When Ronaldo signed for Internazionale in the summer of 1997 for what was a world record £19.5million deal, few could have predicted he would go on to win just one trophy in the black and blue of the Nerazzurri.
While Scudetto success ultimately eluded the Brazilian at the San Siro, Inter’s triumphant 1997-98 UEFA Cup campaign still stands as a testament to the player Ronaldo was and probably could have been were it not for the two career-threatening knee knacks that robbed him of the pace and agility which were hallmarks of those early heady days at Barcelona and Brazil.
In a season where some very questionable refereeing decisions denied the Brazilian a proper crack at reigning champions Juventus, Inter’s adventures in Europe served as the perfect tonic to those domestic woes, coming at a time when top clubs still rightly regarded the UEFA Cup as a cup worth winning, rather than an inconvenience or consolation prize.
It was a competition Ronaldo thrived in, with Il Fenomeno in his element under manager Gigi Simoni from the very first round, and all the way up until the final itself, where the Brazilian’s all-action performance against Lazio at the Parc des Princes earned him a Man of the Match award.
While future Newcastle megaflop Stephane Guivarc’h finished the campaign as the tournament’s top scorer (three of his goals came against OFI Crete), it was Ronaldo who popped up time and time again to grab games by the scruff of the neck.
Each of his six goals tells a different story, each one a moment of sublime genius or sheer blunt-force willpower. This is the story of those six goals.
1. Inter Milan 1-0 Neuchatel Xamax (Ronaldo, ’59)
On paper, Inter should have made easy work of a first-round tie against Neuchatel Xamax. However, the Nerazzurri had previous when it came to Swiss teams. Two years earlier, Lugano had dumped them out of the UEFA Cup at this same stage in humiliating fashion.
Xamax were no slouches, having finished a close second in the Swiss Super League the previous season under legendary manager Gilbert Gress, a mentor of Arsene Wenger. They gave Inter quite a scare in the first leg too, with the teams going in 0-0 at the break.
It took the intervention of Ronaldo to calm the nerves with the Brazilian breaking the deadlock with nearly an hour played. The goal was a typical poacher’s finish, with Ronaldo pouncing on a parried shot from compatriot Ze Elias to fire the ball into the roof of the net from close…
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