Brazil throw weight behind labouring Ronaldo

BRAZIL WILL thrust under-fire striker Ronaldo straight back into World Cup action on the premise that he can’t perform any worse than he did against Croatia.

Head coach Carlos Alberto Parreira has called for support to be shown to the 29-year-old, who, four years ago, fired eight goals to win the World Cup’s Golden Boot.

But it is a call unlikely to be heeded in many quarters, with Ronaldo’s laboured performance against Croatia on Tuesday highlighted as one cause for the world champions’ sub-standard display.

So unconvincing was the Real Madrid striker, that Parreira hauled him off after 69 minutes, replacing him with club-mate Robinho.

But Ronaldo has been told he will start tomorrow’s Group F match against Australia in Munich — a vote of confidence and one the coach will expect the frontman to respond to.

He trained as normal yesterday, scoring a goal in an inter-squad match. Ronaldo looked sharp and impressed the watching coach.

“Ronaldo is a big player and he can make a difference. He is very important for the Brazil national team,” said Parreira.

“We are certain that he will improve. We are giving Ronaldo the ultimate opportunity to improve.”

The principal criticism of Ronaldo has been that he looks overweight, and his movement against Croatia, in a match in which Brazil scrambled a 1-0 victory, was even the subject of implied criticism from team-mate Kaka.

“A little more movement from him would be ideal,” said Kaka after the match in which his fine goal saw off the Europeans’ challenge.

Parreira is trusting Ronaldo, basing his judgement on the fact he has rarely let his country down in the past, illness aside.

“We have to believe in Ronaldo that he will play better,” said Parreira. “I believe in his talent.”

The issue of Ronaldo’s fitness and general health has dominated the Brazil camp this week. He even underwent hospital tests on Wednesday evening after complaining of headaches and dizziness, a hark back to the 1998 World Cup final when Ronaldo suffered similar problems.

This time he was taken to a clinic in Frankfurt for a check-up but was given the all-clear by medical staff.

“In the next game I hope to do things a bit better,” he said. A strong Ronaldo performance against Australia would take heat off player and coach, and remove a major problem. To drop Ronaldo might seem unthinkable, but another sloppy showing might force Parreira to react.

Brazil are not taking victory for granted, with Parreira aware that any team coached by Dutchman Guus Hiddink — who took South Korea to the 2002 semi-finals — will be well prepared.

“He is a wonderful coach,” said Parreira. “I have already invited him to Brazil to take part in a national football forum at the end of the year. I respect him a lot. He did wonderful work with the Koreans. He is a wonderful coach. I have no doubt about it.”

With universal agreement that the official FIFA matchball is so light it is excessively difficult for goalkeepers to read, Ronaldinho has called for a shoot-on-sight policy from the Brazilians which, given their vast array of attacking options, presents a potential nightmare for Australia keeper Mark Schwarzer.

“This ball is great for forwards,” said Ronaldinho with a trademark toothy smile. “It is very hard for the goalkeepers because it is so light and it moves around a lot.

“The best thing we can do is to keep shooting from long range.”