On June 30, 2002, Brazil and Germany faced off to do battle in the FIFA World Cup final. Germany were gunning for a 4th title while Brazil had the chance to win their 5th crown.
But inside the war was another battle, the result of which would determine the fate of the two teams. It was a battle between two individuals, masters in their fields and legends in their own right.
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Ronaldo and Oliver Kahn - two individuals who were bound to clash because of their roles of striker and keeper respectively. Till the final Ronaldo had scored 6 goals in as many games, while in the same number of matches Kahn had only conceded one.
Kahn was on top his game from the start. Some booming shots came from Ronaldo but the German keeper could not be breached. By the end of the first half the battle had heated up, but Kahn was holding his ground.?
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Then came the breakthrough in the second half. Rivaldo's powerful shot was stopped by Kahn but he fumbled the ball. That was the opening Ronaldo was waiting for and he hammered it into the net. Brazil 1 Germany 0. But Ronaldo was not done yet. The next goal came when he intercepted a pass from the side and fired it past Kahn. The diving keeper was no match for the speed of the ball and Brazil's lead was doubled.
When the final whistle sounded, the score was 2-0. Both goals to Ronaldo to take his tally yo 8 in 7 games. Kahn was easily the best keeper of the tournament with just 3 goals conceded in 7 matches. But that day it was Ronaldo who won the battle, Brazil who won the war. For Ronaldo, it was redemption after his poor show in the 1998 final vs France. For Kahn it was a case of so near and yet so far. But this was one battle which determined the final outcome and remains part of FIFA World Cup folklore.?