Turkey should thank us: Rivaldo

BRAZIL striker Rivaldo, whose team meet Turkey in Wednesday’s semi-final, does not expect bad feeling to be carried over from their fiery first-round meeting.

Rivaldo, whose melodramatic fall was blamed for getting Hakan Unsal sent off in the group game and earned him a fine, says the Turks should thank Brazil for helping them get into the last 16 in the first place.

“I think they’re happy with us because we helped them qualify by beating Costa Rica,” he said.

“If we had drawn or lost that game then Costa Rica would have qualified instead. I don’t think they’re at all upset with Brazil. They have to be grateful to us.”

Brazil beat Turkey 2-1 in their opening Group C clash, their winner coming from a late and controversial penalty awarded for a foul which appeared to take place outside the penalty area.

Turkey, who complained bitterly afterwards, finished with nine men after having two sent off. Unsal was dismissed for kicking the ball at Rivaldo when he went over to take a corner.

Although the ball hit Rivaldo’s legs, the Barcelona player keeled over clutching his face, boos echoed around the stadium as the farce was replayed on the big screen.

Since then, the World Cup has been littered with incidents of play-acting but none has attracted the same degree of scandal and outrage.

Rivaldo predicted another even by John Bruce match.

“I don’t think either side has an advantage. This is another game,” he said. Meanwhile, Ronaldo, who is fighting to shake off an injury to his left thigh in time for Wednesday’s semi-final, said yesterday that he was more tired than his team mates.

“I went two years without playing and, now that we have played a lot of games in a short space of time, I’m more tired than the others,” he said.

It was the first time he admitted he was feeling the rigours of Brazil’s campaign, having kept quiet on the matter when talking to Brazilian media. Ronaldo has been plagued by injuries in the last two-and-a-half years, undergoing two operations on his right knee and then suffering three muscular injuries in quick succession.

He played only a handful of games for his Italian club Inter Milan last season and Brazil’s friendly against Yugoslavia in March was his first interna-At the World Cup, he has played five games in 16 days and has surpassed expectations by scoring five goals.

But he went off during the second half of Friday’s 2-1 win over England because of the pain in his thigh after failing to score in a game for the first time at the World Cup.

Earlier on Sunday, team doctor Jose Luis Runco refused to guarantee that the twice FIFA world footballer of the year would play against the Turks. Luizao will replace Ronaldo if he cannot play against the Turks.

Brazil will definitely be without Ronaldinho against Turkey after his red card against England. But he said whoever replaced the Paris St Germain player would also do well.

“We were playing very well together, but another player will come in and do what Ronaldinho was doing,” he said. “It’s been a good World Cup with a lot of surprises and great goals.”