The 2006 World Cup held in Germany between 9 June to 9 July went down in history as one of Brazil’s most disappointing outings, and famous footballer Ronaldinho Gaucho, who played for Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain, says his compatriot Roberto Carlos was responsible for their exit.
France defeated Brazil 1-0 in the quarter-finals but eventually succumbed 1-1 (5-3) to a superior firepower from Germany in the finals.
Ronaldinho’s memory of the 18th quadrennial global football tournament is one that reminds him that football is no respecter of persons, having watched Henry Thierry drive in the goal that ended Brazil’s World Cup dreams in 2006.
At that time, Carlos was blasted by football pundits but he said the error was a flop from the tactics employed by Brazil.
Carlos, a retired footballer who played as a left-winger for Real Madrid and Inter Milan, said he was in the right position but claimed the tactics let them down.
Answering a question from ESPN, Ronaldinho insisted someone was responsible for the mistake and no other player deserved blame more than Carlos.
“Still I ask myself what was Roberto Carlos doing in that move,” he said, referring to the defender’s positioning which left Thierry unmarked a few seconds before the France international footballer scored.
Italy won the tournament (their fourth World Cup title) after recording 1-1 in extra time and eventually winning 5–3 in a penalty shoot-out.
Germany’s Miroslav Klose scored five goals to claim the Golden Boot and the record was a lowest total to win the prize since 1962. Brazil got third place after a 3-1 bashing of Portugal.
No other player scored more than three goals at the 2006 World Cup and no footballer from the winning Italian squad scored more than two goals, though ten different players had scored for the team to equal France’s record in 1982 for the most goalscorers from any one team.
