00:00After the round of 16, the focus fell back on defending champions Brazil.
00:05In the same round, the world's best player Ronaldo had exploded with two goals in a 4-1 defeat of
00:11Chile.
00:13Another goal in the semi-final against Netherlands took his total for the tournament to four,
00:18and as the reigning Ballon d'Or winner and World Player of the Year,
00:21the 22-year-old was on his way to fulfilling what many had felt was his destiny.
00:27But the pressure on such a young player was immense and Ronaldo cracked.
00:34Just after lunch on the day of the final against France, he suffered a convulsive fit.
00:40His roommate Roberto Carlos screamed for help,
00:44and others including defender Sampaio rushed to his aid, preventing him from swallowing his tongue.
00:51Ronaldo was left off the team sheet, but after he begged coach Mario Zagallo to play,
00:56he was reinstated, many believe under pressure from sponsors.
01:03But he was a shadow of himself, having little impact on the contest,
01:07as his equivalent in the France team asserted his authority.
01:13As host nation, France would have been under the microscope anyway,
01:18but an embarrassing capitulation in the final qualifying stages for the 1994 World Cup intensified the pressure.
01:28Gérard Houllier had been sacked as coach, replaced by his assistant Aimé Jacquet,
01:34who in the minds of the French media carried baggage from the 1994 debacle.
01:40For Jacquet, there was only one way to go.
01:43Invest in youth and start again.
01:47Fortunately for him and for France,
01:49a young midfielder of Algerian descent was crying out for selection.
01:55Zinedine Zidane made his international debut in August 1994 at the age of 22.
02:03Five months later, an incident in England seemed initially to be a disaster for France's national team.
02:10Instead, it was the making of their surprising success.
02:14Eric Cantona assaulted a spectator in the Premier League,
02:17was banned for the rest of the season,
02:20and Jacquet stripped him of the French captaincy.
02:25Given his head, Zidane took over as the national team's playmaker,
02:28and the brilliant but abrasive and disruptive Cantona never played for his country again.
02:35Jacquet also transitioned winger David Ginola and striker Jean-Pierre Papin out of the side.
02:43And closer to the World Cup introduced youngsters Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira and David Trezeguet.
02:54The French media were skeptical, many calling for the coach to be dumped.
02:58But with a fresh dynamic, the team exceeded all expectations,
03:03bounding through the group stage with nine goals to one.
03:07But a 2-1 win against Croatia in the semi-final
03:11was not enough to change the perception that Brazil would breeze to victory in the final.
03:19But Jacquet had discussed with Zidane a weakness in Brazil's defense at set pieces,
03:24and Zidane exploited it.
03:2627 minutes into the final, he headed his first into the net from a corner kick,
03:31and 19 minutes later, another corner kick, another header, another goal.
03:38With Ronaldo unable to raise a challenge,
03:41and the rest of the Brazilian team unable to step up,
03:44the French team breezed to an unlikely victory.
03:48Emmanuel Petit's 93rd-minute goal providing a 3-0 scoreline,
03:52the most decisive victory in any World Cup final.
03:57Zidane was man of the match,
03:59and while his best football was still ahead of him,
04:01it established him as the game's glamour star,
04:04heading into the new millennium.
04:07Of 98's other giant personalities,
04:10Ronaldo too would eventually fulfill his destiny.
04:14David Beckham's career would blossom going on to riches,
04:18celebrity, and ultimately forgiveness from England fans.
04:22Gaz's story was not so happy.
04:25But that's the nature of sport.
04:27It's the contrast between triumph and despair,
04:30which makes football's greatest stage such intriguing theatre.
04:32which makes football's greatest stage such intriguing theatre.
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