In the fifth and final part of the World Cup icons series, we look at the redemption ofRonaldo after he scored the golden boot for Brazil in 2002.
The knee cap blew up. He had it above his thigh. The team-mates were wearing blue and black.
Six minutes had passed since the comeback began.
There was a lot of anxiety in the air. This was the end of the most devastating forward in the game.
Two years later, as the ball nestled into the corner of Oliver Kahn's goal with the same ruthless precision that typified a whole career,Ronaldo's response was a resounding "no".
The world champion was Brazil. Millions of people were rejoicing in front of their television screens at home, while Yokohama's International Stadium was filled with frenzied celebrations.
The critics had been silenced.
He overcame the injury problems that threatened to derail him at Inter Milan and also exorcised the demons that lingered from the 1998 World Cup final loss to France.
His smile lit up TV screens around the globe as he reclaimed his throne as the greatest goal scorer in football.
Cafu says that he was fantastic. It showed the strength of the man. He has told the story of his life.
The Brazil squad of 2002 have a group on the messaging service.
The nation's fifth world title was won in Japan and South Korea twenty years ago. It's a good reminder of how far he's come.
The rise was very large and very high.
After scoring 44 goals in 47 games in his first two seasons at Cruzeiro,Ronaldo went to USA '94 as a 17-year-old. He didn't play a single minute, but he did celebrate like a kid with an inflatable banana in his hands.
A move to Europe, on the advice of team-mates, paved the way for a relentless goal scoring spree.
"You could tell right away that he had something to do with him," says former team-mate Boudewijn Zenden, who bought a Portuguese For Dummies book so they could communicate better.
The one-on-ones, he always scored.
The only way was towards the goal and always with a good finish. He had tricks but it was always lethal.
Zenden remembers dressing his mate up as a clown for a trip to the carnival.
Everybody recognised him as soon as he smiled. He was always in for a joke and always had a smile on his face.
The man was serious when it came to football.
He told the reporter how many goals he would score in his first season in the Netherlands.
Zenden remembers the journalist laughing. He didn't find it funny.
In 36 games, he scored 35 domestic goals, including a hat-trick against Bayer Leverkusen.
The press was completely fascinated by the fact that the press wasn't laughing. PSV fans, belting out his name, were also gawded at.
In 1996 he scored 47 goals in 49 games for Barcelona, setting a world record and earning him a world-record fee.
He was crowned the world's best player in 1997 before moving to Inter Milan for over 20 million dollars. There was a second world player of the year award.
He will score if you give him one chance. It's his power. You are dead if you don't see him.
The most complete forward in the world arrived at France '98 four years after warming the bench in California.
He was a danger to the team. The best nine in football history are a player with a lot of talent, a lot of capacity, a lot of resources in the field. It's phenomenal!
He scored a wonder goal in Paris as Inter beat Lazio to win the Uefa Cup and then lit up the first six games of the World Cup to be awarded the Golden Ball. It is the dramatic build-up to the final that is remembered.
After the team lunch, he woke up and was told he'd had a seizure and wouldn't be able to play the next day.
Cafu was one of the first people to go to his hotel room after the convulsions. He did not travel with us on the bus and went to the hospital.
It wasn't until shortly before kick-off that head coach Mario Zagallo was convinced that the forward was ready to go.
The France team-mates were convinced that it was a ruse.
The defender remembers thinking "no way, they are just making this up to try and fool us"
Small margins and how a player feels can make a difference in a game.
It's possible that Brazil would have won ifRonaldo had been at his best.
Things would get worse before they improved.
The medical staff in Milan were impressed with the strength of the player. The fast-twitch fibers of a cat. He could run 100m in just over 10 minutes. He was able to collect the ball with his rapid change of pace. What it meant to be a centre-forward was redefined by the Brazilian.
His strength was also his weakness. He suffered from instability between the kneecap and femur, which made him explode.
He had to have surgery on his knee in 1999. He came back in the first leg of the cup final against Lazio.
After only six minutes on the pitch, when he tried to execute one of his famous step overs, his leg gave way and he was forced to leave the field.
One Inter doctor said it was the worst injury he had ever seen. His World Cup hopes were in serious doubt.
