The story of Ronaldo’s 2002 World Cup begins four years earlier, at the Chateau de Grande Romaine in Lesigny, 20 miles southeast of Paris, France.
It is the early afternoon of July 12, 1998. Ronaldo eats lunch and retreats to his room in the luxury, secluded hotel that the Brazilian Football Confederation has selected as the national team’s base for the World Cup.
Ronaldo is apparently relaxed enough to take a nap despite being hours away from what ought to be his coronation as the king of world football, confirming his status as not only the radiant future of the game but its unstoppable present too. At 9pm local time, the World Cup final will kick off.
He is 21 years old and just a year removed from a world-record transfer from Barcelona to Internazionale. He has met – exceeded, if it is possible – every expectation that greeted his move, finishing his debut season in Italy with 34 goals and a UEFA Cup winners’ medal.
There was little doubt ahead of the World Cup in France that Ronaldo was the best player on the planet. His performances at the tournament have only rubber-stamped that assertion. After netting four goals to drive Brazil to a final showdown with the host nation, his balletic dribbles, bursting speed and
