The doctor ordered Ronaldo to play, says Zico

“We held a meeting in the afternoon and Dr Lidio said Ronaldo wasn’t in condition to play,” Zico said in a televised interview on Monday.

“When I got to the locker room, Ronaldo was standing there in game shorts (and) socks, told Lidio that he had played the entire Cup, exams hadn’t proven anything, and he was going to play.

“In a case like this, only one person could veto the player: The doctor. There was no command.”

Ronaldo was the star of the team, but he and Brazil played poorly in the final. Eight or nine players witnessed his unexplained convulsions hours before the match and were visibly shaken, Zico said.

“If it had happened the day before, I think the team would have recovered. But as it was on the same day, the group was divided. Leonardo, for example, kept asking if Ronaldo was in danger of dying.”

Zico, who played in the World Cups of 1978, ‘82 and ‘86 and led Rio’s Flamengo to the world club championship in 1982, is widely considered an eventual candidate for coach of Brazil.

The five-time World Cup champions underwent a renewal after its surprisingly poor showing at the 2006 Cup in Germany, but former star Dunga was named coach despite a lack of coaching experience.

Zico, who coached Japan at the ‘06 Cup, said he wouldn’t consider accepting the Brazil post until after he had coached in Europe. He currently is the coach of Turkey’s Fenerbahce.

Zico also criticised the decision by FC Barcelona’s Ronaldinho and AC Milan’s Kaka to skip the Copa America — which began on Tuesday in Venezuela — because they wanted a rest after the European season. “I don’t agree. The whole thing was badly conducted,” Zico said.