Rivaldo - International Career

International Career

In 1993, he debuted for the Brazilian national football team, scoring the only goal in a friendly match against Mexico.

He was selected to represent Brazil at the 1996 Summer Olympics. The Brazilian team won the bronze medal, but Rivaldo was made the scape-goat for Brazil's semi-final defeat to Nigeria, and was excluded from the Brazilian national team by national team manager Mario Zagallo.

Rivaldo returned to the Brazilian national team for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, where he scored three goals, including two in the 3–2 quarter-final win against Denmark. Rivaldo had not been a part of the triumphant Brazilian team at the 1997 Copa América tournament, but was a key player in the successful defence of that title at the 1999 Copa América. Rivaldo earned himself the distinction as top scorer of the tournament with five goals, one being the equaliser from a trademark free-kick in a 2–1 win over Argentina in the quarter-finals, and two in the 3–0 victory over Uruguay in the final. He was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament.

Rivaldo had been the centre of criticism when Brazil did not win tournaments, ever since the 1996 Olympics, as he was said to be saving his best form for his club team. During the 2002 World Cup qualifying games, Brazil's poor form saw the team being booed by the Brazilian crowds, and in the 1–0 win against Colombia in November 2000, Rivaldo was booed so heavily that he threatened to retire from playing for his country.

He was at the centre of numerous tugs of war between Barcelona and the Brazilian national team. In one incident in the summer of 2001, Rivaldo had to play an exhibition match for Brazil against Panama, commute to Poland to play a match for Barcelona, and then return to Brazil for a qualifying match against Paraguay, all within ten days.

The zenith of his national team career came at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, hosted in South Korea and Japan. He scored in the first five games for Brazil. Brazilian striker Ronaldo had done so for four matches, allowing journalists to question whether there was any rivalry between the two athletes. Rivaldo denied this, insisting that all he wanted was to be the world champion. His spectacular goal against Belgium in the second round prompted Belgian coach Robert Waseige to name Rivaldo as the deciding factor. Brazilian midfielder Ronaldinho helped Rivaldo score a crucial goal in the 2–1 win over England in the quarterfinals. Brazil eventually met Germany in the final, and went on to win the tournament with a 2–0 victory in the final. Both Ronaldo goals came from trademark Rivaldo plays, as both Rivaldo and Brazil made amends for the 1998 FIFA World Cup Final loss to France. Rivaldo was named by coach Luiz Felipe Scolari as the best player of the tournament.

His early performance at the tournament was spoiled by his play-acting in the group match against Turkey. In the closing stages of the match, with the ball out of play, Turkish defender Hakan Ünsal kicked a ball towards Rivaldo, who was waiting at the corner flag. The ball struck his thigh, but Rivaldo fell to the ground clutching his face. The referee sent the Turkish player off with a second yellow card. After a video review, Rivaldo was fined 11,670 Swiss Francs by FIFA, 1,670 of which were for "costs". His last cap was on 19 November 2003 in Curitiba in a 3–3 draw with Uruguay. He played only 11 minutes, coming on as a substitute for Luís Fabiano in the 79th minute. He had scored his last goal just 3 days earlier from the penalty spot in a 1–1 draw with Peru.

Rivaldo never officially retired from International duty, contrary to popular thought. Due to being benched through injury and a fragile relationship with Milan manager, where Rui Costa was constantly preferred, he was deemed unfit and only managed short, cameo appearances for his last few caps. He was then dropped completely, and after moving to Olympiacos in 2004, a return always seemed unlikely. In his time with the Brazilian Squad, he won 50 games, drawing and losing 12. With a win percentage of 75%, he scored 0.47 goals per game.