There were questions. Fans who worshipped a player they believed was on the path to becoming the greatest of all time came from a variety of sources.
He couldn't bend his knee past 90 degrees eight months into his recovery. The birth of his son Ronald gave him the strength to endure what he called "endless torture" as he underwent a procedure to gain more flexibility.
It took almost nine hours a day to rehabilitate.
He was able to return to fitness through October and November 2001, but was unable to play in the World Cup because of a leg injury.
In his first game in charge of Brazil, Scolari gaveRonaldo 45 minutes in a friendly against Yugoslavia and he scored four goals in the last five games of the season.
He was determined to shine on the world's biggest stage that summer.
Cafu says thatRonaldo wanted to show he could overcome the problems. The will to face what had happened and overcome it was the only bad feeling about it.
As the tournament got closer, fans' appetites were whetted as they watched a cast of the world's best players in Nike's secret cage football advertising campaign. The star charge was supported by the manufacturer.
The creativity of South America's canary-clobbered trendsetters would be in danger if Nike had invited only the Brazil squad.
The biggest trickster of them all in Ronaldinho was Denilson. There was a feeling in Brazil that the players were being stifled.
It was more than one person who was scarred by '98. The forward was called to testify at the parliamentary inquiry. The congressman brought his son with him.
The World Cup qualification of Brazil was in jeopardy before they hired Scolari. He was hated back home despite dragging them through.
The boss was accused of disrespecting the "sovereignty" of the yellow jersey for wanting to play in Brazil's changed blue shirt, and vilified for his style of playing with three central defenders.
The day before Brazil's opening game against Turkey in South Korea, captain Emerson was ruled out of the tournament due to a shoulder injury.
After consulting the team psychologist, Scolari decided on a leadership group where Cafu took the captain's role and Roberto Carlos, Junior, Rivaldo andRonaldo also had their say.
The manager was able to win over the players who had initially found him cold and tough. They decided to call him 'Dad' or 'General Big Phil'.
The trip can be seen in the Sky documentary Brazil 2002: The Real Story.
Turkey took the lead in the first half when Hasan Sas scored, but Brazil were tense and the Turks tough.
At the break, there were calls for calm. Then Rivaldo whipped over a cross from the left andRonaldo threw himself at it, guiding the ball to the other side of the goal.
After bumping off one defender and bamboozling another with a trademark step over, the youthfulRonaldo burst into the world's consciousness again, forcing Rustu to save. There was a late penalty by Rivaldo. They were in business.
"This is just the beginning," he said to reporters after the event. This is a goal I hope comes my way.
They did. In the group game in Suwon, there was a 2-0 defeat of Costa Rica, before a double in the victory over China.
The team prepared meticulously. Every detail from the logistical plan to the medical plan to the person sitting with the player at lunch and dinner to make sure he was eating right.
A group of people from Brazil took over a whole hotel floor and played a lot of games. At certain times of the day, bingo was played. The big question from the press was whether the players were able to have sex.
Scolari asked if you mean with each other. I don't believe that.
In Brazil 2002: The Real Story, he recalls the sacrifice he and his family made. It was irresponsible of us to make such a promise. Big Phil went to the press after some journalists sent him adult magazines and said, "Don't you send my boys these again, we're working hard here!".
They traveled to Kobe in Japan for a last-16 meeting with Belgium, where they were fortunate rather than majestic, as the opener was ruled out.
It took a moment of brilliance from Rivaldo to put Scolari's side in front, and then again late on with a first-time left-footed finish from Jose Kleberson's pass that squeezed under De Vlie.
The England players watched the game from the stands.
The Three Lions were ranked as England's best of all time, the Golden Generation, and they had to face Sol Campbell.
R 9 was the best. You had to play good football to stop him because you knew he was on fire. All the time, you had to be alert. That challenge was very enjoyable.
Imagine if he didn't get injured, he would have had everything. He was absolutely amazing. They were afraid of him. He was really good.
Campbell says that they played Brazil in the hot part of Japan. The day before, it was pouring down with rain and we were wondering if it would last. Gilberto Silva told me that Brazil were praying for sun but they were also praying for rain. The temperature was so hot. It was humid and hot.
