Move over, Michael Jordan, and make room for Ronaldo.
As famous as the Chicago Bulls superstar is, the Brazilian athlete is about to upstage him – the World Cup Soccer tournament has opened in France.
Every four years, this event becomes the showcase for the world’s most popular sport. Thirty-two national teams, including the U.S., will hurl themselves into 33 days of competition. The athletes’ big goal is to win the championship game July 12 in Paris.
About 2.5 million people will attend matches at various sites in France; French officials have set up huge TV screens in public places for those who couldn’t get tickets. And close to 1.5 billion – about one in five of the world’s population -are expected to tune in to the final match on TV. That figure dwarfs the viewership for the mega sporting events more familiar to Americans such as the Super Bowl, NBA Finals, World Series and even the Olympics.
When that final game is played next month, soccer experts predict, goal-scoring phenom Ronaldo Luis Nazario de Lima will lead Brazil to its fifth World Cup title.
The fleet-footed forward from the slums of Rio de Janeiro has twice been named the world’s best soccer player, has led two professional leagues in scoring and has attained that rarest of honors: He is known simply by his first name, Ronaldo. And the superstar is only 21. (That puts him several years ahead of similar accomplishments by Michael.)
The Brazilian already is being compared to fellow countryman Pele, considered by many to be the greatest soccer player ever to lace up cleats. At age 17, Ronaldo was with the Brazilian team when it last won the World Cup in 1994 in the U.S. He didn’t get to play in any games.
“I always knew I had something special, he says. “But all I ever wanted to prove was that I could make a difference.
Now he has a chance – as the world watches.
WHAT’S UP WITH THE U.S.?
While Brazilian star Ronaldo sets his sights on a world title, the U.S. is looking a little lower.
OK, make that a lot lower.
“The goal is to make the second round, U.S. Soccer Federation president Alan Rothenberg says. “Realistically, I don’t expect to achieve that goal.
What’s up with that? After all, the U.S. enters the tournament ranked 11th in the world, its all-time high. The team even beat Brazil in February. But the U.S. has a way-tough Round 1. It’s expected to win its game against Iran, but not games against Germany and Yugoslavia. And because the field has expanded this year from 24 nations to 32, only the top two teams from each round advance.
THE FUTURE OF SOCCER IS…
YOU!
U.S. Soccer wants a World Cup win by 2010 – and it figures you can help. The soccer federation has calculated that the average World Cup champ is 28 – so for a win in 2010, the group has to look now at kids who are 16 or younger.
In its Project 2010 program, the soccer federation (with the help of sponsor Nike) plans to spend about $50 million to recruit and train young players. Scouts will be sent out to find and recruit players for big-time training and competitions. So play your best… you never know who is watching!
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World Cup matches will be played at these sites in France. The finals will be July 12 in Paris.
