Waste of talent, genius or over-rated?

[IanTheRed]

If anyone could name the best players in the world, 4 years ago Rivaldo would probably have been in it. After the World Cup in Japan two Brazilian careers took entirely different directions - Ronaldiho suddely took off from being a relative unknown at PSV and his teammate Rivaldo's career dived as quickly as he did at the corner flag. Three of those four years have been spent in Scotland...sorry, Greece (same difference)...in pre-retirement at the age of 31.

Maybe I'm being harsh - the guy was a great player and won the CL & World Cup (Djimi Traore & Bernard Diomede have both got one respectively mind), but did he really realise his potential? Maybe my memory has been wiped, but I don't remember the player that the media built him up to be. Was he that good?


Brazilian playmaker Rivaldo has announced he will retire at the end of the coming season.

The 34-year-old attacking midfielder won the World Cup in 2002, but has been playing for the last two seasons in the Greek Alpha Ethniki for Olympiakos.

He has added to his already glittering trophy cabinet over the last two terms with two Greek cups and two championships domestically, but has now told a sports paper in the country that he is ready to hang up his boots.

"I have already made up my mind. This is going to be my last season as a footballer. I want to finish my career with Olympiakos' shirt," he told Potathlitis.

"I want to do something great next season and then I will go to Brazil to get some rest, but I assure everyone that this doesn't mean that I am not going to try my best in my last season as a footballer of Olympiakos.

"I want to achieve something more with Olympiakos and I hope that the other players and I can make it. This is how I want to leave Olympiakos and the football fields."

Rivaldo started out as a professional at the age of 16 in 1989 with Santa Cruz, and he moved around Brazil before winning a transfer to Deportivo La Coruna in 1996.

He was named the World and European Footballer of the Year in 1999 when at Barcelona, and then won the UEFA Champions League with Milan in 2003 and make an impact on the European stage again last season.

[MrMichael]

TBH that dive he took at the last world cup will always sully his reputation in my eyes. I always thought he was very good, but not quite THAT good... I remember the UEFA cup games we had against Barca in the treble season and he was fantastic... but they never scored all tie. IMO not one of the all time greats, but an excellent player in his prime nonetheless...

[scully]

I loved that moment where he was about to shoot for goal, what should have been a terrifying moment with one of the world's best about to destroy us, and Hyypia just casually kicked the ball away from him. "That's the way to do it, Sami!" Hansen yelled in the commentary box.

It was also funny when Rivaldo, considering a move there, turned up at Bolton - wearing a flat cap!

I think that face-clutching dive at the corner flag sullied his reputation in just about everybody's eyes - you really do hardly hear about him these days.

[MrMichael]

Still scored against us for Olympiakos in THAT game if my memory serves correct. Cracking free kick. You're right though, I think that incident in the WC was probably the defining moment of his career. I hope people don't think of Zidane the same way in future, unlike Rivaldo he really was one of the greats

[scarface]

I must say hed been one of my fave players before he moved to olympiacos! awsome passing and a lightning shot and vision second to none! I will always remember him for the goal he scored for barca against deportivo on the last day of the season with barca needing to win to get into champs league, chesting the ball in the air outside the box and producing an overhead kick as good as trevor sinclairs to win the game! in my eyes pure class!

[knockers]

I remember that goal! wasn't it the 3rd goal in a hat-trick??? He was a class player at Barca, he basically dragged an average Barca side for a few years. I would of loved him to come to Liverpool but he was getting old by the time we had the chance to sign him.

[scarface]

yea your right it was a hat-trick! only down side to him was he was very dissruptive! similar to ronaldinho only trained when he wanted!

[scully]

You're right though, I think that incident in the WC was probably the defining moment of his career. I hope people don't think of Zidane the same way in future, unlike Rivaldo he really was one of the greats

It's definitely different with Zidane. What Rivaldo did was the sort of slimy blatant cheating that is ruining the game and makes people hate anyone who indulges in it. What Zidane did, though stupid, was nevertheless a more understandable act in comparison - reacting to someone who was doing his own version of slimy cheating, verbal abuse. Zidane acted the same way many people would if anyone deeply insulted them like that. Mattarazzi was doubly slimy as this was the final game of one of the all-time greats, someone who deserved to be treated with respect.

[scarface]

You cant expect a former blueshite to have any common decency! but yea i do agree with you what zidan did was dissgraceful but at least he was up front about it and did it in clear view balls out!

[MrMichael]

Maybe.

Materatzzi is undoubtedly a slime-ball, but I don't know. It was just such a remarkably stupid thing for such a great player to do at that time. I think he thought the officials weren't looking and he'd get away with it. Didn't care about being banned after. As some of the others have said, Rivaldo was amazing at one point, but thats not what we necessarily remember first about him. If he hadn't done that and France'd gone on to win Zidane might well have been counted as one of the best of all time. I'm terribly afraid he won't be as much in due course because of that one moment of madness, however much he deserves to be....

[scully]

He had his balls out?!!! I must have seen the censored version.

[scarface]

yea did you not see them they were on his forehead either side if his dick!