Ronaldo was feared dead

“There was general alarm with yells and shouts which woke up all the players, who were in the middle of their siesta,” hotel director Paul Chevalier told France Info Radio Station.

“For a time we heard people saying `he’s dead, dead, dead’, Chevalier added. “It created a terrible atmosphere around the team which was clearly demonstrated later on the pitch.” France beat Brazil 3-0 in the final.The 21-year old striker said later he had feared for his life during the brief fit. Ronaldo reportedly swallowed his tongue during the convulsions.He was taken to hospital for checks and later joined the Brazil squad at the Stade de France. He was controversially included in the team for the final, after initially beingomitted, but failed to produce anything like his normal form.

“I suppose Ronaldo’s nerves broke. He has been under dreadful pressure and he is young,” Chevalier said.

Normally when the Brazilians left for their matches there was a party atmosphere with singing and music, but the mood before Sunday’s final was very different.

“When they left the hotel at six or 6.30 for the Stade de France there was complete silence on the bus and we who knew them personally understood at that moment that there was no cohesion and they had lost the Cup,” Chevalier said.

Brazil had been based in the Chateau de La Grande Romanie Hotel in the village of Lesigny since May 22.

Speculations galore

RIO DE JANEIRO: Was Ronaldo poisoned? Or was it nothing more than a row with the girlfriend? Maybe it was both.

Either way, conspiracy theorists are having a field day in Brazil over the `mystery’ of Ronaldo’s poor performance in the World Cup final, pointing their fingers at anything apart from simple humanfallibility.

Following the Brazilian striker’s own revelation in a television interview that he suffered “convulsions” prior to Sunday’s final, the national press here have gone into speculative overdrive.

Their efforts have been fuelled by rumours of rifts within the team and last minute changes to the team list, from which the star forward was initially scratched.

Among the more bizarre theories is the suggestion that Ronaldo was poisoned, while some say problems with his love life were to blame.

The most eye-grabbing headline was run on page one of the sporting newspaper Rio.

“He’s dead!” the headline screamed, attributing the words to Ronaldo’s roommate Carlos after he witnessed the striker’s `fit’ and ran in search of a doctor.

Doctors have been prominent in the media post-mortem, with television channels calling in experts to assess Ronaldo’s physical condition as he walked down the steps of the plane when the Brazilian team returned home yesterday.

A crowd of around 3,000,compared to the 40,000 that had assembled four years ago, were on hand to greet the France 98 runners-up.

Meanwhile, Massimo Moratti, chairman of Ronaldo’s Italian club, inter Milan, waded into the controversy, accusing the Brazilian authorities of incompetence and endangering his star asset.

“The Brazilian Federation has handled this matter in an absurd fashion,” Moratii said, complaining that Inter Milan had still to receive any clarification regarding Ronaldo’s condition.

“Given the situation, I think it was a serious mistake to play Ronaldo. I don’t know exactly what happened, but their primary concern should have been Ronaldo the man, rather than Ronaldo the player. My hope now is that Ronaldo will be able to take a proper rest, because he has been subjected to enormous pressure,” Moratii said.