Brazil national team
World Championship 1994
In 1994, Ronaldo received a call to Brazil main team and went with the team to 1994 World Championship. Then the head coach of the national team Carlos Alberto Parreira did not allow Ronaldo to play a single minute at that championship, despite the fact that he was criticized for such an attitude towards the young player. However, Ronaldo received the world title (he became the second player after Pelewho became world champion at the age of 17).
Olympic team
In 1996, Ronaldo was recovering from surgery on knees and according to doctors’ forecasts he should have missed Olympic Games V Atlantawhich were supposed to take place in July. However, Ronaldo took a crash course physiotherapy and was included in the Brazilian Olympic team. Considering that the 19-year-old striker had not played for a long time, Ronaldo was not considered an important player for the Seleção. He received the 18th number and the first group stage match against Japan started on the bench; he came on as a substitute in the 72nd minute of the match, which, however, did not save his team from defeat with a score of 0:1(69). To the second game against Hungary The Brazilian’s physical form improved, and in this (and subsequent matches) Ronaldo played in the starting lineup. He opened the scoring in the match, which helped his team win(70). In the third and final match of the group stage, Ronaldo also started and scored the only goal, bringing Brazil a ticket to the stage playoffs(71). In the remaining three matches, Ronaldo scored three times. Thus, he took part in all five matches of his team(72)becoming one of the best players in the national team and won a bronze medal.
Confederations Cup 1997
In 1997, the Brazilians confidently won the Confederations Cup, which was traditionally held in Saudi Arabia. The Brazilians played quite confidently in defense, playing four out of five matches at the tournament to zero. In the semi-finals, Ronaldo scored against the Czechs (Brazil won 2:0), and in the final, the Brazilians defeated the Australians with a score of 6:0, while for the first time in the final of a competition held under the auspices of FIFA, two hat-tricks were recorded at once, their authors were Ronaldo and Romario.
World Championship 1998
On 1998 world championship in France Brazil team led by Mario Zagallo rode in the rank of the current winner of this tournament and the main favorite for the upcoming competitions. Compared to the previous World Cup, Ronaldo turned from a reserve player into the main star and hope of the team, because Ronaldo was recognized for two years in a row best player in the world. At the tournament, Ronaldo received number 9. On the way to the final, the tetracampeons won four times in regular time, in the semi-finals with the Netherlands won by penaltyand the only defeat was in the final match of the group round against Norway. In these six matches, Ronaldo played from start to finish without substitution. He hit the opponents’ goal 4 times, and was also able to score the most important goal in the penalty shootout with the Netherlands.
The Brazilian national team’s camp for the World Cup was located at the Grand Romain Castle in Lesigny(22).
During the championship, Ronaldo had serious personal problems that affected his play. Ronaldo’s girlfriend, Suzana Werner, was present at the World Cup. After several championship matches press started rumors that Brazilian journalist Pedro Bial was dating Suzana. Before meeting with Denmark in the quarter finals, Ronaldo met with this journalist and talked to him “like a man”: it turned out that all these rumors were “duck” However, personal relations with Suzana reached a dead end.
per day finals On July 12 at 14:00, when the players had gone to their rooms for an afternoon rest, he called for help from the second floor Roberto Carlos. His roommate Ronaldo became ill and was having a fit on his bed, foaming at the mouth.(22). According to Ronaldo, he lost consciousness and lay in this state for 5 minutes(73). Based on the testimony of Roberto Carlos, doctors assumed that Ronaldo was having an epileptic seizure and prescribed him the drug Gardenal (phenobarbital), which helps fight epilepsy, but does not have the best effect on the heart and inhibits mental activity. According to doctor Bruno Charu, president of the Italian Society of Cardiology, Ronaldo then had not an epileptic seizure, but a heart attack, in which taking Gardenal was extremely life-threatening(74). O Globo journalists also found out that Ronaldo received a corticoid injection before the game to relieve pain in his knees(22).
Until the last minute it was not clear whether Ronaldo would play, but the doctors cleared him to play. However, health problems hit the Brazilian team: in the final France team in the suburbs of Paris at the stadiumStade de France» celebrated a 3:0 victory thanks to a double Zinedine Zidane and naked Emmanuel Petit(75)(76). Ronaldo took the ball only 16 times during the entire match, losing it eight times, and struck only once(22). He and his team became the silver medalist of the World Championship, and before the final match he was recognized as the best player of the World Championship(77). According to doctors at the Paris clinic where Ronaldo was taken after the match, the seizure was not epileptic, but occurred due to a combination of stress and fatigue(22).
