Ronaldo’s 1998 World Cup: Bribery, Epilepsy, or Black Magic?

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Ronaldo Lost 1998 World Cup Final
Ronaldo Lost 1998 World Cup Final (Reddit)

The 1998 FIFA World Cup, the most prestigious international football competition, returned to France after 60 years. This tournament introduced several new regulations, including an expansion from 24 to 32 teams, which allowed debut appearances from countries like Jamaica, Croatia, and Japan. FIFA also implemented the “golden goal” rule (also known as “sudden death”) in the knockout stages - if the score remained tied after regular time, the first team to score in extra time would win the match.

The 1998 World Cup Surprises

The 1998 World Cup remains an endlessly fascinating topic of discussion to this day. As the host nation, France became a place full of memorable and historic moments for football fans. The tournament was also marked by several unexplained mysteries and peculiarities. The group stages saw several stunning upsets of favored teams, including Brazil’s loss to Norway and England’s defeat by Romania. Another shocking moment came when Nigeria clinched a dramatic 3-2 victory over Spain, sealed by Sunday Oliseh’s decisive goal.

Croatia’s brilliant performance at the 1998 World Cup also drew significant attention. Remarkably, the team with their distinctive red and white checkered uniforms needed just 5 years from gaining independence to taste their first international tournament at Euro 1996. Seven years after independence, they surprisingly qualified for the 1998 World Cup after defeating Ukraine in the playoffs. Croatia is often considered the greatest underdog story in World Cup history. Their star striker, Davor Suker, became the tournament’s top scorer with 6 goals. In fact, Croatia’s five victories during the 1998 World Cup exceeded even Brazil’s four wins.

Ronaldo’s Perfect Career

However, all the surprising stories from the group stages and knockout rounds paled in comparison to what happened in the final. The last match, which pitted host nation France against defending champions Brazil, produced numerous unexpected moments. Most notably, Ronaldo Nazario’s unusual performance in that game defied the predictions of many football pundits before the match. Even fans who had watched Ronaldo throughout the tournament from the group stages to the semifinals didn’t recognize him in the final - he seemed like a completely different person.

Before delving deeper into that, let’s look at Ronaldo’s status at the time. In 1998, Ronaldo was only 22 years old, but he had already been named World Player of the Year twice (1996 and 1997) and won a Ballon d’Or (1997). His football achievements were expected to reach perfection if he could lead Brazil to their fifth World Cup victory. Four years earlier, Ronaldo had technically been part of Brazil’s 1994 World Cup-winning squad, but he hadn’t played a single minute, remaining an unused young substitute. The 1998 World Cup was his first opportunity to lead Brazil’s attack under coach Mario Zagallo.

Ronaldo Nazario at Inter Milan
Ronaldo Nazario at Inter Milan (Twitter)

In the tournament, Ronaldo truly shined as a superstar, at least until the final against France. Despite scoring only once in the group stage, he was brilliant in the knockout rounds. He scored both of Brazil’s goals in their round of 16 victory over Chile and netted a beautiful goal against the Netherlands in a tightly contested semifinal. However, the day before the final against France, Ronaldo’s demeanor suddenly changed from cheerful to inexplicably gloomy. He spent most of that day in his room, looking pale and apparently terrified.

Ronaldo’s Seizure Before the Final

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According to Leonardo Araujo, the AC Milan star who was Ronaldo’s teammate at the 1998 World Cup, Ronaldo was taking his afternoon nap when he suddenly suffered a severe seizure. His roommate Roberto Carlos ran to get help from the medical team. Leonardo recounted that Roberto Carlos said all the players were extremely worried and shocked by what had happened to their star player. Edmundo even described how Ronaldo’s body was shaking violently with foam coming from his mouth. He witnessed Ronaldo hitting his own head and several times nearly swallowing his tongue.