Cafu called "calma, calma" after Michael Owen pounced on a mistake to put England in front.
The Brazilians were happy in the sun. David Beckham feared the worst when he saw Roberto Carlos andRonaldo laughing in the penalty area.
They had been room-mates since 1993. The pocket rocket's head would be kissed byRonaldo before the game. Ronaldinha had the super-human touch.
The maverick was faced with a three on two as he approached the box after throwing Cole out of his path with a deft step over. Ronaldinho stroked in left-footed for the leveller on the brink of half-time when he shifted his focus to Rivaldo, who was running left.
The free- kick came after the break. Ronaldinho would look for a teammate. His attempt went over David Seaman and into the corner.
"An amazing free- kick," saysRonaldo. He was crossing. He says that he meant to put it there.
At the end of the game, Scolari was happy. He made a pilgrimage to Farroupilha from his home in Caxias do Sul. Ronaldinho was sent off for a foul on Danny Mills but his team still advanced to the semifinals.
They had a great team, but we didn't take advantage of it. They didn't have a lot of chances other than the free-kick. They had more quality and individual skill than we did.
The Brazil camp was united. Reserve players wanted to make their first team great. There was a tambourine, samba, and Roberto Carlos dancing in the aisle on the bus to the game. They played the same music as they won.
As the focus on Brazil intensified, a group of players were having fun. Fans rushed for a glimpse of hundreds of journalists at their training sessions.
It was uncertain if he would be able to play against Turkey in the semi-finals. It was the main point of discussion as the game neared its end. The forward's hair was left at the front after he took a razor to his head.
Cafu was one of the team-mates who toldRonaldo to stop it. The haircut became front-page news after it was cut.
"It was a craze in Brazil and I got a lot of complaints from children's mothers." It was great to distract people from my injury.
The game was tense and thenRonaldo came alive. Dropping a yard off his marker to receive a pass from Silva on the edge of the attacking third, his first touch was towards the touchline, sucking defender Bulent Korkmak in and propelling beyond him into the penalty box
The angle was narrow as he looked towards goal and he chose to poke his toe.
The boy was named after the doctor who delivered him in exchange for three kilos of shrimp and Rustu was only able to help it into the net.
The letter of his name was held aloft by fans in yellow and green as Brazil sealed an emotional return to the World Cup final.
On the eve of the final, Scolari found a few of his players playing golf in the corridor. They appeared relaxed. The memories of 1998 came back to him on game day.
When the seizure struck four years ago, he didn't take his usual nap, but instead sought out Dida to talk until the bus left for the stadium.
The video tape of Brazil's highlights was shown in the team meeting. It presented a third and final battle to overcome on his road to glory - the trauma of '98, his horrendous knee injury and now the responsibility of unifying the Brazilian people.
The squad and officials had to arrive early because Akihito was in Yokohama. Vampeta led all the subs into the pre-game photographs, breaking from tournament tradition, after the referee made small talk withRonaldo.
Before the tournament began, Oliver Kahn was named the best player. The Brazilian helped him up, gave his rival a pat on the bottom and looked like he was still going strong.
Right up to the 67th minute of the final, Khan was flawless and he spilled Rivaldo's shot into the path ofRonaldo, who tapped in.
The finish was simple, but there was a chance in the first place, as Dietmar Hamann was bundled off the ball byRonaldo to recover possession.
The second was world class. Kleberson made a break down the right, Rivaldo dummied at the top of the penalty area, andRonaldo's touch set him up to score his eighth goal of the tournament.
He sprinted towards the bench to be embraced in the knowledge that Brazil had won the World Cup.
Just like four years ago, he was crying at the end of the game. It was with relief and joy.
The Golden Boot winner was the last Brazilian to enter the media room and was asked if this was better than sex.
The forward giggled and said that both are very difficult to go without. Sex could never be as rewarding as a World Cup victory.
The surgeon who operated onRonaldo's knee was in the crowd that day as a guest.
"I'm starting to understand what happened," he said.
It's hard to comprehend my happiness and emotion. My biggest victory was to play football again, to run again and to score goals again.
The victory has crowned my recovery and the work of the whole team.
The road to redemption was finished for the man.
The World Cup icons series on the British Broadcasting Corporation.
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