America’s Cup 1999
In the opening match, the Brazilians defeated the Venezuelans 7:0, in that match Ronaldo scored a double and also took part in several scoring attacks. Then the Brazilians defeated the Mexican national team 2:1 and in the final match, thanks to Ronaldo’s penalty, they beat the Chileans 1:0. In the quarter finals thanks to goals from Ronaldo and Rivaldo beat their principal rivals – the Argentines. Ronaldo scored a goal each in the semifinals against Mexico (2:1) and in the final against Uruguay (3:0). As a result, the Brazilians won the tournament, winning all matches, and Ronaldo and Rivaldo shared the title of top scorer with 5 goals.
World Championship 2002
After a series of injuries and operations, Ronaldo managed to recover to… World Championship 2002 in Japan and the Republic of Korea, but his physical form was not ideal, there was no guarantee that Ronaldo would take part in the upcoming tournament. Before the World Cup, Ronaldo did not play for 1.5 years. He played well in the last four rounds of the 2001/02 Italian Championship for Inter, scoring 4 goals. However, this did not help his club win the Scudetto; as a result, Internazionale became third, losing to Lazio in the last round and behind Juventus and Roma.
In the first match at the World Cup, where he led the Brazilians Luis Felipe ScolariRonaldo scored a goal against Turkey in Korean Ulsancompleting Rivaldo’s pass in the fall. In the next match with the Chinese team, Ronaldo earned a penalty, which he converted Ronaldinho and scored the ball from the pass Coffeeand in the last match of the group stage he scored a double against the Costa Rican national team in the 13th minute, and initially the first goal was recorded as an own goal by Costa Rican defender Marin, but then Ronaldo filed a protest, and FIFA decided to chalk the goal up to Ronaldo.
IN 1/8 finals The Brazilians were opposed by the Belgian team. In a difficult match for the Brazilians, Rivaldo opened the scoring, and Ronaldo strengthened the advantage. Result – victory 2:0. Ronaldo did not score in the quarter finals, but Brazil eventually defeated England 2:1 (goals by Rivaldo and Ronaldinho). In the semi-final against the Turkish national team, Ronaldo scored the only goal in the match at the beginning of the second half: being surrounded by three players, he was able to hit the goal with a kick from his toe Rushtyu Rechber. Ronaldo was substituted in the 68th minute of the semi-final.
IN final on stadium in Yokohama Brazil met Germany. Ronaldo scored both goals in the match Oliver Kahn at the 67th and 79th minutes. He scored the first goal when the Germany goalkeeper failed to hold the ball after Rivaldo’s long-range strike. The second goal was scored after a quick combination: Kleberson crossed from the flank, Rivaldo missed the ball between his legs, and Ronaldo completed the pass with one touch. Ronaldo was named the best player of the final match. He became the top scorer of the World Cup with 8 goals (all from play). Despite Brazil’s victory and Ronaldo’s excellent performance in the final, Oliver Kahn received the Golden Ball for the best player of the tournament, since the decision was made by the organizers before the final. Ronaldo received only the Silver Ball and was also included in the symbolic team of the tournament. Thus, the situation was reversed with the 1998 World Cup, when Ronaldo was recognized as the best player of the tournament, despite personal and team failure in the final. After the tournament, Ronaldo moved to Real Madrid.
After the final, Ronaldo said that he now had no debts to Brazil and that he had managed to do what he could not do four years ago. Having scored two goals in the final, Ronaldo brought his tally of goals scored at the World Cup to 12 and equaled Pele (then Just Fontaine stood above him with 13 goals and Gerd Müller with 14 goals).(22).
World Championship 2006
The Brazilians went to the 2006 World Cup as the current world champions and the main favorites of the championship. On Ronaldo, Poop, Adriano and having spent an excellent season with Barcelona, Ronaldinho had high hopes. In the first match against the Croats, the Brazilians won 1:0, while Roni was perhaps the worst player of the match and was replaced midway through the second half by Robinho. In the match with the Australians, Ronaldo gave a brilliant assist to Adriano. As a result, the Brazilians won 2:0. In the last match, Ronaldo had a blast over the Japanese, scoring 2 goals against them. In the 1/8 final match with the Ghana national team, Ronaldo brilliantly realized a one-on-one approach, scoring his 15th goal in the finals of the World Cup, breaking the record held by Gerd Müller. In the match with France, Ronaldo was invisible, as a result, the Brazilians lost 0:1 to the team Zinedine Zidane and lost the title of world champions. Ronaldo could have saved his team, but his powerful shot in the last minutes was parried Fabien Barthez.
Farewell match
Ronaldo, who announced his retirement as a player, wore the national team shirt for the last time in a friendly match with Romania on June 7, 2011.