It's the afternoon of July 9, 1994, and the 64,000 fans of the Dallas Cotton Bowl have just witnessed the birth of the most classic scene of the World Cup. Brazilian striker Bebeto danced the samba, crossed the Dutchman's defence with a single touch, then bypassed goalkeeper De Hue and kicked the ball into the empty net.
Seconds later, the third-time father-in-chief rushed toward the Texas crowd, waving his arms involuntarily and swinging like a cradle while teammates Mazinjo and Romario caught up with him to emulate the unique celebration.
After the match, the first person Bebeto hugged was his strike partner Romario, his strike partner. The priceless expressions on the faces of the two actors conveyed countless emotions; the excitement of winning at the moment was overshadowed by friendship, reflecting that their telepathy on the pitch was merely a manifestation of a true off-court connection.
While Romario and Bebeto's chemistry on the pitch is as natural as rain in the Amazon, their relationship isn't always as harmonious as it was at a celebration. In fact, the duo have such a big difference in personality, outlook on life and lifestyle that it makes what they achieve on the pitch even more amazing.
Bebeto was a neat, religious, family-oriented man, a heroic fortress who resembled Zico before him and Kaka after him. Romario, on the other hand, is extroverted, hedonistic, and capricious. The combination of arrogant Rio's talent on the pitch and outright profligacy on the pitch led him to describe the three brothers with Garrincha and Socrates. Romario himself emphasized this contrast, saying: "We are different people, and Bebeto is a family man who likes to stay at home. And I'm a stray cat. ”
While what happened at the '94 World Cup in the United States makes it hard to imagine Romario and Bebeto being perfect opponents, their early careers hint that the relationship between the two strikers is destined to be built on rivals. They often played against opponents on behalf of the club while competing for the top scorer position in the Samba Army.
Bebeto began signing for the youth team at the age of 16 and his performances were impressive, he was coveted by the Brazilian giants and signed with flamenco in 1984. Despite his small stature, Bebeto's sharp stride and sensitive sense of position provide him with enough ammunition for even the most accomplished defender to feel nightmares, while his superb free-kicks and signature volleys add a touch of personal charm to him. While Bebeto is often a No. 9 player, his vision and creativity means he can pull back to provide assists to his teammates, which will pay off later in his career.
Bebeto made his debut for the national team in 1985, but his six-game absence raises doubts as the young rookie will succeed Carecca as Brazil's number one centre-forward. With flamenco's prospects temporarily marginalized on the international stage, the baton will pass to another young striker, whose name is Romario di Susa Faria.
Despite being only 5 feet 6 inches tall, Romario's sturdy body and low center of gravity provide him with an excellent sense of balance and flexibility, and he will redefine what is expected of the No. 9, his acceleration ability and superb close-range control, and unparalleled strikes in front of goal, making John Cruyff can't help but call him the "King of the Penalty Area" as well.
With his future forward partner, Romario's rise is entirely a self-made type. Born in 1966 in Jacaregina, one of Brazil's largest slums, the future world footballer of the year was defined by poverty and uncertainty: "We are very poor." Around '94, Romario said in an interview, "My parents worked, but we managed to get something to eat." If we can't even do this, we have to rely on relatives... It must have been a childhood full of hardship and poverty. ”
Even though Romario's career has brought him unprecedented wealth and success, the nature of a clever, free-spirited slum kid has never been far removed from him, and his expressive court style is a byproduct of his endless participation in unorganized, 25-person street races near his home. Although Romario wholeheartedly embraced the lifestyle of a rock star, he never lost his pre-fame edge.
Like a fateful antagonistic relationship, Romario began his career with Flamengo's sworn rivals, club Da Gama. He made his debut in 1985, when Romario was more famous than when he came out of the Hungry Cup, and his performance in the youth team led many to praise the dazzling striker's unlimited potential.
As the two youngsters fought for domestic honors every year, the Brazilian media began to gleefully hype up their rivals' relationships while spreading rumors about future players' personality clashes. Both scored a large number of goals, especially in the regional leagues, but in the end it was Romario and Da Gama who gained the local say, beating flamenco in 1987 and 1988 to win the state championship.
However, Bebeto will take revenge across the country, scoring in a 1-2 win over Vasco da Gama, with flamenco winning the Copa União. Because the Brazilian Football Association was unable to fund that year's league, the Unio Cup was a league held by Brazil's biggest team.
For the national team, Romario made his debut for Brazil in a friendly against Ireland in 1987. Unlike Berberto, Romario quickly adapted to international football, scoring four goals in his first six games. Thankfully, Bebeto's performance at the club allowed him to return to the national team in time for the 1988 Seoul Olympics, meaning the two future players would have the opportunity to play side by side for the first time.
