Brazil – Ronaldo: “The French seem to be more worried about us than we are about them”
Statements from Ozoir-la-Ferrière (southeast of PARIS)
RONALDO (9)
“I didn’t train today because I wanted to conserve all my drive for Sunday’s final (RONALDO had complained of a pain in his right calf). FRANCE has a great defence but we know very well that our attack is the best in the world. The French seem to be more worried about us than we are about them. We need to show the French that we are better than they are in order to realise our goal: to bring a fifth World Cup home to the Brazilian people”.
BEBETO (20)
“A final is always a difficult match, especially when you’re confronting the host country. However, I’m fully confident in our team, who have a lot of experience (BEBETO, LEONARDO (18), RONALDO, CAFU (2), TAFFAREL (1), DUNGA (8), and ALDAIR already won the World Cup in the USA in 1994). DESAILLY (8) apparently said that I was weak on the attack, even fragile … We’ll see on Sunday at the Stade de France. Finally, as title-holders, I can assure you that our team is more motivated than it was in 1994. We can’t let the chance to win a fifth World Cup slip by. But I’d like to say to all our fans that victory against FRANCE is not yet won, we must remain humble”.
CAFU (2)
“I don’t know if ROBERTO CARLOS (4) and I will be able to use the corridors to support our strikers. If we can we will, but we need to be very careful of THURAM (15) and LIZARAZU (3) who have the same style as we do. It will be a match within a match between the full backs of the two teams. I want to underscore the role of our coach, Mario ZAGALLO, who is like a father to us. He always believed in our potential as we have in his work. We must honour him today because he deserves our greatest respect for what he has achieved so far, independently of the fact that we’re world champions. Moreover, I’d like to thank our fans who have been supporting us since we started training at Ozoir-la-Ferrière. I’ve never felt as supported by our “Torcida” (group of Brazilian fans)”.
RIVALDO (10)
“With 48 hours to go before the World Cup final, I can’t help thinking about my father who wanted me to become a professional footballer, and who I lost at the age of 15. Without him I wouldn’t have become the man I am today. Of course I would have wanted him to be here to see and hear what people are saying about me. But I know that where he is, he must be very proud of his son. To play such a match, you have to be very concentrated because decisions are made within a fraction of a second. It’s up to us to make the right ones on Sunday. I can tell you that none of us underestimates FRANCE and its players. Personally I don’t have the ambition to one day become the best player in the world. (FIFA published a list of the 16 best players of this 16th world Cup, which includes RIVALDO). To be world champion with BRAZIL would be enough for me”.
ROBERTO CARLOS (6)
“The powder is in the cannon. If God gives me the chance, I only have to shoot. I’m naturally referring to the free kick goal I made last year against Fabien BARTHEZ (1) at the Tournoi de France (FRANCE-BRAZIL 1-1 in LYON, ROBERTO CARLOS had scored the goal for BRAZIL with an extraordinary curved kick from 30 metres away). I may be too confident, but if the French win, I’ll be the first to congratulate them”.