The Defining Moment
Brazil 1998
Brazil arrived at the France 1998 final as holders and favourites, but on match day everything fell apart. Ronaldo, the team's star, suffered a convulsive episode at the hotel hours before kick-off. He was first dropped from the teamsheet, then reinstated in circumstances never fully explained a decision surrounded by suspicions of sponsor pressure. At the Stade de France, the Ronaldo who took the pitch was a ghost. Zinédine Zidane scored two identical headers, Emmanuel Petit completed the 3-0, and Brazil suffered their worst ever final defeat. The mystery of what happened to Ronaldo that night the convulsion in Paris was never fully resolved and haunts Brazilian football as one of sport's great unanswered questions.