Ronaldo was arguably the greatest no.9 in the history of football. In his peak, he had everything; pace, power, skills and clinical finishing. Very few players in the history of football have been better than what Ronaldo was in his prime.
His finest moment for Brazil came when his brace in the final won Brazil the 2002 World Cup against Germany. He ended up scoring a stunning 8 goals in the tournament. The performance was all the more special for Ronaldo, as many people had written him off. Many speculated that his career at the top level was as good as over. But what a perfect reply it was from the Brazilian maestro!
Prior to the 2002 FIFA World Cup, Ronaldo had barely played since rupturing the cruciate ligament in his right knee in April 2000, and he missed Brazil’s entire qualification campaign. In a remarkable comeback from injury that had threatened his career, Ronaldo led Brazil to their record fifth World Cup triumph where he won the Golden Shoe as top scorer with eight goals, and was runner-up to the Golden Ball as most valuable player in the tournament. In the tournament, Ronaldo scored against every opponent except England in the quarter-finals.
