media, from fans who worshipped a subordinate they genuinely believed was connected the way to becoming the top of each time.

Eight months into his recovery, Ronaldo inactive could not crook his genu beyond 90 degrees. He questioned whether the subject existed to hole him and travelled the globe successful hunt of answers, the commencement of his lad Ronald giving him the spot to endure what helium called "endless torture" arsenic yet helium underwent a process to summation much flexibility.

It meant astir 9 hours of rehabilitation enactment each day.

Through October and November 2001 determination were sporadic appearances arsenic Inter managed him backmost to fitness, lone for a hamstring wounded to regularisation him retired until the extremity of March - 2 months earlier the World Cup.

Ronaldo was a favourite among Brazilian fans astatine the World Cup

Brazil brag Luiz Felipe Scolari instantly showed his religion by handing Ronaldo 45 minutes successful a affable triumph implicit Yugoslavia, and the guardant returned to Serie A to people 4 goals successful the last 5 games of the season.

He emerged from the gloom of a nightmarish 2 years determined to radiance connected the world's biggest signifier that summer.

"Ronaldo wanted to amusement helium had the capableness to flooded the problems," says Cafu. "There were nary different atrocious feelings astir it, conscionable the volition to look what had happened and flooded it."

As the tourney edged closer, fans' appetites were whetted arsenic Ronaldo joined a formed of the world's champion players successful Nike's concealed cage shot advertizing run to the tune of Elvis Presley's A Little Less Conversation. The shaper evidently backed their prima complaint to beryllium fit.

Nike mightiness arsenic good person invited lone the Brazil squad, specified was the plethora of entertainers they had successful a summertime that would beryllium thing of a past samba for the creativity of South America's canary-clobbered trendsetters.

Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Denilson, a young Kaka, the biggest trickster of them each successful Ronaldinho, not to notation marauding wing-backs Cafu and Roberto Carlos. But the feeling successful Brazil was these players were being stifled by Scolari's excessive discipline.

It wasn't conscionable Ronaldo who was near scarred by '98. The conspiracy theories that followed triggered a parliamentary inquiry, wherever the guardant was called arsenic a witness. One congressman adjacent brought his lad on for an autograph.

Brazil had besides blitzed done 3 coaches betwixt tournaments earlier landing connected Scolari, with their World Cup qualification successful jeopardy. Despite dragging them through, helium was despised backmost location by the summertime of 2002.

Accused of disrespecting the 'sovereignty' of the iconic yellowish jersey for wanting to play successful Brazil's changed bluish shirt, car attacked for not selecting seasoned striker Romario, vilified for his benignant of playing with 3 cardinal defenders - the brag had much headaches than conscionable trying to compression each that endowment into 1 functional XI.

Then, the time earlier Brazil's opening crippled against Turkey successful South Korea, skipper Emerson was ruled retired of the tourney aft injuring his enarthrosis playing successful extremity during training.

After consulting the squad psychologist, Scolari decided connected a enactment radical wherever Cafu took the armband and Roberto Carlos, Roque Junior, Rivaldo and Ronaldo besides had input.

The manager whitethorn person mislaid the Brazilian radical but helium had won implicit the players who had initially recovered him acold and tough. Now they called him 'Dad' oregon 'General Big Phil' and bought into the 'Scolari family' idea.

Juliano Belletti adjacent captured the travel connected his handheld camcorder similar it was a location video, the footage of which tin beryllium watched successful Sky documentary Brazil 2002: The Real Story.

Luiz Felipe Scolari enactment his religion successful Ronaldo being acceptable for the World Cup successful 2002

An attacking triumvirate of the 3 Rs - Ronaldinho, Rivaldo and Ronaldo - started the opener against Turkey, but Brazil were tense and the Turks tough, taking the pb successful first-half stoppage clip done Hasan Sas.

There were calls for calm successful the dressing country astatine the break. Then Rivaldo whipped implicit a transverse from the near and Ronaldo threw himself astatine it, guiding the shot beyond goalkeeper Rustu Recber.

Confidence began to ooze done the 25-year-old and moments aboriginal helium was the youthful Ronaldo bursting into the world's consciousness again, bumping disconnected 1 defender, bamboozling different with a trademark measurement implicit and past forcing Rustu to save. Rivaldo's precocious punishment completed the turnaround. Brazil were successful business.

"This is conscionable the start," Ronaldo told reporters afterwards. "I anticipation much goals and moments similar this travel my way."

And they did. One successful the 4-0 thrashing of China, wherever Ronaldo arrived precocious to crook successful a Cafu cross, earlier a treble successful the 5-2 decision of Costa Rica successful the last radical crippled successful Suwon.

Behind the scenes, Scolari's squad prepared meticulously. Every item from logistics to idiosyncratic aesculapian plans, to idiosyncratic sitting with Ronaldo astatine luncheon and meal to marque definite helium was eating correctly for the tournament.

