The legend of Rivaldo How Barcelona’s outspoken idol dominated world football in ’ 99
He won’t go down among football’s most beloved players – just ask Louis van Gaal or anyone in Turkey – but peak Rivaldo was briefly the world’s best. From the greatest- ever hat- trick to World Cup glory, FFT celebrates a superstar
There were just 90 seconds left on the clock, and Barcelona were coming to terms with the unthinkable. Anxiety besieged the Camp Nou, as 85,000 fans prayed for a miracle. The Catalans had twice taken the lead at home to Valencia in the final match of a disastrous domestic season. Real Madrid had sailed into the distance to win La Liga, 17 points ahead of their Clasico foes. Deportivo La Coruna and unfancied Real Mallorca had already guaranteed their top- three spots. The fourth and final Champions League place was a shootout between the two sides facing each other in Barcelona on June 17, 2001. Twice Rivaldo had superbly fired the hosts in front – the first with a sublime free- kick, the second with a rasping low drive from 25 yards – as they sought the three points needed to pip Valencia. They were his 34th and 35th strikes of the campaign, but still weren’t enough: Ruben Baraja had bagged a brace to make it 2- 2, and the Blaugrana were on the brink of embarrassment. There would be no Champions League football for Barcelona, unless Rivaldo could work his magic one more time.
As the 90th minute approached, defender Frank de Boer chipped an aimless, hopeful pass towards the edge of the penalty box. Had it dropped to any other player, it would almost certainly have led to nothing. But it dropped to Rivaldo.
In a split second, with his back to Valencia’s goal, the Brazilian chested the ball up and flung his left foot at a bicycle kick from 20 yards out. “In football, you must take a risk,” he said. “I never imagined I’d connect with the ball that well.”
It arrowed away from Santiago Canizares into the bottom corner, and the Camp Nou descended into pandemonium. As Rivaldo ripped off his shirt and raced away to celebrate, even Barça president Joan Gaspart broke directors’ box decorum by punching the air, such was his relief. “Rivaldo! Rivaldo!” came the chant from the crowd.
Officially crowned the best player in the world 18 months earlier, he had needed to score one of the most extraordinary hat- tricks of all time to finally silence his critics, following a season and a half of turbulence. A year later, a 30- year- old Rivaldo held the World Cup aloft in Yokohama, his legacy sealed.
DIVERTED TO DEPOR
Had it not been for the events of a dramatic deadline day in 1997, he might never have joined Barcelona at all.
After Ronaldo’s world- record £ 19.5 million departure to Inter, Barça needed a new star, on the last day of registrations for the forthcoming Champions League campaign. Interest in Sao Paulo’s Denilson fizzled out because of wage demands, while Steve Mcmanaman had flown in from Merseyside a day before the deadline after a fee was agreed with Liverpool. When the midfielder arrived, no one turned up to meet him. “My adviser spoke to Joan Gaspart on the phone,” said Mcmanaman. “He seemed to be elsewhere, negotiating with another player.”
That player was Deportivo’s Rivaldo – on the advice of Bobby Robson, Barça’s general manager. “I could see what a player he was,” Robson said of the Brazilian. “I said, ‘ He’ll get you 18 goals a year, and stick in seven free- kicks’.”
The ex- England and Barça manager’s confidence was well- founded. Rivaldo had registered 22 goals in the previous campaign, his debut Depor season. “He wasn’t that well known when we got him,” said John Toshack, the Galician club’s coach at the start of that season. “He walked in as this tall, gangly kid and I wondered what I had been given. He looked anything but a top player. Then the ball arrived at his feet. My God, that left foot...”
Born in a poor district of Recife in northern Brazil, malnutrition had left Rivaldo bow- legged. At Mogi Mirim in the country’s second division, it was Valber – a striker who would later play in Japan but never for Brazil – who was considered the club’s brightest prospect, rather than his lean team- mate. However, Rivaldo’s left foot increasingly grabbed attention – most notably with a wondergoal from the halfway line, earning comparisons with Pele’s near miss at the 1970 World Cup.