Romario scored seven goals at the Olympics, and although his goal in the final did not prevent the Soviet Union from winning gold, his individual performance ensured he was considered one of the most exciting athletes in the world. Bebeto's two goals on the bench overshadowed him in front of his young striker partner, but his goal and overall contribution were enough to rekindle the previous year's stagnant national team career.
There is no doubt that Romario's performance at the Olympics proved that he had surpassed the Brazilian league, and the dazzling striker signed for Eindhoven for £2 million before the start of the 1988/89 season. It was at Eindhoven that the mysterious striker established himself as one of the best players on the planet, scoring an unsolvable record of 128 goals in 144 games, allowing PSV to win 3 league titles and 2 KNVB Cup titles in 5 seasons in the Netherlands. Such is the influence of the Brazilian in the Netherlands, who is considered by many to be the greatest foreign player in Dutch history.
While his old club, Vasco da Gama, was still grieving the loss of their star striker, the Rio giants have since launched an ambitious move to sign Bebeto. In 1989, Bebeto's famous flamenco red and white shirt was replaced by black and white, and all he did was write his name on paper with a pen sparked the kind of controversy that Romario dreamed of.
Any question of how the mild-mannered striker will face such hostility will be vetoed as it unfolds next season. Bebeto led Vasco vaso vasco vaso da Gama to the Brazilian Football Championship for the first time in 15 years with his outstanding individual performances, and the player himself was elected South American Footballer of the Year.
Coming to the Copa America in Brazil in 1989, the strike partner, soon to be named the Diabolical Duo, will declare themselves the most powerful duo in international football. As hosts, Brazil are under enormous pressure to end 40 years of no-show at the South American Championships and win their first major trophy since the 1970 World Cup.
Romario and Bebeto's performances are like a mockery of this pressure, and everything is so easy: the two run, cooperate and their respective techniques keep the opposing defense in a hopeless state of confusion forever. While the partnership was between Bebeto as the organizer and Romario as the finisher, the two players' full range of abilities meant their roles were interchangeable, and as a result, Bebeto, not Romario, became the top scorer of the game with six goals.
The winner decides the winner through a round-robin match between the final four, and it is at this time that the two players really begin to vent their anger at their unfortunate opponents, who played well against world champions Argentina, with Bebeto and Romario outperforming Maradona and his teammates at the Maracanã Stadium, scoring one goal each and ending up winning 2-0. The duo also dominated the match against Uruguay.
However, while their performances at the Copa America have left fans salivating over their performances at next year's World Cup, the '90 World Cup in Italy proved that it was too early for Romario and Bebeto to shine on football's grandest stage. Romario is still behind Carreca in terms of starting options, while his injury ahead of the World Cup means he can only come off the bench in Brazil's Round of 16 against old rivals Argentina. Bebeto was also restricted to sitting alone on the bench.
After three more glorious years at the club, Bebeto finally landed in La Liga in 1992 to start his long-awaited journey to Europe. At the time, Lacco was not yet considered one of the biggest clubs in La Liga, but the addition of Bebeto, along with the appearance of his compatriot Mora Silva and local hero Fran, heralded the beginning of the much-respected Super Depor era. Bebeto's first season in La Liga proved to be the best of his club football career, with the Brazilian making It seem like Lacco had grown from a loser to a title contender overnight, with his 29 goals winning him the league's top scorer.
With Romario and Bebeto playing in different leagues, it seems that the two strikers can finally put aside their early professional rivalry and continue to be good partners for the national team at the next World Cup. Unfortunately for Brazil, next season will be a huge obstacle.
Barcelona manager Cruyff decided to strengthen his already strong attack, taking a fancy to Romario and signing the 27-year-old in the summer of 1993 for £10.8 million. As Bebeto transforms Raco into a title contender and Romario becomes the leader of the Dream Team, Brazil's star strikers will battle each other in a domestic season that will all but make their differences irreconcilable.
As the season progressed, Barca and Lacco became the only two teams expected to win the title, and the friction between the two Brazilians began to show in more obvious ways than ever. As the title race heated up, Romario began publicly accusing Bebeto of being "Chalau" — Portuguese for "crying baby" — because the Raco striker used to grumble at the referee.
At the end of the season, A Coruña advanced to the final round with a two-point lead over their Catalan rivals. After Barca's win over Sevilla, Lacco also needed three more points to avoid losing the title in the match. After a draw with Valencia, Lacco received a penalty in injury time, and a penalty was made to secure the title. Bebeto should have taken the penalty, but he evaded it on the spot, and Miloslav Djukic, who took his place, missed the penalty and gave the title to Barca.
