Ronaldo Nazario
— Appearances: 1998, 2002, 2006 Matches: 19; Goals: 15
At his peak, Ronaldo was the most frightening footballer in the
world. The Brazilian striker ticked pretty much every box an attacking player possibly could — speed, strength, technique, finishing, passing, dribbling, off-the-ball movement, and whatever else you can think of.
Coming into the 1998 World Cup, ‘O Fenomeno’ was definitely at his peak. He had won the FIFA World Player of the Year award for the last two years, and had scored 81 goals in his two previous seasons at Barcelona and Inter Milan. And he was only 21.
As expected, Ronaldo was irrepressible throughout much of the tournament in France, scoring five times, including twice in the pre-quarterfinal against Chile and a brilliant finish in the semifinal against Holland, where he demonstrated a superb first touch with the outside of his left foot to latch on to Rivaldo’s cross, holding off Phillip Cocu and then slipping the ball through ’keeper Edwin van der Sar’s legs.
The night before the final, however, Ronaldo suffered a seizure and was taken to hospital. Initially left out of the starting line-up, he convinced coach Mario Zagallo that he could play. Eventually, he and the rest of the Brazil side were well below par in a 3-0 defeat to host France.
Following the World Cup, Ronaldo suffered a series of knee injuries and had long spells on the sidelines. By the time the 2002 tournament began, fans wondered if he’d ever be the same player again. But despite a drop in pace, Ronaldo revelled in Japan and South Korea, spearheading a loose trio of forwards comprising himself, Rivaldo and Ronaldinho. He scored against every opponent bar England (who the other two R’s took care of) as Brazil rode almost unchallenged to its fifth World Cup title. In the final, Ronaldo scored twice against a subdued Germany, capitalising on a spill from the normally ultra-reliable Oliver Kahn to set Brazil on its way before ensuing victory with a precise drive into the bottom corner in the 79th minute.