Brazil's entourage took implicit a full edifice level and played array tennis, excavation and video games to capable the hours. There was bingo astatine repast times. It was 2 months chopped disconnected from the extracurricular satellite and the large question from the property was whether players were managing to person intercourse.

"You mean with each other?" quipped Scolari. "I don't deliberation so."

"That sacrifice we committed to - it was specified a agelong time," recalls Ronaldo successful Brazil 2002: The Real Story. "I deliberation it was irresponsible of america to marque specified a promise. Some journalists sent america big magazines - Big Phil took them each and went to the press: 'Don't you nonstop my boys these again, we're moving hard here!'"

They headed to Kobe successful Japan for a last-16 gathering with Belgium, wherever Brazil were fortunate alternatively than majestic arsenic Marc Wilmots' opener was controversially ruled out.

It took a infinitesimal of brilliance from Rivaldo to enactment Scolari's broadside successful beforehand and Ronaldo, who had promised a extremity successful each game, delivered again precocious connected with a first-time left-footed decorativeness from Jose Kleberson's walk that squeezed nether goalkeeper Geert de Vlieger.

England players watched successful the stands astatine the Kobe Wing Stadium, knowing they would look the winners.

It was a Three Lions squad Ronaldo ranked arsenic England's champion of each time, the Golden Generation, and helium singled retired having to look defender Sol Campbell.

"R9, Ronaldo, was conscionable the best. You knew helium was connected occurrence and you had to play bully shot to halt him," Campbell, who astir joined the Brazilian astatine Inter successful 2001, tells BBC Sport. "You had to beryllium connected your toes each the time. I loved that challenge.

"He had perfectly everything, helium was inactive astonishing aft his wounded - ideate if helium didn't get injured?! He was unbelievable. Defenders and goalkeepers were truthful frightened of him. He was incredible."

Brazil's 2-1 triumph implicit England was the lone crippled of the tourney successful which Ronaldo did not score

"We played Brazil successful the hottest portion of Japan," explains Campbell. "The time before, it was pouring down with rainfall and we were reasoning 'is this going to last?'. I spoke to Gilberto [Silva] and helium said Brazil were praying for sun, but we were praying for rain! It was truthful hot. The humidity and vigor were unbearable."

Michael Owen pounced connected a Lucio mistake to enactment England successful beforehand aboriginal on, but the telephone from skipper Cafu was "calma, calma".

The Brazilians were not fazed successful the Shizuoka sunshine. David Beckham remembers spotting Ronaldo and Roberto Carlos laughing unneurotic successful the punishment country during a interruption successful play and fearing the worst.

The brace were room-mates, it had been that mode since 1993. Ronaldo would buss the pouch rocket's caput earlier games to unleash a 'superpower'. On that day, it was Ronaldinho who possessed the super-human touch.

The Paris St-Germain maverick screeched past Paul Scholes implicit the halfway line, threw Ashley Cole retired of his way with a deft measurement implicit and was faced with a 3 connected 2 arsenic helium approached the box. With Ronaldo's tally creating abstraction to his left, Ronaldinho shifted it close towards Rivaldo and helium stroked successful left-footed for the leveller connected the brink of half-time.

Five minutes aft the interruption came the free-kick. Surely from that space and region Ronaldinho would look for a team-mate? Instead his effort looped implicit David Seaman and into the acold corner.

"An unthinkable free-kick," says Ronaldo. "We thought helium was crossing. He keeps saying it was connected purpose, that helium meant to enactment it there!"

Scolari rejoiced astatine the last whistle. When Brazil qualified for the World Cup helium made the astir 20km pilgrimage from his location successful Caxias bash Sul to Farroupilha. Now his team, adjacent aft Ronaldinho was sent disconnected for a foul connected Danny Mills, were marching into the semi-finals.

"They had a fantastic squad and we had our chances, but we conscionable didn't capitalise connected it," adds Campbell. "They didn't person galore chances, different than the free-kick and Ronaldinho opening america up. That's however adjacent we were to beating them, they conscionable had a small spot much prime and idiosyncratic skill."

There was unity successful the Brazil camp. Reserve players wanted to propel their first-team rivals to greatness. On the autobus to games determination was samba, tambourine sound, Roberto Carlos dancing successful the aisle and Ronaldo banging connected the model with a clenched fist, toothy grin beaming from beneath his nationalist squad shot cap. The aforesaid playlist arsenic they ticked disconnected triumph aft win.

It was a radical of players having fun, easing the unit arsenic the absorption connected Brazil intensified. Hundreds of journalists attended their grooming sessions and fans scrambled for a glimpse.

Ronaldo, though, was carrying a thigh wounded and was a uncertainty for the semi-final against Turkey. It was the large talking constituent arsenic the crippled successful Saitama drew closer. Then the guardant took a razor to his scalp, leaving a present notorious spot of hairsbreadth astatine the front.

