TWENTY YEARS AGO, IT WAS REDEMPTION TIME

LONDON. - The kneecap exploded. It was lodged above his muscular right thigh. Team-mates donned in blue and black stood hands on head in disbelief. The comeback had lasted just six minutes. There was a collective, anxious intake of breath. Was this the end of the game’s most devastating forward?

Two years later, as the ball nestled into the corner of Oliver Kahn’s goal with the same ruthless precision that characterised a whole career, Ronaldo’s response was a resounding ‘no’.

Brazil were world champions.

The frenzied celebrations rippled around Yokohama’s International Stadium, through a delirious Rio de Janeiro and via millions rejoicing in front of their television screens at home.

Il Fenomeno had silenced the critics and seemingly defied science.

He had not only overcome the injury problems that threatened to derail him at Inter Milan but also exorcised the demons that lingered from Selecao’s World Cup final defeat against France in 1998, when their star man suffered a seizure before the game.

Ronaldo had reclaimed his throne as the greatest among football’s pantheon of goal-getters and his iconic grin, like his dazzling feet, lit up TV screens around the globe.

“He was fantastic, amazing,” Brazil team-mate Cafu tells BBC Sport. “It showed the mental strength Ronaldo has to overcome the problems. It has been the story of his life.”

The Brazil squad of 2002 have a WhatsApp group called ‘Penta’.

Twenty years on from victory in Japan and South Korea, Cafu still messages daily as they reminisce about the nation’s fifth world title.

For Ronaldo, it is a welcome reminder of his redemption.

The rise was stratospheric.

“He was a constant danger,” remembers former Brazil team-mate Savio. “A player with a lot of talent, a lot of capacity, a lot of resources in the field and - history tells us all - the best nine in football history. Phenomenal!”

In 2002, there was unity in the Brazil camp It was a group of players having fun, easing the pressure as the focus on Brazil intensified.

Hundreds of journalists attended their training sessions and fans scrambled for a glimpse.

Germany goalkeeper Oliver Kahn was named the tournament’s best player beforehand and denied Ronaldo early on. The Brazilian helped him up, gave his rival a pat on the bottom and cast a look that suggested he was not finished yet.

Khan was faultless throughout the competition, right up to the 67th minute of the final, when he spilled Rivaldo’s shot into the path of Ronaldo to hand the predatory Brazilian a tap-in.

The finish was simple, but Ronaldo’s brutish strength and determination created the chance in the first place, bundling Dietmar Hamann off the ball to recover possession, slipping it to his teammate and continuing his run in anticipation of a rebound.

If the first was instinctive, the second was world class. Kleberson made a break down the right, Rivaldo dummied at the top of the penalty area and Ronaldo’s cushioned touch teed him up perfectly to stroke the ball into the bottom corner for his eighth goal of the tournament.

He sprinted - arms outstretched, tuft of hair protruding from his forehead like a five o’clock shadow - towards the bench to be embraced in the knowledge Brazil were world champions.

For Ronaldo, the road to redemption was complete.