Self-belief has put Ronaldo back on top- Scolari

Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari claims Ronaldo’s self-belief is the reason why the player known as ‘The Phenomenon’ has again taken the lead role in this World Cup.

After scoring the winner against Turkey to set Brazil up for tomorrow’s final with Germany at the Yokohama International Stadium, Ronaldo proclaimed: ‘‘The nightmare is over.’’

It was a tournament-leading sixth goal for a relaxed and confident Ronaldo, who has spent the majority of the last two years on the sidelines recovering from what could have been two career-ending knee injuries.

But Ronaldo has bravely fought his way back, although he still appears a shadow of the sensational player which graced the 1998 World Cup, with the obvious exception of the final against France when he apparently suffered a seizure before kick off.

If Ronaldo has something to prove, then he is not saying, but the toothy smile has never been far away as the 25-year-old appears to be at ease with himself and the rest of the world.

‘‘I share Ronaldo’s happiness and the joy he is showing, but I cannot compare how he is now to how he was in ’98 because I was not with him, nor did I work with him,’’ said Scolari.

‘‘But I am certainly proud and honoured to see him playing so professionally. He is doing everything on the pitch that we are asking of him.

‘‘The reasons for this is that he first followed the instructions of our team doctor throughout the entire period of his recovery from injury.

‘‘Secondly, during what was a very traumatic time for him, he then learned to trust himself. When he did that, the hard work and the belief followed. My job was then to open the door for him, which I did do.

‘‘I gave Ronaldo the opportunity of playing here at the World Cup, and now he is doing his job.’’

As the saying goes, as one door opens another closes, and the latter is what has happened to Juninho for after figuring prominently in the group stages, he has not played a minute for Brazil since the knockout phase began.

The former Middlesbrough midfielder, now with Brazilian club side Flamengo, has been the victim of a tactical switch by Scolari as the all-out attacking policy in the opening three matches has been replaced with a slightly more defensive attitude.

‘‘Juninho brought to the team the opportunity of playing in a totally different way to what people expected of us,’’ explained Scolari.

‘‘He helped us in our group matches to achieve the victories we needed, and in those games we had the opportunity to try systems and tactics and Juninho was helpful to us.

‘‘But he is not a defensive player, and once we entered the knockout phase we could no longer take risks.

‘‘We had to have a more consistent system, and as our opponents were all European, it meant I could not use Juninho as I did in the first round. But what he did when he played made me very happy.’’

Scolari, who will find himself out of a job on Monday whether he wins or loses the World Cup final as his contract expires, has hinted he would like to coach in Italy.

There is no suggestion Scolari, who has coached Gremio, Palmeiras and Cruzeiro in Brazil, will continue to remain in charge of the national side after the tournament.

Instead, the prospect of taking over the reins at a Serie A team is tempting as he said: ‘‘I do want to coach an Italian team because I would like to add Brazilian flair and style to Italian football. It would be an honour and a challenge.’’