As tensions in the domestic season jeopardize the duo's relationship, a spat between Romario and Brazilian coach Carlos Alberto Pereira further complicates the relationship. Furious by being excluded from the starting line-up in a friendly against Germany, Romario publicly blamed Pereira, who suspended the striker indefinitely, causing him to miss most of the World Cup qualifiers.
Brazil are faltering without Romario and face the real risk of missing out on the World Cup for the first time ever. With calls for a recall of Romario growing and Brazil needing to beat Uruguay in the final qualifying match, Pereira had to turn to Bebeto for advice.
Personal differences aside, Bebeto emphasized the telepathy of the two on the pitch to the coach, and pereira, who was persuaded to re-recruit Romario for a life-and-death showdown at the Maracanã Stadium. To say that Pereira's decision was inspired would be an understatement. Romario subdued the stubborn Uruguayan defender in the second half with two single-handed goals, ensuring that the only 100% World Cup qualifying record in football is intact.
As Brazil qualified for the World Cup, the world cup preparations were already in place, the desire of two top strikers to truce off the pitch was once again forgotten, and when Romario raised his irritability to level 11, he held a press conference announcing that he would not sit next to Bebeto on a flight to the United States. With most Brazilians having to accept the ridiculous reality of their country's soccer dreams to count on two men who can't share the same Boeing 747 plane, a series of off-field incidents have ended that hostility.
Unfortunately coincidentally, the families of both players suffered similar crimes during the World Cup. First, Bebeto's pregnant wife, Denise De Oliveira, was robbed of her car and Rolex watch at gunpoint, even though the kidnappers were meant to be his brother Wilson. Another incident ensued, in which Romario's father was kidnapped and the kidnappers demanded a £7 million ransom. Fortunately, Bebeto's wife was safe and sound, and Six days later Romario's father was safely rescued.
These traumatic events, combined with the obsession of both sides with ensuring the Sambas win the World Cup for the first time in 24 years, allowed the players to forge an unprecedented personal bond as the World Cup approached. Soon, their contrasting behavior off the pitch began to be as impressive as their fit on the pitch, with Bebeto's diplomatic skills and Romario's personal charisma once again making one plus one greater than two.
Both players were relaxed, with Romario stressing the bond between the duo and the other players, saying: "A lot of people say the yellow shirt is beautiful, but there's no heartbeat inside. After this World Cup, it can be said that it is still a beautiful jersey, but now there are 11 hearts beating inside. ”
Pereira performed the famous yellow-green jersey in a way that was different from the ornate performance, and his pragmatic side made the team at least aesthetically different from the free-spirited teams of 1970 and 1982. Pereira doesn't have midfield organisers like Zico or Rivilino, preferring the diligence of midfielders Dunga and Morro Silva, Romario and Bebeto being the main source of inspiration for the team's attack. It only takes 27 minutes for the duo to demonstrate their clinically surgically matched.
In the opening match against Russia, Bebeto's perfect corner found Romario, and Barcelona's top scorer calmly kicked the ball past the goal guarded by Dimitri Carlin. At the end of the group stage, Romario and Bebeto scored a total of four goals, each of which sent an assist for the opponent.
In a round of 16 match against hosts the United States, Brazil were at a clear disadvantage due to Leonardo being sent off. In the 72nd minute, the duo again showed the interchangeability of their roles, with Romario completing a midfield break and then assisting a delicate straight ball to assist Bebeto's goal scoring. Bebeto gleefully embraced Romario and said "I love you" to his longtime striker partner.
Next, back to the beginning of this article, Bebeto and Romario teamed up to defeat the Dutch team with blogs Kemp, Overmars and De Boll, Romario's header helped the Samba Legion eliminate Sweden, Baggio conceded a penalty in the final, and the Italian forward's dejected posture and cradle dance also became the classic of that World Cup.
While Brazil has created countless classic attacking duos – from pele and Garincha's extraordinary individual performances in 1958 to the trident of Ronaldo, Rivaldo and Ronaldinho in 2002 – the tacit understanding between Romario and Bebeto is unmatched. In 23 official matches in which the duo played together, Brazil remained unbeaten with 17 wins and 6 draws. During this time, the Samba Legion scored 48 goals, 33 of which came from Romario and Bebeto, the former scoring 18 and the latter scoring 15.
Although their partnership soon came to an end as the duo grew older and Ronaldo emerged, entering the 21st century, romario and Bebeto's political careers also had a period of hatred, a fitting recognition of their past sporting careers. The former strongly opposed Brazil's hosting of the 2014 World Cup, while Bebeto served as a World Cup ambassador. Unfortunately, Brazil was eliminated by Germany in the semi-finals of that World Cup, and this time, perhaps the same grief can make the two turn into a sword again. （Qfwfq）