SEOUL, 24 June — They came into the World Cup finals supposedly as pale shadows of their glorious predecessors, but Brazil and Germany stand just one match away from a first-ever meeting in the World Cup.
There remains the challenges of upstarts Turkey and South Korea in the semifinals, but the odds are on the two traditional World Cup powerhouses to make it through to a mouthwatering inter-continental showdown in Yokohama on June 30.
Brazil are the South American side with the best record in the history of the World Cup and Germany lead the way in Europe, but strangely their paths have never crossed.
The Brazilians did go up against the old East Germany, winning 1-0 at the finals in West Germany in 1974, but never against the West and never against a united Germany.
They have met in friendlies, 17 of them dating back to 1963, with Brazil winning 10, Germany three and with four matches drawn.
The prospect of a Brazil-Germany final was hardly being considered just a few months ago as both countries fought for survival in their respective qualifying zones.
Brazil at one stage were placed outside the top four automatic qualifying slots in South America, while Germany’s campaign was sent reeling by the 5-1 home loss to England. But in the end they both made it and have gone from strength to strength since then.
Brazil have clocked up five straight wins with 15 goals for and four against, while Germany have found the net 13 times (eight against Saudi Arabia) for just one against coming in the game against Ireland.
Brazilian coach Luis Felipe Scolari has said that despite the 100 percent record his side are playing below their potential.
“Brazil are operating at about 70 percent. That’s about the optimum level because you don’t need more. That’s enough to be able to be competitive at this tournament,” he told reporters.
“The thing that counts first of all is the result. If you play well and turn on the style then that’s all well and good. But I am sure that the Brazilian fans would agree with me that the result is the first priority,” said Scolari.
His German counterpart Rudi Voeller in contrast was almost apologetic after the hard-fought win over the Americans, largely achieved through the goal-keeping exploits of Oliver Kahn.
“I am happy to be in the semifinals — less happy with the way we played,” he said.
“We need to do a lot better or else the semifinals will mark the end of the road. But they are a young team and I am proud of them.”
In the most upset-strewn World Cup finals ever, a Brazil-Germany final would restore some semblance of normality.
Tired Ronaldo hopeful
of facing Turkey
Brazilian forward Ronaldo, who is fighting to shake off an injury to his left thigh in time for Wednesday’s semifinal against Turkey, said yesterday that he was more tired than his teammates.
“I went two years without playing and, now that we have played a lot of games in a short space of time, I’m more tired than the others,” he said in an interview with a Japanese television station at the Brazil team hotel.
“But I’m fine, I’m recovering and in two or three days time I will be better.”
It was the first time Ronaldo admitted that he was feeling the rigors of Brazil’s campaign, having kept quiet on the matter when talking to Brazilian media.
Ronaldo has been plagued by injuries in the last two-and-a-half years, undergoing two operations on his right knee and then suffering three muscular injuries in quick succession.
He played only a handful of games for his Italian club Inter Milan last season and Brazil’s friendly against Yugoslavia in March was his first international since October 1999.
At the World Cup, he has played five games in 16 days and has surpassed expectations by scoring five goals.
But he went off during the second half of Friday’s 2-1 win over England because of the pain in his thigh after failing to score in a game for the first time at the World Cup.
Earlier on Sunday, team doctor Jose Luis Runco refused to guarantee that the twice FIFA world footballer of the year would play against the Turks.
But Runco said that the pain had subsided after Ronaldo underwent physiotherapy and took anti-inflammatory tablets over the last 48 hours.
“We are going to use good sense,” said Runco who described Ronaldo’s problem as something which could affect any athlete and is not connected with any of his previous injuries.
Luizao will replace Ronaldo if he cannot play against the Turks.
Brazil will definitely be without Ronaldinho against Turkey after his red card against England — a decision Ronaldo described as “an exaggeration”. But he said whoever replaced the Paris St Germain player would also do well.
“We were playing very well together, but another player will come in and do what Ronaldinho was doing,” he said.
“It’s been a good World Cup with a lot of surprises and great goals. I hope it finishes even better.”
Golden Boot is not a
factor, says Rivaldo
Brazilian star Rivaldo will be in good company if he can score and conjure a win in next Wednesday’s World Cup semifinal against Turkey and then net again in the final. The 30-year-old Barcelona star has scored in all five of his side’s matches so far and should he manage to score in every game in the tournament he would join Alcides Ghiggia of Uruguay and fellow Brazilian Jairzinho in achieving the feat.
Rivaldo for now insists the thought isn’t preying particularly on his mind — but such has been his form over the past three weeks that few would bet against him coming up with the goods and lifting the Golden Boot award for the tournament’s top scorer. If Jairzinho helped to land Brazil’s third triumph in the best team of all time in 1970, scoring in a rampaging 4-1 win over Italy, Ghiggia was one of the men who broke Brazilian hearts in the 1950 final in Rio’s Maracana Stadium, where Uruguay shocked their hosts 2-1.
Jairzinho set off on his goalscoring run with a double against Czechoslovakia and carried on with further efforts against England, Romania, Peru, Uruguay and Italy. Rivaldo’s victims to date read Turkey, China, Costa Rica, Belgium and England.
But he claims to be indifferent to his own exploits.
“I don’t think about being a goalscorer. Basically, it doesn’t interest me. It’s nice to score, of course, but I don’t go round thinking about this,” said Rivaldo.
Rivaldo’s overall World Cup tally is eight goals, having notched three in Brazil’s run to the final in France ’98.
His form here is all the more surprising in that Rivaldo came to the event on the back of several weeks out on the sidelines following an injury to his right ankle.
An added complication came when Barcelona medical staff traveled to Brazil to monitor his convalescence and opined that Rivaldo was not fit enough to play in the finals.
Brazilian coach Luiz Felipe Scolari maintained he was confident that Rivaldo was fit enough to take to the World Cup and his optimism has been justified.
Strike partner Ronaldo was in a similar position following his knee problems — but he too has come up with five goals — although a thigh muscle injury forced him to go off before he could keep his goal-a-game run going against England last Friday.
