2026 FIFA World Cup Countdown: Rivaldo Plays the Pantomime Villain

57 Days to Go: Rivaldo Manipulates the Numbers

The 2002 World Cup is remembered for so many things – South Korea's and Turkey’s fairytale runs to the semi-finals, that refereeing performance from Byron Mendoza, Ronaldinho’s free kick against England, and much more.

However, nothing would be better remembered than the performances of Brazil. Led by the devastating pairing of Ronaldo Nazário and Rivaldo, the Seleção trampled their way to the Jules Rimet Trophy, winning all seven games and netting 18 times in the process.

It must be said that their run wasn’t without unneeded attention – Ronaldinho was sent off in the quarterfinals against England for a brutal stamp on Danny Mills, and Ronaldo’s fitness was constantly questioned, leading to the centre forward getting his iconic triangle haircut in a bid to distract the media.

Brasil x Bélgica, Copa do Mundo de 2002

Passe de Ronaldinho, finalização de Rivaldo. Icônico.pic.twitter.com/55BR4kAbeg

— Curiosidades Brasil (@CuriosidadesBRL) March 27, 2026

However, without doubt the most controversial moment of their campaign came in the semi-finals, when Rivaldo resorted to one of the most blatant uses of the dark arts in football history.

Rapid Rivaldo

The group stages exemplified just how far ahead of their competitors Brazil were. With an unbelievably strong squad which, outside their attackers, included Kaka, Roberto Carlos, Juninho and Gilberto Silva, they were by far the best team at the tournament in terms of quality.

But as is usually the case, it was the attackers who stole all of the limelight, and both Rivaldo and Ronaldo took that to a new level. After three group stage games, the two had already netted seven between them, with both becoming the first players to score in all three group games since Gerd Müller in 1970.

They were absolutely unstoppable – poachers' finishes, beautiful team goals, and individual brilliance – the goals could come from absolutely anywhere, and every side that was pitched against the iconic yellow jersey quickly found this out the hard way.

The best players in the world (1991-1999):

🥇 1991 Lothar Matthäus 🇩🇪
🥇 1992 Marco van Basten 🇳🇱
🥇 1993 Roberto Baggio 🇮🇹
🥇 1994 Romário 🇧🇷
🥇 1995 George Weah 🇱🇷
🥇 1996 Ronaldo 🇧🇷
🥇 1997 Ronaldo 🇧🇷
🥇 1998 Zidane 🇫🇷
🥇 1999 Rivaldo 🇧🇷 pic.twitter.com/EvjOR6VV13

— Football Tweet ⚽ (@Footballtweet) June 15, 2022

Rivaldo, who had grown up playing in the inhumanely poor favelas of Brazil, was living his dream. Coming from a virtually nonexistent background to being one of the top three players in the world, he was a universally popular figure heading into the Japan and South Korea World Cup … until the opening game.

We all know that present-day Brazilian stars are more than happy to resort to a bit of sh*thousery every now and again and, while the stars of yesteryear are worshipped in a fashion which suggests a righteous lifestyle, they were in fact very cut from the same cloth.

In the opening game, when Brazil faced a young up-and-coming Turkey, this was seen to full effect, and the man on the spot was the 1999 Ballon d’Or winner, who was about to commit one of the most dishonest moments in World Cup history.

And The Oscar Goes Too …

In added time, the game had already seen enough drama for one day.

The game itself was thoroughly entertaining – Turkey, surviving a first-half Brazil onslaught, had taken a shock lead seconds before the halftime whistle when Hasan Şaş blasted home from close range.

Meanwhile, down the other end, Rivaldo was Brazil's main threat and had seen a number of efforts have to be well dealt with by Turkish stopper Rustu Recber. Eventually though, the Brazilian’s quality shone through, and a world-class cross courtesy of Rivaldo’s left boot was converted by Ronaldo just five minutes after the restart, levelling the scoreline.

For much of the remainder of the game, the two sides cancelled each other out – Turkey defended stoutly, while Brazil went hammer and tong in attack with little to reward their efforts.

Ronaldo'nun Brezilya'yı 2002 Dünya Kupası finaline taşıyan golü. 🤯🔥 pic.twitter.com/ed1yg5o4kP

— 🇹🇷 Transfer Haberleri ⚒ (@Transferhaber6) April 1, 2026

It looked for all the world like the game would end level, barring some form of divine intervention. However, with five minutes of normal time remaining, this arrived in the form of referee Kim-Young Joo, who would make two horrendous decisions within 10 minutes of each other.

The first was controversial enough – in the 86th minute, with Luizao threaded through on goal, Aplay Ozalan was left with no choice but to bring down the Brazilian substitute just outside, preventing a clear goalscoring opportunity. The red card was never in question – it was a necessary act that could well have saved his side a point.

However, for reasons known only to him, Kim-Young Joo pointed to the penalty spot, although the foul had clearly occurred a couple of yards outside the box. Turkey were outraged at the injustice, and there was no shortage of players in the referee's face immediately after the incident. However, when the smoke cleared, it was Rivaldo who was on the spot to convert, handing Brazil a late lead against 10 men.

It was certainly an injustice to Turkey, but in fairness, Brazil deserved their lead – they had fought tooth and nail to take it.

However, in the fourth minute of added time, the referee went from disliked to despised, and Rivaldo went from fun-sponge to downright villainous as he waited for a ball to be given to him for a corner kick.

Earning the corner himself, Rivaldo had left the ball on the field of play on his walk to the corner flag in a classic time-wasting measure. Turkish left-back Hakan Unsal was having none of it, however, and ran over to kick it back to Rivaldo.

🌎🏆 2026 FIFA World Cup Countdown

Day 43 of 100: The Worst Sh*thousery in World Cup History

Everyone knows that Rivaldo was a world-class player back in the late 90s and early 2000s – his left peg could open a pickle jar from 50 yards.

But did you know that he was also a… pic.twitter.com/LFBd2teq5F

— Football Park (@FP_CentreCircle) April 17, 2026

It must be said he kicked it a lot harder than necessary, with the ball arriving at Rivaldo in the air and quickly. However, it hit him marginally above the knee, so everyone was surprised when the Brazilian went to ground holding his face in one of the most shameless acts of diving ever seen.

Despite going down virtually on top of the linesman, the official had failed to notice that it had not in fact hit him in the knee, as there was no suggestion to referee Young-Joo that Rivaldo was simulating.

It became clear that the man in the middle had also not seen where the ball had struck the Brazilian winger, and going only off the reaction of the man rolling around on the floor, he brandished his second red card of the game after showing UIsan a second yellow card for the offence.

It was the final nail in the coffin for Turkey, who with nine men left on the field, stood no chance of launching a comeback. Brazil won the game 2-1 and had started their eventually victorious World Cup campaign with a win.

Naturally though, much of the post-match discussion revolved around Rivaldo’s sh*thousery, the likes of which had very rarely been seen at the World Cup beforehand. Typically seen as a tournament where sportsmanship is promoted above all else, he was condemned for his unsporting behaviour and became a somewhat hated figure overnight.

However, he clearly didn’t mind not scoring in all of Brazil's next four games; before letting Ronaldo do the work in the semi-final (once again against Turkey) and the final, he finished the tournament with five goals to his name, enough to fast-track him into the team of the tournament.

He may have been less popular coming out of the tournament than when he went into it, but with a World Cup winners' medal dangling around his neck, we doubt he minded that much …