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Ronaldo had convulsions before game
Posted: Monday July 13, 1998 04:48 PM
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Ronaldo had a half-minute's worth of convulsions just a few hours before the final (AP) |
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AP) --
Ronaldo was stricken with convulsions for a half-minute just hours before
Brazil played France in the
World Cup final, the team's doctor said Monday.
The 21-year-old soccer star was feeling "emotional stress" before the game,
Dr. Lidio Toledo said from Paris. He added that he took Ronaldo to the
hospital for a battery of tests that included an electrocardiogram.
Ronaldo, whose poor performance was among the reasons for his team's 3-0
loss Sunday, said on TV Globo News that after the convulsions he went to
sleep and "woke up with pains all over my body."
"It was something real bad that I had never before felt in my whole life. I
really felt bad. I had a headache, my stomach pained", he told the Rio de
Janeiro newspaper O Globo.
But he said he eventually felt normal again and thought he could play.
Coach Mario Zagallo confirmed that Ronaldo came to the stadium before the
game and asked to play. Zagallo initially did not have Ronaldo in the
starting lineup. Ronaldo also was ailing with knee and ankle problems.
"I kept thinking, `Should I play him or not?"' Zagallo said. "We were very
apathetic, and even with him in, the group already was affected."
Soccer great Pele said Sunday night that Ronaldo should not have been on
the field.
"What surprised me most is that he went on to play even in the second
half," he said.
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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