He signed for Corinthians in 1993, then Sao Paulo rivals Palmeiras via support from sponsors Parmalat. Three years on, after coming close to a move to the J. League, he was all set to join Parmalat’s primary club, Parma, in a double deal. The Italians were due to sign Amaral for £ 6m and Rivaldo for a reported £ 2.5m, but Rivaldo’s part of the transfer collapsed – so he went to Spain instead.
Rivaldo helped Deportivo climb from 9th to 3rd in 1996- 97, even if Toshack was sacked – not aided by an incident when his star chucked away his shirt in anger at being substituted. So well had he thrived in La Liga, Rivaldo travelled east to Barcelona with an unshakeable confidence – and one ultimate aim in mind. “My dream is to be FIFA World Player of the Year,” he often declared.
His impact in Europe wasn’t immediate, though – Louis van Gaal’s men lost to a Tino Asprilla treble at Newcastle on his debut in the competition, and came bottom of their group following 3- 0 and 4- 0 defeats to Dynamo Kiev. Domestically, things were different: Rivaldo struck 28 goals as Barcelona won a first league and cup double since 1959.
That summer, he scored three times in France as Brazil reached the 1998 World Cup Final – the best a 25- yard daisycutter which sealed a 3- 2 victory over Denmark in the quarters. From that range, no player in world football was more lethal; when he set himself outside the box, characteristically pausing before accelerating towards the ball and pulling back that howitzer of a left foot, opponents knew they were in trouble. By the end of 1998, Rivaldo was officially the sixth- best player on the planet.
After an outstanding 1999, he was number one.
THE IMPERFECT TEN
Barcelona had not started well in 1998- 99: they fell in the Champions League group stage again, despite Rivaldo’s efforts to single- handedly drag them into the last eight.
He scored a free- kick and an overhead effort in Manchester United’s less celebrated trip to the Camp Nou that campaign, a 3- 3 draw that confirmed the Blaugrana’s exit and left the Brazilian shaking his head in despair. In La Liga, they sat 10th in late December, only for Rivaldo to smash 18 goals in 23 games after the turn of the year as Barça won their 16th title by 11 points.
When he netted five times in the Selecao’s march to Copa America glory weeks later, there was no doubt remaining over his status as the
best. He won the FIFA World Player of the Year prize by a country mile, bagging the Ballon d’or for good measure ahead of David Beckham. “I consider Rivaldo to be the best player,” said, er, Rivaldo. “Beckham’s passing is great, but he scores fewer goals than me.”
“Rivaldo could dribble like no one else,” former team- mate Ronald de Boer told Fourfourtwo, revealing that the Brazilian gave all of his Barça colleagues a silver plate to thank them for helping him fulfil his dream. “His shooting and free- kicks were outstanding, and the way he cut inside was incredible – he could decide a match out of nothing.”
Still, Rivaldo wasn’t universally loved. Often uncomfortable in the spotlight, he didn’t have the same gregarious personality as Ronaldo or Ronaldinho. He rarely smiled, granted very few interviews and was sometimes accused of not playing for the team. “He plays in his own world, never bothers to go looking for the ball of his own accord and wastes opportunites with dumb errors,” Spanish magazine Don Balon wrote in September 1999.
Three months later, on the same day Rivaldo was announced as the Ballon d’or winner, his relationship with Van Gaal broke down. That summer, compatriots Sonny Anderson and Giovanni had left – the latter slammed the boss as a ‘ Hitler for Brazilians’, believing
Van Gaal gave favourable treatment to the Dutch players in his squad. Then, after a tough period in which Barcelona lost five of seven league games, Rivaldo demanded that Van Gaal move him from the left wing. “We beat Atletico Madrid 2- 1 and Van Gaal was talking to me nicely during that match, but he decided to replace me at 1- 1,” Rivaldo later told FFT. “I wondered why he used to say great things about me and then put Boudewijn Zenden in my place. Well, if he had a guy to play on the left, I didn’t want to be in that position.
“The following day, I spoke to Jose Mourinho, his assistant and translator. I told him I wanted to speak at the team meeting, after
“NEARLY ALL OUR ATTACKS WENT THROUGH RIVALDO – HE WAS THE PERFECT LINK”
Van Gaal. I told everyone I wanted to fight for a position in midfield – I’d rather stay on the bench or be left out of the squad. Van Gaal gave me a look. A couple of days later, we were due to play Rayo Vallecano. He left me out.”