After being examined by the doctor, Ronaldo was declared physically fine, with the doctor stating there was nothing life-threatening. Ronaldo woke up around 5 PM, unaware of what had happened earlier as his teammates had deliberately kept it from him. The Brazilian national team decided to replace Ronaldo with Edmundo, who was considered fitter for the final match. While the team headed to the Stade de France for the final, Ronaldo was taken to the Lillas Paris clinic. By then, rumors had spread that Ronaldo wouldn’t play in the final, and Edmundo was prepared to start in place of the megastar.

A Disastrous Performance in the Final

On the day of the final against France, Zagallo opted not to conduct the warm-up session on the provided field, instead only holding stretching exercises in the changing room. They feared disappointing Brazilian supporters if they saw Ronaldo missing from the field warm-up. With anxiety and uncertainty hanging over them, the Brazilian team was shocked when Ronaldo requested to play in the final match. Surprisingly, Ronaldo, who was reportedly not going to attend, arrived at the stadium just 40 minutes before kickoff. Zagallo, who had initially been reluctant to play Ronaldo, changed his mind and reinstated him as Brazil’s striker.

However, Zagallo’s decision proved disastrous. Ronaldo’s performance in the final fell far short of expectations. He appeared listless, unable to run, and had lost the lethal dribbling skills that had been his trademark. Brazil lost the final 3-0 to the hosts through two goals from Zinedine Zidane and one from Emmanuel Petit. When questioned about his decision, Zagallo admitted he had no choice. He preferred to lose with Ronaldo playing than face public outrage in Brazil for benching their best player in the final. To this day, there’s no definitive answer about what happened to Ronaldo.

In an interview with FourFourTwo magazine in early 2018, Ronaldo finally explained what he experienced before the 1998 World Cup final. He told the magazine that he was resting after lunch. The last thing he remembered was going to bed. After that, he had a seizure and was surrounded by his teammates before doctor Lidio Toledo arrived. Neither the players nor the coaching staff told him what had happened. Ronaldo asked everyone to leave the room because he wanted to continue sleeping. Later, Leonardo asked Ronaldo to walk with him in the hotel garden and explained what had happened. Leonardo told Ronaldo that he didn’t need to play in the final.

Conspiracy Theories

Ronaldo vs French Defender
Ronaldo vs French Defender (Reddit)

Ronaldo’s interview with FourFourTwo didn’t bring any new facts or perspectives to satisfy curious minds. What he revealed didn’t dispel the various conspiracy theories surrounding the incident. For context, there were at least six major conspiracy theories circulating about what happened to Ronaldo in the 1998 World Cup final. First, there was alleged intervention by Nike and the Brazilian Football Federation (CBF) forcing Ronaldo to play in the final despite his unfit condition. Second, claims emerged that Brazil had sold the 1998 World Cup trophy to France through FIFA. This conspiracy suggested that Brazilian players received a $23 million bribe to throw the match. Brazil was allegedly promised to host the 2006 World Cup and guaranteed easy qualification for the 2002 World Cup in exchange for losing to France.

Third, another theory claimed Ronaldo was poisoned through his hotel food by someone who didn’t want to see Brazil win the World Cup again as they had four years earlier. Fourth, some believed Ronaldo had a lifelong secret health condition: epilepsy. Unfortunately, he allegedly had a seizure the day before the World Cup final. Fifth, there was the blue pill conspiracy - pain medication given by the Brazilian team doctor supposedly had sedative-like side effects. The final and equally intriguing conspiracy theory suggested Ronaldo was a victim of black magic cast by French-supporting mystics. It had long been rumored that football wasn’t immune to such supernatural elements.

Regardless of all the 1998 World Cup conspiracy theories, in the next World Cup edition in Japan and Korea in 2002, Ronaldo led Brazil to their fifth World Cup victory. Interestingly, on the eve of the final against Germany, Ronaldo admitted he couldn’t sleep due to the trauma of what happened before the 1998 World Cup final. However, the lack of sleep didn’t affect his performance in the final against Germany. He scored two goals in the final and delivered the championship that the Brazilian people had been waiting for. The 2002 World Cup final became Ronaldo’s sweetest revenge against whatever had befallen him at the 1998 tournament.

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