Former AC Milan and Italy centre-back Alessandro Costacurta has confessed that a match against Brazil in 1997 served as a warning in his attempts to deal with Inter star Ronaldo.
The striker joined the Nerazzurri that summer after a stunning campaign with Barcelona, but Costacurta got a first glimpse of him as Italy took on Brazil in a friendly at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza in July, just weeks before Ronaldo signed.
“Twenty days before Ronaldo landed in Milan, we as a national team took on Brazil,” Costacurta claimed as he appeared on Italian television Sky Sport Italia yesterday.
“Alongside me was [Fabio] Cannavaro, [Paolo] Maldini, [Ciro] Ferrara and apart from me, the other three were good players.
“Us Italian defenders had never spent so much time with our backs on the ground due to the slips, we just never caught him. Unfortunately, 20 days later this gentleman became a nightmare for us defenders when he came to Italy,” Costacurta concluded.
Ronaldo spent five years at Inter and scored 59 goals in 99 appearances throughout an injury-hit spell, with the Brazilian unable to partake in the 2000-01 season following a serious knee injury.
After missing out on the Scudetto on the final day of the season in 2002, he went on to join Real Madrid before a brief return to Serie A with Milan. Ronaldo eventually saw out his career in his homeland with Corinthians.
