Foot of God hands England the defeat

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal">NEW DELHI: In 1986, Bobby Robson''s men were sent home from the quarter-finals by the (in)famous Hand of God of Diego Maradona. Although he scored one of football''s greatest goals after that, the English still believe that it was Maradona''s trickery that was their undoing. After Friday''s defeat, they will be wondering if it was the foot of God that shattered their World Cup hopes this time.<br />Yes, it did seem that, sixteen years later, the foot of God had come back to haunt Beckham''s boys in the avatar of Ronaldinho Gaucho.The Brazilian number 11, who had hitherto been overshadowed by his teammates, unleashed rare form and scored a goal that could only have been possible with divine intervention. A hapless English team watched dumbstruck as David Seaman groped and lunged in vain for the ball that was delivered through a dream free kick. <br />And that wasn''t the first time in the match they had seen the foot of God. The 22-year-old Brazilian striker''s blitzkrieg run through the midfield had set up Rivaldo to score the Brazil equaliser. That had broken the English will, and the free kick made all hope of recovery futile.<br />Such was the impact that although the referee sent man of the moment Ronaldinho off, England could not even get past a ten-man Brazil. Indeed, they looked drained, as if they knew that God was against them, and a win for them was not to be. <br />"I am ugly, but I have charm," Ronaldinho, who made his international debut against Latvia on June 26, 1999, had once said. And one can be sure the Brazilian fans will only remember the beauty of his game. But it will be the same fans who had created a furore at the Brazilian coach opting for him over veteran Romario. <br />Ronaldinho first burst on to the scene as the top scorer in the FIFA under-17 World Championships in Egypt in 1997. He signed up for Gremio in 1998. At the 1999 Copa America, he scored a goal against Venezuela that made many begin comparing him to Pele. By 2000, he was a name the football cognoscenti in the European clubs were desparately trying to sign up. He currently plays for the French club Paris St-Germain. <br />Ronaldinho, who was shown a red card, is going to miss the semifinals against Senegal or Turkey, as the case may be. But if Brazil get through to the finals, the opponents will definitely have to include the third R of the Brazilian strikeforce in their gameplan.<br /><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">Related stories:</span><br /><img src="/images/ticker.gif"> <a href="/articleshow.cms?art_id=13680038">Germany beat USA 1-0 to enter semis</a><br /><img src="/images/ticker.gif"> <a href="/articleshow.cms?art_id=13658543">Brazilian brilliance bends Beckham''s boys</a><br /><img src="/images/ticker.gif"> <a href="/articleshow.cms?art_id=13661382">You''ve seen nothing yet: Scolari </a><br /><img src="/images/ticker.gif"> <a href="/articleshow.cms?art_id=13678844">Ronaldo complains of pain in thigh</a><br /><img src="/images/ticker.gif"> <a href="/articleshow.cms?art_id=13673174">A shattered England mourns Word Cup defeat</a><br /><img src="/images/ticker.gif"> <a href="/articleshow.cms?art_id=13684099">TOI Edit: Socking It</a> </img></img></img></img></img></img></div> </div>