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Leonardo recounts the Phenomenon's night before the 2002 final: He was afraid to sleep

2024-12-14 15:35:17Sport SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
Leonardo recounts the Phenomenon's night before the 2002 final: He was
Ronaldo and Leonardo

Ronaldo the Phenomenon was the main protagonist of Brazil's 2002 World Cup-winning team, played in South Korea and Japan. The 2-0 victory over Germany in the final was his merit, thanks to two decisive goals that gave the Brazilian national team the title.

Leonardo, former player and coach of Milan and Inter, has spoken about that match. The Brazilian told a special episode during Supernova, a podcast by Alessandro Cattelan, explaining everything that had happened to Ronaldo in the four years between the 1998 World Cup in France and the Asian one.

Leonardo starts by mentioning what happened before the final against France in 1998. A health problem did not allow Ronaldo to be at 100% fitness, but "The Phenomenon" decided to play anyway.

"His story is incredible, he got sick, it was something very difficult to deal with," he explains. "Of course, we waited until the end to see if the best player in the world could take the field, and in the end he decided to play." Brazil lost and, four years later, Ronaldo, on the eve of the final against Germany, spent a sleepless night: "He was scared."

He was afraid that another health problem might happen to him: “He had a crisis, a kind of ‘short circuit’, where physically he couldn’t cope, it was very difficult to manage,” explains Leonardo. “Four years later, Brazil returned to the final and on the eve of the match he spoke to me, but he decided not to sleep because he was afraid that the same thing would happen to him again.” But this time Ronaldo was in excellent condition, and that final would be his greatest triumph on the most important day of his career: “He went out on the pitch, scored two goals and became world champion.”

Leonardo on Ronaldo: After Maradona and Pele, he is

Leonardo fully praises “The Phenomenon”: “They don’t call Ronaldo the Phenomenon for nothing, they call him that all over the world,” he says. “When he arrived, it was a revolution. Ronnie managed to do everything that others had done before him, but at twice the speed. It was impressive, he had an extraordinary speed of execution and an unusual strength. Moreover, the way he ran was very elegant, combining many qualities”. And he concludes: “If Pelé and Maradona are Olympians, I think Ronaldo comes after them”.


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