He would miss the next match against Real Sociedad, too. “His left foot was incredible, but he said he didn’t want to play as a left- winger any more, only as a No. 10,” remembers Zenden. “Van Gaal said, ‘ Both as a winger and No. 10, he scores 20 goals, but if I play him as a No. 10 and he loses possession, the opponent can counter- attack down the middle of the field straight away’. Van Gaal preferred him on the wing.”
A month later, Rivaldo collected the Ballon d’or on the pitch before kick- off at home to Racing Santander. Despite scoring the only goal of the game, he was jeered by some Barcelona fans. “It’s very sad to be whistled on the same day they give you this award,” he sighed.
BOOS AND BRAIN HAEMORRHAGES
Rivaldo was the Champions League’s joint- top scorer as the Catalans reached the last four for the first time since 1994, but they lost La Liga to Deportivo. The club had a big decision to make: Van Gaal or Rivaldo. They chose the Brazilian.
It didn’t completely solve Rivaldo’s problems, though. In November 2000, after Brazil made a woeful start to World Cup qualifying, he was booed during an unconvincing victory over Colombia. Some had never forgotten a crucial error at the 1996 Olympics, when he lost possession during the semi- final, allowing Nigeria to maraud forward and score. While his critics in Barcelona thought he saved his best performances for Brazil, some in his homeland felt he saved his best displays for his club. Rivaldo was getting it in the neck from both sides, and he’d had enough. “This was too much,” he complained. “It went beyond booing – they were swearing at me, so I need to have a think about my future with the national team.”
He briefly contemplated international retirement, aged just 28, but stayed and helped Brazil limp to the World Cup after six defeats in 18 matches. They finished 13 points behind Argentina, and only avoided a play- off against Australia thanks to a win in their final game.
In 2000- 01, Rivaldo was largely given the central role he wanted at Barcelona – and 36 goals was his best- ever haul. But again they failed to escape their Champions League group, and his new role coincided with the team’s worst defensive record in 50 years as they conceded 57 times in La Liga. Barça had become too reliant on the Brazilian, but he didn’t let them down against Valencia, with the overhead kick that encapsulated his career better than any other moment.
Even the 2002 World Cup wasn’t plain sailing, despite Brazil’s record of seven wins from seven – the greatest in tournament history. First he had to ride a media storm after getting Hakan Unsal sent off near the end of the Selecao’s opening match against Turkey, featuring some of the finest slapstick acting since Laurel and Hardy.
“He fell down like he was having a brain haemorrhage,” complained the Turkish FA’S apoplectic president, Haluk Ulusoy, after Unsal booted the ball into Rivaldo’s thigh and the Brazilian responded by comically clutching his face. FIFA fined Rivaldo 11,670 Swiss francs, but he still retained the support of his manager. “The ball hit him on the knee and then bounced upwards – he put his hand on his face to stop being hit there,” insisted Luiz Felipe Scolari, thumbing through an early edition of Dominic Cummings’ Big Book Of Implausible Excuses.
Rivaldo’s team- mates were behind him, too. “It was a part of South American gamesmanship, and we couldn’t help but make jokes about it,” Kleberson tells FFT. “After what happened against Turkey, a player would throw himself on the floor as soon as he was hit by the ball, just to mock what Rivaldo did. Scolari knew how important he was, that he could win matches for us. Scolari trusted him implicitly and gave him the freedom to make a difference on the pitch.”
And he did. Undeterred by the controversy, Rivaldo followed his goal against Turkey by scoring in each of the next four matches – breaking the deadlock in the last 16 against Belgium, before stroking home an equaliser against England.
“Rivaldo’s reading of the game was astonishing – he could anticipate things seconds ahead of everyone else,” says Kleberson. “If you watch the goal against England, you’ll see what I’m talking about.
“Ronaldinho was doing stepovers that blew Ashley Cole’s mind, and Rivaldo moved to the right edge of the penalty area – saying nothing, just creating space to receive the ball. While he positioned himself, he was opening his body up, so that he’d be ready for the perfect shot. He didn’t have to speak much on the pitch – we all knew what he wanted.
