SAITAMA, Japan – It's the missing matchup, the game soccer has waited a
half-century to see.
Brazil and Germany, the sport's most dominant nations, have never met in
the World Cup – until now.
And what a place for their first meeting – in the final, for the trophy,
with all the world watching.
"It will be a dream matchup," Brazil's Roberto Carlos said after his
team beat Turkey, 1-0, Wednesday to move into its third straight final.
The goal came from striker Ronaldo, for whom the dream was preceded by a
personal nightmare.
The standout of Brazil's 1998 World Cup team faltered in that
tournament's championship game, a 3-0 loss to host France, after
suffering some kind of breakdown hours before kickoff. To this day, the
details are shrouded in mystery.
Then came knee surgery and a prolonged recovery that extended to the
weeks leading up to this World Cup.
But now Ronaldo is back, and under less pressure, happily sharing the
stage with co-stars Ronaldinho and Rivaldo. And if he's still not fully
fit, he is very much in form with a tournament-high six goals in six
games.
"The nightmare is over," said Ronaldo, whose goal early in the second
half Wednesday gave Brazil a shot at its fifth World Cup championship –
two more than any other team. Germany will be going for its fourth.
"I plan then and there to have the most important goal of my career,"
Ronaldo said, looking ahead to Sunday's final in Yokohama, Japan. "Every
goal I score is a victory. Every time I enter the pitch, for me it's an
honor."
Ronaldo scored the game-winner against Turkey in the 49th minute on a
magical end-to-end rush begun by, of all people, goalkeeper Marcos.
Roberto Carlos, effective at both ends all night, chested the ball back
to Marcos, leading to midfielder Gilberto Silva's sprint down the left
wing. He found Ronaldo, who despite drawing a convoy of four Turks
surprised goalie Rustu Recber with a quick, low, right-footed shot.
In addition to his assist, Marcos also made a half-dozen brilliant saves
against the Turks, who stunned everyone by reaching the semifinals in
their first World Cup in 48 years.
"In modern football, every team has a chance to win. No team is
necessarily stronger than any other," Marcos said.
But few are as inventive and stylish as the Brazilians, who won the
World Cup in 1958, '62, '70 and '94 and are known as masters of "o jogo
bonito" – "the beautiful game." Now they are up against a physical,
machine-like German team that has surrendered only one goal in the
tournament. Brazil, by contrast, had scored at least two in every game
until Wednesday.
"Both teams have a great tradition," Rivaldo said. "If Brazil wants to
be champions, we have to respect Germany. Not fear them, respect them."
Brazil's chances improve with the return of slashing midfielder
Ronaldinho, who was suspended for Wednesday's game after picking up a
red card vs. England in the quarterfinals. And Germany will be without
its midfield engine, Michael Ballack, who must sit out because he
received a second yellow card vs. South Korea – his second of the
knockout stages.
So it's artistry vs. engineering. Wile vs. willpower. The Brazilian
samba vs. the German hustle.
It's about time.
