Ronaldo's collapse hours before the World Cup final highlights the new commercial pressures on players

By WENDELL STEAVENSON

hen a billion people tuned in to the prematch buildup for the World Cup final on July 12, they found the commentators and pundits in uproarious confusion. First Ronaldo wasn't playing and then he was. Ronaldo, it turned out, had suffered some kind of seizure only hours before the match. After hospital tests revealed nothing out of the ordinary, he rushed to the stadium, arriving 45 minutes before kickoff. Coach Mario Zagallo put him back on the starting roster, but his performance was dismal--along with that of the other Brazilians. The World Champions, their nerves shattered by the crisis, lost 3-0 to France. The rumors flew: Ronaldo had suffered a nervous attack; his fit was the result of cumulative painkillers he had been taking for a knee injury; Ronaldo had insisted on playing; Zagallo had forced him to play; the team was split on whether he should play or not. Whatever happened exactly, it was clear that at the most important moment of his life Ronaldo had either emotionally or physically buckled.

The World Cup is not just about football. Balanced on the talented toes of a potentially match-winning player is an increasing burden. At stake is his own future career, the pride of his nation and the expectations of his sponsors--in this case Nike. Ronaldo's poor performance cost more than Brazil's fifth World Cup trophy.

Companies hoping that the World Cup spotlight will also illuminate their own products are eager to ride the crest of publicity that billions of viewers provide. Consider that at the start of the World Cup way back in June, Adidas had managed to sell only 20% of its stock of French team shirts; by the time of France's success in the semifinals the shirts couldn't be bought for love nor money. Success means millions of dollars; failure is relegated to a historical footnote. The World Cup final may have been billed as France vs. Brazil, but it was also a match between Adidas and Nike.

Peter Mahrer, Head of Football at Adidas, concedes as much: "Football has become the global battlefield for brand leadership." Adidas has had a hand-in-glove relationship with the World Cup since its founder, Adi Dassler, sat on the German team bench as an equipment manager in the 1954 final against Hungary--which Germany won 3-2. In 1994 Adidas sponsored 10 teams out of the 24 competing in the U.S. while Nike sat on the sidelines. This year Nike signed up six, targeting football as the key to unlocking the sports leisure market outside the U.S. They paid $200 million over 10 years to sponsor the Brazilian team, they aggressively went after clubs in Europe and dozens of players and they made a deal with Ronaldo, reportedly worth $1 million a year, to wear their shoes.

The trouble with using teams and players as advertising vehicles is that it's a gamble. Ibrahim Ba, prominently featured in Nike's ad campaign this summer, never even made the French team. Adidas ran a huge billboard campaign in England which read "Historians, It's Spelled B-E-C-K-H-A-M," only to watch midfielder David Beckham nationally vilified for being sent off in England's match against Argentina. Adidas, founded in the European environment of tribal football, was careful to focus its marketing strategy locally. In France, the slogan was La Victoire Est En Nous--Victory is within us. In Germany the TV ads featured German players earnestly discussing teamwork. Nike's approach was more global. They ran worldwide an ad showing Ronaldo playing a friendly game of beach footie with Italy's Christian Vieri, Argentina's Hernan Crespo and Spain's Luis Enrique.

In the end, Adidas-France defeated Nike-Brazil and Adidas star Zinedine Zidane became a national hero by scoring two goals in the final. "To be honest, it was a dream story," says Mahrer. For Nike it was a nightmare. The scandal surrounding Ronaldo's inclusion in the Brazilian team exacerbated the general criticism of their hands-on involvement with the Brazilian team, which allows them to organize five Brazil matches a year. They had to issue statements denying rumors that they had insisted that Zagallo play Ronaldo at any cost. Already there is talk of canceling a Nike-sponsored tour of South Korea and Japan by the Brazilians in August.

Fortunes in football can turn on an ankle. While Zidane may never have to buy a drink again, in Rio last week Ronaldo, dogged by a marauding press, lashed out at a cameraman: "How long are you going to chase me? What kind of life is this?" He's only 21, and there are doubts about his health and mental welfare despite an impressive tournament in which he helped his country to the final with four goals. But in a couple of weeks he must gather his wits before returning to Italy to play for Inter Milan and earn the $35 million they have invested in him. There have been naysaying noises about the ratchetting levels of cash in football ever since the last World Cup, but right now Ronaldo's scare has everyone worried. It raises the question of whether commercial pressures will kill the goose that scores the golden goals.

--With Reporting by Bruce Crumley /Paris and Jack Epstein /Rio De Janeiro