Roberto Carlos denies lapse in Brazil's World Cup elimination
11/7/2006 14:47
Roberto Carlos denied he was to blame for Brazil's elimination from the
World Cup, and said the 1-0 quarterfinal loss to France will haunt him
forever.
"I'm leaving the Brazilian national team with a sad defeat that will
stay with me for the rest of my life," he said from Madrid in an interview with
Brazil's Globo TV network on Sunday.
Brazilian media have exhaustively shown
replays of France's victory: A pinpoint free kick by Zinedine Zidane and striker
Thierry Henry racing unmarked into the zone usually covered by Roberto Carlos to
score the lone goal which eliminated Brazil.
The videotape shows Roberto
Carlos, 33, resting outside the penalty box, hands on his knees.
"The
question Brazil is asking is, why didn't Roberto Carlos move?" the daily Rio de
Janeiro daily O Globo said after the game.
Roberto Carlos denied it was a
defensive lapse.
"I did what I was supposed to do. I stayed in my position,"
Roberto Carlos said. "We had practiced not to go into the penalty area because
it's always the goalie's ball."
Roberto Carlos, who announced his retirement
from the national team immediately after the game, admitted he was desolated by
the loss to France, which upset Brazil 3-0 in the 1998 World Cup final for its
only title.
"What can you do? Beat your head against the wall?" he said. "To
lose to France again ..."
Roberto Carlos, who started for Brazil also in the
previous Cups in 1998 and 2002, said he had hoped to win another title in his
final World Cup. Brazil was considered a heavy favorite going into the
tournament.
xinhua
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