JAKARTA – Today 24 years ago, on 12 July 1998, France won the FIFA World Cup for the first time. In the final which was held at the Stade de France, Saint-Denis on the outskirts of Paris, host France crushed Team Samba, Brazil with a score of 3-0.
The 1998 World Cup which was held in France also went down in history as the first World Cup to include 32 teams. The 32 teams were divided into eight groups. This 32-team format will continue to be used until the 2022 World Cup which will be held in Qatar from November 21 to December 18 next.
France, which hosted the tournament for the first time, but had entered the World Cup final 10 times, was strengthened by a number of great talents. Starting from the bare-headed goalkeeper, Fabien Barthez, defender Laurent Blank, midfielder Zinedine Zidane, to striker Thierry Henry. All the great talents were mixed into superior strength by coach Aime Jaquet.
As the host, France is clearly favored. They escaped from group C smoothly, winning continuously without losing. Respectively 3-0 over South Africa, 4-0 over Saudi Arabia, and 2-1 over Denmark.
In the last 16, France eliminated Paraguay 2-1, then won 4-3 on penalties over Italy in the quarter-finals. Stepping into the semifinals, France is also still mighty by beating Croatia 2-1.
Final Duel against BrazilOn the other hand, Brazil as the opponent in the final was not smooth in the early game. Despite being strengthened by one of the greatest footballers in the world, The Phenomenom Ronaldo Luis Nazario de Lima, Brazil had stumbled in the group stage because they lost 1-2 to Norway.
Even so, Team Samba still managed to lead group A and qualify for the knockout stages. In the last 16, Chile was beaten 4-1. Qualified for the quarter-finals, it was Denmark's turn to be defeated 3-2. The classic fight in the semifinals against the Dutch Team Orange won by Brazil 4-2 on penalties.
Arrived duel against host France in the final. The stadium was full, packed with 75,000 spectators. The weather is sunny with a comfortable temperature, 23 degrees Celsius. The final match was led by a Moroccan referee, Said Belqola.
Attacking midfielder of Algerian descent who was then 25 years old, Zinedine Zidane became the center of attention. Zidane, who at that time played for the legendary Italian club, Juventus, actually appeared unobtrusive in the preliminary rounds. But in the final, he turned out to be the decider of everything.
He scored two goals against Brazil, which was escorted by Claudio Taffarel. Each with a header in the 27th minute using a corner kick from Emmanuel Petit, and in the 45+1 minute he also took advantage of a corner kick. Petit, a ponytail player who strengthened Arsenal, scored the final goal in the 90+3 minute.
Poisoning and CheatingAfter the victory party ended, the turn of the slanted story left from the 1998 World Cup final emerged. There are many theories that accompany Brazil's defeat to France. One of them is about Ronaldo's unfit condition ahead of the final.
The player, who was 21 years old at the time and playing for Inter Milan, has reportedly been taking painkillers continuously since the group A match against Morocco on June 16. Ronaldo suffered a knee injury in that match.
"We are keeping an eye on him because he has an injury and is constantly complaining of pain. So in every game, we gave him a tablet,” Joaqui Da Mata, one of the Brazil team doctors at the time, told The Independent on August 6, 1998.
Roberto Carlos, a Brazilian defender who shared a room with Ronaldo during the 1998 French World Cup, told the BBC in an interview that The Phenomenom was so depressed after the defeat in the final.
"Ronaldo was very scared about his future after the defeat. She was very depressed and couldn't stop crying. At four o'clock in the afternoon he began to look sick. His body was convulsing and he was foaming at the mouth,” said Carlos, in an interview with the BBC on 2 April 2002.
Lots of speculation after that. Some say Ronaldo was poisoned so that he was unable to perform optimally. There are also those who say he is having personal problems with his girlfriend, to the point of disturbing his concentration.
Until 72 minutes before the kick off of the 1998 World Cup final, Ronaldo's name had not been included in the list of players compiled by coach Mario Zagalo. But then his name was entered at the last minute before the list of players was submitted.
There is also a slanted story from the French camp. The story actually comes from the former French football star who later became UEFA President, Michel Platini.
"Being a World Cup champion is everyone's dream. We did a little trick by fixing the match schedule. So we did it so that if France and Brazil were seeded first, they would not meet before the final. We're playing at home, so we have to take advantage of a lot of things," Platini said in an interview with ESPN on 18 May 2018.
"It's impossible for us for six years to prepare for the World Cup not to think about cheating a little bit. Do you think other host countries don't do the same?” said Platini again.
Platini then organized the 1998 World Cup with the former President of French Football, the late Fernand Sastre. France is indeed a great success to become champions, but leaves a slanted story. That's one of the historical records of today, July 12, 1998 in world sports.
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