10 Footballers Who Recovered From World Cup Disgraces

5. Rivaldo

Before the tournament in South Korea and Japan started, the media wondered aloud which Brazilian superstar would shine the brightest. Would it be Ronaldo, Ronaldinho or Rivaldo? In the end, as mentioned earlier, Ronaldo was the one most talked about.

Rivaldo almost pipped him to it by being a bit of a cheat.

During the opening match of Group C, Brazil went into injury time leading Turkey 2-1. When Hakan Ünsal rightly kicked the ball to Rivaldo so he could take a corner quickly, it hit his leg and the Brazilian bizarrely fell to the grass clutching his face. Then, in a disgraceful moment, the referee sent Ünsal off.

Rivaldo rallied from the controversial incident, scored five goals throughout the tournament and starred as Brazil lifted the World Cup by beating Germany 2-0 in the final. After the finals had ended, FIFA fined Rivaldo 11,670 Swiss francs.

Cheats do prosper then.

Advertisement
Contributor

Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.