If there’s one person the Germans have to watch out for in Sunday’s World Cup final, it’s the bald guy.
No, not Pierluigi Collina. The Italian referee with the cue-ball head and the piercing eyes is the least of Germany’s worries. He is probably the most highly respected game official in soccer and the perfect choice for a Brazil-Germany clash.
No, not Ronaldo, either. The Brazilian striker may be the tournament’s leading goal-scorer, but he doesn’t really qualify as bald anymore, at least not since he let that peculiar Chia-pet half-circle of hair sprout on the front of his head.
The person the Germans should fear comes from farther back in the Brazilian pack. He lurks in the left-back position, waiting to either create or score the goal that will give the South Americans a record fifth world championship.
Roberto Carlos is his name, and in this tournament he once again has demonstrated why he is the best attacking outside back in the world.
The thing about Carlos is that he can hurt you in so many ways.
There’s his speed. The man can be at one end of the field, sending in a cross for Ronaldo or Rivaldo or Ronaldinho to knock into the net at one moment, and in the next instant he can be making a saving tackle back in his own penalty area.
Brazil may boast of its “Triple R” offense, but it really should be the “Quadruple R,” considering Carlos’ contribution.
Then there’s his ability to deliver the perfect ball, striking a hard, low liner across the face of the opposing net to create havoc amid the tangle of legs reaching out to deflect it or floating a delicate cross directly onto the forehead or foot of a striker.
Earlier this year Carlos did exactly that for Real Madrid, delivering the perfect ball for Zinedine Zidane to volley into the back of Bayer Leverkusen’s net and put the Spanish club on the way to its ninth European Champions Cup title.
Zidane got the credit for the superb goal, but it was created by Carlos.
Germany will be well aware of the threat he poses. Coach Rudi Voeller’s starting lineup features three Leverkusen players, a number that would have been four had playmaker Michael Ballack not been suspended.
A third way Carlos can undo all of Voeller’s work in building a near-impenetrable German defense that has given up only one goal in six World Cup games is with a free kick.
The 29-year-old has perhaps the most wicked left-footed shot in the world from a dead-ball situation.
His most memorable goal was the one he struck against France at the Tournoi de France in 1997, when he hit the ball with such force and spin that it sent photographers behind the net diving to get out of the way, only to curve back in and beat goalkeeper Fabian Barthez.
Carlos had another memorable goal at this World Cup. It was hit with such power and accuracy that China’s defensive wall and goalkeeper could only stand and watch as the ball screamed past them into the net.
So the trick for Germany on Sunday will be to keep an eye on the four R’s, while still trying to contain Cafu coming down the right flank and, possibly, Juninho Paulista coming up the middle. It will be an immense task.
All of which means that the Germans’ attack probably will be limited to two options: seeking corner kicks and free kicks, from which they will hope to get the headers that can test Brazilian goalkeeper Marcos.
But when a team as explosive as Brazil is on the counterattack, Germany cannot afford to get caught with too many players up front, which means forwards Oliver Neuville and Miroslav Klose may be in for a long night.
At a glance
3 key German players
Oliver Kahn: Germany’s goalkeeper and captain has had an outstanding World Cup, allowing one goal in six games.
Bernd Schneider: Forward plays on the right flank and has had a strong tournament. He set up the winner against Paraguay. He takes all corners from the right.
Miroslav Klose: Forward has five goals (all headers) but is scoreless the last three games.
3 key Brazilian players
Marcos: Goalkeeper has given Brazil reliability at a traditionally weak position. Agile for a big man (6-foot-4-inches), he is tough to beat in the air.
Rivaldo: Midfielder is free to create and score (five goals) and has been at the center of Brazil’s attack.
Ronaldo: Forward is tourney’s top scorer with six. The two-time FIFA Player of the Year has ended doubts about his surgically rebuilt knee.
Past meetings
Brazil leads 11-3-4, but this is the first World Cup meeting:
1963: Brazil 2-1 at Hamburg
1963: Brazil 3-0, at Berlin
1965: Brazil 2-0 at Rio de Janeiro
1968: Germany 2-1 at Stuttgart
1968: 2-2 at Rio de Janeiro
1973: Brazil 1-0 at Berlin
1977: 1-1 at Rio de Janeiro
1978: Brazil 1-0 at Hamburg
1981: Brazil 4-1 in Uruguay
1981: Brazil 2-1 at Stuttgart
1982: Brazil 1-0 at Rio de Janeiro
1986: Germany 2-0 at Frankfurt
1987: 1-1 at Brasilia, Brazil
1992: Brazil 3-1 at Porto Alegre, Brazil
1993: 3-3 at Washington
1993: Germany 2-1 at Cologne
1998: Brazil 2-1 at Stuttgart
1999: Brazil 4-0 at Guadalajara, Mexico
