In a match between Inter and Lazio at Coppa Italia (end of 2000), Ronaldo Nazario suffered a serious knee injury, and seven minutes after he reappeared. A blow to football and to the Brazilian, who continued to smash goals for years but with different records. It's been 20 years since that crack in the knee, which occurred on April 12, 2000.
Coppa Italia Final, 2000. Lazio beat Inter 2-1 and Marcelo Lippi discovered his secret weapon: Ronaldo Nazario. The Brazilian, in the 59th minute, was taking the field six months after a serious injury to the patellar tendon in his right knee, which had been partially ruptured. It was, once again, his moment.
He went out with a vengeance, with dynamism, as he always did. He faced up to it as soon as he had the chance and, after seven minutes, football witnessed one of those indelible and shocking images,. He looked for a break in the frontal in front of Fernando Couto, his former Barcelona coach, and his knee, his battered right knee, got injured yet again.
His tendon had exploded again. His tears, momentary and disconsolate, and predicted the worst. His teammates and rivals crowded in, several of them throwing their hands on his head. It was impossible to believe what was happening Again Ronaldo and again the same script: the stretcher, the rage. The emptiness.
A new ordeal that culminated 17 months later. It wasn't until then that he returned to a pitch in an official match. "I never thought of retiring. My love for football, which is my life, never let me down," he said years later. His torment, fortunately, passed. And Ronaldo once again destroyed opponents and goals - although he was never the same.
He did it at Inter, Madrid and, less voraciously, Milan and Corinthians. The 2002 World Cup brought him back to the top of the game. Brazil took him and Ronaldo was the best. He signed for Madrid and completed fantastic seasons, although he was always another Ronaldo. He was heavier, struggled more, but just as indomitable. One of the best strikers in recent times.