"We did our best, but we didn't have Ricardo." At the press conference after the match, Lussenberg said helplessly.
"Pereira did a great job. He called in Ricardo against the pressure and injected fresh blood into the Brazilian team. But if I am, I will give Ricardo more playing time." In the 2000 Olympics After losing to Cameroon, then Lusenberg, the then national team coach, fell into a series of scandals such as orbital, tax evasion, misreporting of age, and even collecting benefits from players and their agents selected for the national team. Cruzeiro's success in the season made him re-energized again and pointed up.
"I think Ricardo's best position is not the forward, but the winger. He has very fast speed and excellent technology. His inline shot is very threatening. Roxas misplaced him. Position. "
Roxas countered mercilessly: "Luzenberg has forgotten that he is not São Paulo's coach, and my team does not need him to point."
"In this victory, Ricardo did make a lot of contributions, but we cannot ignore the contributions of other players. Football is a game of 11 people, and one person cannot win the game."
"There is no need to repeat it. Ricardo is the core of Brazil's future. He and Ronaldo, Adriano, Ronaldinho and Kaka will support Brazil in the next ten years. I will try to be as careful as possible. Using him will not make him too tired and hurt. "
After winning this game, Roxas gave the team two days off to allow the players to fully relax.
Ricardo also reduced some training, after all, after more than half a season of hard work, his muscles have reached the limit of fatigue, and now is the time when he is most vulnerable to injury.
Fortunately, he is still a rich man now, so he hired a personal masseur at a high salary, and came to relax and massage him every day.
The masseur's technique was several times better than the team doctor's. In two days, he was washed away from fatigue and was a heroic man.
In the next few games, Sao Paulo played a triumph, Ricardo also scored or assisted in each game. São Paulo's points have been biting Cruzeiro tightly, waiting for Cruzeiro to make a mistake.
And after Cruzeiro was tied at home by flamenco, São Paulo defeated the Brazilian international team 4-2 away and finally reached the top, leading Cruzeiro two points ahead of the leaderboard. Ricardo contributed an assist to the team, but unfortunately his calf muscle was strained and he must leave for two weeks.
In mid-November, the national team assembled again, and Ricardo failed to be selected due to injuries. Also absent due to injuries were generals such as Ronaldo and Emerson.
On November 16, Barcelona and Porto played a friendly match. This game did not attract the attention of professionals and did not attract the attention of fans, but this is a moment that can be etched in history.
Messi, who was only 16 years old, played for the first time on behalf of the Barcelona first team and started his career.
The next day, the Brazilian team that lacked Ricardo and Ronaldo tied Peru 1: 1 away and was tied with Uruguay 3: 3 at home 3 days later.
Two wins and two draws in four games, this result is not bad, but still can not satisfy Brazilian fans.
The proud Brazilian considers himself the No. 1 in South America, and it is a shame not to qualify as a team leader!
There isn't much left in the Bundesliga, Cruzeiro is not in a state of weakness, but is struggling to grab points, and the pressure is all on São Paulo.
But São Paulo stubbornly withstood the pressure, and during the absence of Ricardo, he firmly held the advantage of 2 points.
In the 42nd round of the league, Cruzeiro finally fell behind. In that game, they lost to Juventus, who was in the relegation zone, away from the relegation zone with these 3 points.
And São Paulo's opponent is Victoria, who has no chance of being defeated in South America, and has no chance of relegation. In the end, he relied on Ricardo's score twice to win the opponent 5: 1 at home, widening the gap with Cruzeiro's points to 5 points. .
In this case, the ownership of the league championship has been basically determined.
In the next four rounds, São Paulo did not lose the chain, winning three games in a row, and harvested the 2003 season's Champions League in one round in advance.
The media spoke highly of Sao Paulo, especially praised the performance of Rojas leading the team in the first season, and the contributions of Ricardo and Fabiano to the team.
In the first 45 rounds of the league, São Paulo achieved 31 wins, 7 draws and 7 losses, with a good score of 100 points. He scored 109 goals and conceded 65 goals. It is well-deserved first in league attack.
Santos, who scored the second most goals, scored only 93 goals, the gap is very obvious.
São Paulo has also conceded the most goals in the top six teams, and this season there are no shortage of big scores. This is also ironic. Obviously Roxas is conservative in tactics, but he has so many goals and goals.
Of Sao Paulo's 103 goals, Ricardo's 34 goals accounted for nearly a third. Fabiano contributed 21 goals. The number of goals scored by the two together accounts for half of São Paulo's total goals.
What is particularly valuable is that Ricardo scored these 34 goals in just 35 appearances, and 4 of those 35 appearances came off the bench, showing how efficient his goals are.
In addition, Ricardo also contributed 17 assists. In the process of winning the championship in São Paulo, he can be said to have contributed greatly.
In the final round of St. Paul's home game against Ferguelen, this game has no meaning, and São Paulo sent all substitutes to the battle. The game has not yet started. The home team fans have celebrated in advance, and the game was once interrupted by fireworks thrown into the field.
Eventually, São Paulo and his opponent shook hands at 0: 0. When the referee rang the whistle at the end of the game, a large number of fans jumped off the stands and rushed forward to celebrate the championship with the players.
The Brazilian Football Association President and others have already come to the scene, and the championship trophy was awarded to São Paulo at the end of the game.
When Captain Cheney held up the trophy, the Morumby Stadium suddenly became an ocean of joy!
However, after this game, Sao Paulo's game this season is not over.
After 3 days, they will participate in the 24th Toyota Cup in Yokohama International Arena in Japan to challenge the European champion ac Milan!
Before heading to Japan, the Reims Sports Daily summarized Ricardo's season.
He made 9 appearances in the São Paulo State League, including 6 starts, scoring 12 goals 7 assists.
He made 35 appearances in Barcelona, including 31 starts, scoring 34 goals and 17 assists.
He played 9 times in the South American Liberator Cup, scored 13 goals and assisted 8 times.
Played 2 times in the Brazil Cup, including 1 start, 1 goal and 1 assist.
Played 4 times in the South American Cup, including 3 appearances in the starter, 2 goals and 3 assists.
So he played 59 games for São Paulo this season with 62 goals and 36 assists. This result has surpassed the 17-year-old Ronaldo when he played for Cruzeiro!
As soon as this dazzling record came out, it suddenly shocked countless eyes! Many people only knew that Ricardo was very good and very good, but they didn't know how much.
Now they know.
The best scorer in the Sao Paulo State League! South America Liberator Cup Top Shooter! Bajia top scorer! Ricardo is simply a walking goal machine!