“He was such a vital player for us. Regardless of what he’d already achieved, he was humble – although he was so competitive at training. Every session was like a proper match. He took it absolutely seriously. If we tried a different pass when he was unmarked, he couldn’t help saying something, but in a respectful way. Nearly all our attacks went through him. He was the perfect link.
“People like Roberto Carlos would tease him because he didn’t spend much money. Rivaldo didn’t show off his status and was level- headed. At that point in his career, he had won many titles and the Ballon d’or. He was satisfied.”
When Rivaldo helped Ronaldo score both goals against Germany in the final, that satisfaction was complete. Well, almost. “For the second goal, he opened his legs and dummied my pass, expecting to receive an assist from Ronaldo in the box, but Ronaldo just shot and scored,” says Kleberson. “During the celebrations, Rivaldo jokingly complained to him, ‘ F** k, I was unmarked in the box!’”
Never did Rivaldo smile more than that night in Japan, as he held the World Cup in his hands. It was he who Scolari later named as Brazil’s best player at that tournament – a view shared by others, too.
“Ronaldo was our most talented player, but Rivaldo was even better for us at that World Cup,” Edmilson tells FFT. “The best players are the ones who show up in the big moments, and Rivaldo was just like that. He’s a reserved and shy guy, but I’ll participate in events with Rivaldo around the world and people go crazy about him.”
IT’S ME OR YOU… AGAIN
A month after the 2002 World Cup, Rivaldo left Barcelona. Injuries had restricted him to eight league goals in 2001- 02, as Barça came fourth in La Liga again. It was Valencia, the side he had denied a year earlier, who won the league. Barcelona responded by bringing back Van Gaal, and this time they chose him over Rivaldo, to such an extent that they released the Brazilian and recruited Juan Roman Riquelme.
Bobby Robson had been hopeful of luring Rivaldo to Newcastle, with Freddy Shepherd jetting out for talks shortly before the World Cup. The forward later revealed interest from Manchester United and Liverpool, while Spurs also had their hopes dashed – receiving a polite letter from him explaining why he had joined Milan instead.
The move to Italy wasn’t successful: unsettled by a separation from his wife, he struggled to hold down a regular spot. He won his one and only Champions League title with Milan, but in the later rounds Carlo Ancelotti picked Rui Costa in support of Andriy Shevchenko and Filippo Inzaghi. He watched the Old Trafford final victory against Juventus as an unused substitute, his contract cancelled months later.
A switch to Celtic or even Bolton nearly followed – Rivaldo flew in for talks with Sam Allardyce, before eventually opting for Olympiacos. His last hurrah at European level came at Anfield, netting a free- kick that almost put the Greeks through at Liverpool’s expense in the 2004- 05 Champions League – the season that the Reds won the competition.
At 36, he accepted a “tempting offer” from Bunyodkor in Uzbekistan: a club spending big as part of a reported vanity project for the socialite daughter of dictator Islam Karimov. Zico and Scolari had spells as boss.
Rivaldo became the first player in the world to score one, two, three and then four goals in consecutive matches, even if only 5,416 were there to see him smash four past less- than- mighty Sogdiana Jizzakh. Later, Bunyodkor simply stopped paying him and he left.
In 2012, the 39- year- old turned up in Angola with Kabuscorp after being offered to League One side Charlton, who politely declined. He stayed in Angola for about a year, but they also stopped paying him. As recently as 2019, Kabuscorp were relegated because of the lengthy delay in settling debts to the World Cup winner.
Rivaldo’s playing career finally ended in 2015, aged 43, back in Brazil at former club Mogi Mirim – where he scored in the same game as son Rivaldinho, who has since played in Portugal, Bulgaria and Romania.
After glory at the World Cup, Rivaldo’s long goodbye lasted 13 years. It was between 1997 and 2002 that he shone brightest: for a period, he was the best player on the planet, able to produce magic that no other player could produce.
Valencia found themselves victims of such magic on that incredible night at the Camp Nou in June 2001. At the height of Rivaldo’s career, they were far from the only ones.
“RIVALDO WAS EVEN BETTER FOR US THAN RONALDO AT THE 2002 WORLD CUP. THE BEST PLAYERS ARE THOSE WHO SHOW UP IN THE BIG MOMENTS”