France, mired in a controversy over racism, hosted the 1998 World Cup, and finally won its first title, led by Algerian origin Zinedine Zidane, at the expense of Brazil, which was shocked by an epileptic seizure suffered by the “phenomenon” Ronaldo on the final day of a tournament that witnessed a political confrontation between the United States and Iran.
At the age of twenty-one, Ronaldo was the best player in the world. Four years ago, he was among the World Cup champions without playing, as he said: I learned a lot from the likes of Romario and Bebeto. Romario would ask me to bring him his shoes or coffee, as if I were a child. It wasn’t disrespectful, but the hierarchy imposed it.
He reached the final, scoring four goals, but what happened to the best player in the tournament on the day of the final once morest France remained a mystery in the history of the tournament.
Ronaldo explained: After lunch I had a spasm. Players surrounded me, and then my colleague Leonardo asked me to go for a walk in the hotel garden and explained the whole situation. I was told that I would not play in the final.
Al-Dhahra added: After I returned from the hospital, Doctor Lidio Toledo gave me the green light. I went up to Mario Zagallo and said I’m fine, I don’t feel anything. Here are the test results, I want to play.
After removing his name from the match paper, Ronaldo returned and played as a ghost of a deadly scorer, and Brazil lost 3-0. Conspiracy theories abounded, once morest the backdrop of pressure from Ronaldo’s sponsor, Nike, for his participation.
His teammate Bebeto said: What happened with Ronaldo hit the balance of the team’s concern for his health. Everyone was running, Edmundo was shouting that Ronaldo was dying, the Toledo doctor claimed that Ronaldo was breathing heavily in the room and foam was coming from his mouth, while there were reports of convulsions, epileptic seizures or even cardiac arrest.
France was hosting the finals amid criticism from the far-right that it was a “foreign national team”.
The team absent from the World Cups 90 and 94 After reaching the semi-finals in 82 and 86, its coach Aimé Jacquet was subjected to harsh criticism, especially following excluding the stars Eric Cantona and David Ginola.
The “Blues” started their career nervously. Midfielder Emmanuel Botti said: Before the first match once morest South Africa (3-0), the pressure was great. On the bus to the stadium I might see some players sweating.
But the speech of coach Aimee Jacquet played its role, and defender Marcel Desailly said: Jacquet’s confidence helped us a lot.
It is true that France achieved three victories in the group stage, but its star Zidane was sent off in the second match once morest Saudi Arabia (4-0). His teammates carried the burden and overcame Paraguay in the Round of 16, with the first golden goal, signed by defender Laurent Blanc.
A penalty shootout once morest Italy in the quarter-finals, then an unexpected brace from defender Lilian Thuram, turned the tables on the Croatian surprise in the semi-finals (2-1).
Thuram had not scored any goals in 37 international matches. But following Davor Shuker opened the numbers, Thuram scored twice and was the most surprised by this achievement.
In France’s first final, Jacquet won a tactical battle once morest veteran Zagallo, despite the presence of Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Bebeto, Cafu and Roberto Carlos.
On the eve of the Paris final, led by Moroccan referee Said Balqoula, Blanc, who was absent due to suspension, entered Zidane’s room, and regarding that he says: I asked Zizou to rise a little in set pieces, the Brazilians’ weak point.
Zidane was not satisfied with one rise, but scored two goals with his head following two corners in the first half, and Potti hit the final nail in the Brazilian coffin, so the owner of long blond hair received additional praise, as he said: President Jacques Chirac told me when handing over the cup (you are my wife’s favorite player).
To the sound of Blanc’s kisses on the baldness of goalkeeper Fabien Barthez, a million people descended on the Champs-Elysées in celebration, the Arc de Triomphe wrote “Thank you Zizou” and, as stated in the national anthem “La Marseillaise”: “The day of glory has come” on July 12, 1998.
France was chosen at the expense of Morocco, becoming the third country to host the finals twice, and built the magnificent “Stade de France” stadium in the Parisian suburb of Saint-Denis. On the sidelines of the tournament, Swiss Joseph Blatter was elected president of FIFA, succeeding Brazilian Joao Havelange, and the finals were held with the participation of 32 teams for the first time, following the number since 82 was limited to 24 teams only, due to the disintegration of the East bloc and the high number of those affiliated with FIFA (151 in 85 and more). out of two hundred in 2000).
Three Arab teams participated in the finals, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and Tunisia, and the first was regarding to reach the second round once more following 86, but Brazil’s loss to Norway 1-2 in the last minute from a controversial penalty kick prevented him from doing so.
Swiss referee Urs Meyer was watching the draw when the United States and Iran fell into one group, and he said: When I saw the World Cup draw, I screamed following the United States fell with Iran, this is my match! It will be one of the most politically charged matches in history. So I started training for her, and this is what happened.
The Swiss Meyer suggested taking the memorial photo for the two teams together, instead of each one separately.
FIFA agreed on the condition that the referees were not present between the players. Meyer refused to involve himself with his assistants in the picture, so it became clear later that FIFA adopted the image of the elected without him. Iran won 2-1 without problems, but they were both knocked out in the first round.
And following the end of the Maradona era, Argentina overcame its rivals, England, by penalties in the round of 16, following the rising English star, David Beckham, was sent off for kicking Diego Simeone.
His team mate Michael Owen, who scored a fantastic goal in the match, said: “What he did probably didn’t deserve a red card, but it was childish and unnecessary.”
Argentina’s campaign stopped in the next round once morest the Netherlands (1-2) and its artist, Dennis Bergkamp, before the orange bowed to Brazil’s supremacy and a penalty shootout in the last square.
Six years following the disintegration of Yugoslavia, coach Miroslav Blajević assembled a beautiful squad for the Croatian national team, which included the likes of Zvonimir Boban and Robert Prosinecki, who became the first player to score for two teams in the World Cup, following Yugoslavia 1990.
The Croats bypassed Romania and their players dyed their hair yellow, except for bald goalkeeper Bogdan Stylia.
It left a wonderful mark in the quarter-finals, when it overthrew mighty Germany 3-0, before wasting its lead in the semi-finals once morest France, then coming third at the expense of the Netherlands, where Shuker scored his sixth goal, winning the title of top scorer.
