Ronaldo squares the rocky cycle for Brazil  Ronaldo 67 79
Nothing became the 2002 World Cup so much as its ending. A
tournament full of the unexpected was won by the team that
ultimately most people fancied and in a way that practically
everybody wanted.  Brazil are world champions for a fifth time
because, having improved with each game once they reached the
knock-out stage, they saved the best till last. And they needed
it.  Germany's fast, physical challenge was laced with
sufficient quality to make fresh demands of Luiz Felipe Scolari
and Brazil's response to the challenge produced the best World
Cup final since the West Germans lost 3-2 to Argentina in Mexico
City in 1986. It seems to be Germany's lot to be better
remembered for the way they lose World Cup finals rather than
win them.  Naturally the bulk of the attention at the final
whistle was drawn to Ronaldo, who scored both the Brazilian
goals to complete a comeback that in the world of fiction would
have been rejected as too corny a tale to be fea