"I thought: 'That is precise ugly!'" laughs Cafu, who was among the team-mates to archer Ronaldo to chopped it off. After being papped during training, the haircut became front-page news.

"I got galore complaints from kids' mothers due to the fact that it was a craze successful Brazil," admits Ronaldo. "But it was bully to distract everybody's attraction from my injury."

The crippled was tense, choky and past Ronaldo sparked into life. Dropping a gait disconnected his marker to person a walk from Silva connected the borderline of the attacking third, his archetypal interaction was towards the touchline, sucking defender Bulent Korkmaz successful and propelling beyond him into the punishment box.

The space was constrictive arsenic Ronaldo glanced towards goal, the thigh wounded successful the backmost of his mind, and with that helium opted for a toed poke.

This was the lad named aft the doc who delivered him successful speech for 3 kilos of shrimp backmost playing futsal successful Bento Ribeiro, jabbing the shot on the turf towards the country with capable powerfulness that Rustu could lone assistance it into the net.

"It was the lone non-painful happening I could do," recalls Ronaldo, who was reduced to tears arsenic Brazil sealed an affectional instrumentality to the World Cup final, the letters of his sanction held aloft Hollywood-style by fans successful yellowish and greenish bouncing successful the stands.

At midnight connected the eve of the final, Scolari recovered a fistful of his squad playing play successful the edifice corridor. They seemed relaxed. Come crippled day, though, the memories of 1998 resurfaced for Ronaldo.

He didn't instrumentality his accustomed pre-match nap - the infinitesimal the seizure had struck 4 years earlier - alternatively seeking retired back-up goalkeeper Dida to chat until the autobus near for the stadium.

In the squad meeting, Scolari played a video portion of Brazil's highlights, interspersed with fans praising their heroes. Juninho Paulista and Vampeta fought backmost tears, portion for Ronaldo it presented a 3rd and last conflict to flooded connected his roadworthy to glory - the trauma of '98, his horrific genu wounded and present the work of uniting the Brazilian people.

Japanese emperor Akihito's beingness successful Yokohama meant the squads and officials had to get other early. Referee Pierluigi Collina made tiny speech with Ronaldo and erstwhile retired connected the transportation Vampeta broke from tourney contented by starring each the substitutes into the pre-game photographs.

Germany goalkeeper Oliver Kahn was named the tournament's champion subordinate beforehand and denied Ronaldo aboriginal on. The Brazilian helped him up, gave his rival a pat connected the bottommost and formed a look that suggested helium was not finished yet.

Khan was faultless passim the competition, close up to the 67th infinitesimal of the final, erstwhile helium spilled Rivaldo's changeable into the way of Ronaldo to manus the predatory Brazilian a tap-in.

The decorativeness was simple, but Ronaldo's brutish spot and determination created the accidental successful the archetypal place, bundling Dietmar Hamann disconnected the shot to retrieve possession, slipping it to his team-mate and continuing his tally successful anticipation of a rebound.

If the archetypal was instinctive, the 2nd was satellite class. Kleberson made a interruption down the right, Rivaldo dummied astatine the apical of the punishment country and Ronaldo's cushioned interaction teed him up perfectly to changeable the shot into the bottommost country for his eighth extremity of the tournament.

He sprinted - arms outstretched, tuft of hairsbreadth protruding from his forehead similar a 5 o'clock shadiness - towards the seat to beryllium embraced successful the cognition Brazil were satellite champions.

Once again, conscionable similar 4 years earlier, Ronaldo was crying by the last whistle. This clip with alleviation and elation.

Amid the post-match enactment of samba and drums, the Golden Boot victor was the past Brazilian into the media country to speech to the press, wherever helium was asked if this was a amended feeling than sex.

"Both are precise hard to spell without," giggled the forward. "But I don't deliberation enactment could ever beryllium arsenic rewarding arsenic winning the World Cup."

It speaks to Ronaldo's quality that the surgeon who operated connected his genu was successful the assemblage that time arsenic 1 of the forward's guests.

"I'm dilatory realising conscionable what happened," Ronaldo continued afterwards.

"My happiness and my emotion are truthful large that it's hard to understand. I've said earlier that my large triumph was to play shot again, to tally again and to people goals again.

"This victory, for our 5th satellite title, has crowned my betterment and the enactment of the full team."

For Ronaldo, the roadworthy to redemption was complete.

BBC World Cup icons series

• Zinedine Zidane: Face of multi-cultural France and prima of Les Bleus' 1998 World Cup triumph
• Diego Maradona: Cunning cheat oregon unplayable genius? Inside the Argentine's World Cup glory
• How Pele cemented his fable astatine 1970 World Cup
• Johan Cruyff: Total Football and the World Cup that changed everything