YOKOHAMA, Japan, 30 June — Redemption and a record fifth title are beckoning Brazil as they prepare to take on Germany in the World Cup final here today, the first meeting of the two footballing superpowers in the tournament’s 72-year history.
Four years after suffering one of the most traumatic defeats in their history, Brazil are now tantalizingly close to laying the shattering loss against France in the 1998 final to rest once and for all.
Fittingly it is the goals of star center-forward Ronaldo — six in six matches so far — that have carried the South Americans into their third final in succession and their seventh overall.
The Inter Milan player is back as Brazil’s cutting edge after battling through years of heartache that began with his ill-fated appearance in the final four years ago, when he played just hours after suffering a mysterious fit in his Paris hotel room.
“Everyone keeps asking me about 1998 but I honestly am not thinking about it,” Ronaldo said, looking ahead to the final. “I’m trying not to make any link between this game and four years ago. That’s another story and I’m hoping that the end will be different this time.
“The match against France was the most important of our lives, this time we want to be the winners.
“I always knew I would play another World Cup final and I have worked hard to achieve that,” said Ronaldo, adding that he felt the form of his teammates had lessened the pressure placed on him.
“The most important thing is that the team does not make me feel as if I’m a savior, and that takes the pressure off me. They have given me tranquillity,” Ronaldo said.
But though Ronaldo insists he wants to forget all about being lost in France, it is clear that the wounds from Paris are still raw among survivors of the mauling. Rivaldo and Roberto Carlos are both determined that there will be no repeat.
“What happened four years ago was a very bad time for us, but it means that we want it more this time,” said Rivaldo, who is only one goal behind Ronaldo in the race for the golden boot. “We have got to the final with much more confidence than in 1998.
“Brazil have won six games and have now regained our old confidence. We now know what to do with the ball. A few months ago, many people doubted we had this ability.”
Roberto Carlos echoed Rivaldo. “Everyone knows about 1998. It hurt us deeply, and knowing what that felt like we don’t want it to happen again,” the Real Madrid wingback said.
“If we win this time, everyone will forget about what happened last time,” he said.
“Many people follow the Brazilian team all round the globe and we want to re-establish the love that people have for our team the world over.”
No country on earth demands as much of its national team as Brazil, and coach Luiz Felipe Scolari is well aware that failure will be viewed as a national disaster.
Accordingly, he has been trying to shield his players from the mounting expectation back in Brazil.
“I want them to play without pressure,” Scolari said. “I want them to be aware of their responsibility without being suffocated by it. I want the players to go on to the pitch and enjoy themselves,” Scolari said.
Brazil have reached the final with a 100 percent record, winning all of their six matches decisively and without recourse to a penalty shootout at any stage. It is a good omen — the last team to match that record was the legendary 1970 Brazil side.
So at the climax of a World Cup in which the only certainty has been uncertainty, where reputations have been shredded in every round, today’s final sees a clash of two of international football’s most enduring stereotypes: ultra-efficient Germany vs. flamboyant Brazil.
Brazil’s form means they will take to the field at the 73,000-capacity Yokohama Stadium as heavy favorites against a German side that have confounded all expectations by battling through to the final.
Humiliated 5-1 by England in Munich during qualifiers last year, Germany have since enjoyed a remarkable transformation in fortunes after being written off by everyone in the days leading up to the World Cup.
Germany’s manager Rudi Voeller, seeking to emulate Franz Beckenbauer and Mario Zagallo as the only men to have won the World Cup as a player and a coach, is happy to cast his team as underdogs.
“Brazil are the clear favorites,” said Voeller, a member of Germany’s 1990 World Cup winning team. “But it’s not necessarily the best team which wins.”
Germany, who started out with the modest target of reaching the quarterfinals, have in many respects resembled their fabled predecessors of yesteryear, grinding out results to advance stealthily into the final.
Successive 1-0 victories over Paraguay, the United States and South Korea in the knockout phase have given Voeller’s men a belief that they can shock Brazil with one last push.
But it is also true that they have managed to get to the final without facing any top class opponents, and there must be a doubt over their ability to contain the free-flowing Brazilian attack.
A patched-up defense missing the injured Jens Nowotny and Christian Worns has emerged as the best in the tournament, thanks in no small part to the brilliance of captain Oliver Kahn between the posts.
But the German rearguard is likely to face an extremely demanding examination from Brazil’s formidable attacking partnership of Ronaldo and Rivaldo.
Behind the front two, Brazil will welcome back the exciting Paris Saint Germain midfielder Ronaldinho, returning from suspension after being sent off during the 2-1 quarterfinal win over England.
“That is a big plus for us. We have replaced him very well — but he is a match-winning player,” said Ronaldo, who is looking forward to pitting his wits against Kahn.
“So far he has proved he is the hardest goalkeeper to score against,” Ronaldo said. “But a final is a different thing and we are going to find a way past him.”
With Ronaldinho flanked by Kleberson and Gilberto Silva in midfield, Brazil will start with Roberto Carlos and captain Cafu as wingbacks. A back three of Edmilson, Lucio and Roque Junior completes a balanced lineup, with the dependable Marcos in goal.
Germany meanwhile will somehow have to overcome the loss through suspension of midfield creative force Michael Ballack, who scored the winner after picking up a second yellow card in the 1-0 semifinal win against South Korea.
“It’s almost impossible to replace Ballack completely,” acknowledged Voeller, who nevertheless retains faith in a German rearguard that has conceded only one goal in six matches so far.
“We have had to field a makeshift defense. But what was designed as a stop-gap solution has turned into a revelation.”
