Theatrics threaten to sour Rivaldo's heroics

It was like observing a man of regal bearing reduced to the level of the back-street sneak-thief. As you watched, with incredulity, that act of deceit at Ulsan Stadium just over three weeks ago you pleaded, inwardly, that the player obscuring his face in throes of apparent agony should not be him. But you knew only too well the identity of the culprit, because only Rivaldo would be waiting to take a corner with that devastating delivery of his.

It was the moment when the Turkey and Blackburn defender Hakan Unsal's exaggerated return of the ball struck Rivaldo on the thigh and caused the Brazilian midfielder to clutch his head. As the head of the Turkish FA, Haluk Ulusoy, described his action later: "He [Rivaldo] fell down like he was having a brain haemorrhage". The outcome was that Hakan was dismissed, and the episode remains, arguably, as the most calculatedly unpalatable moment of a World Cup that has been soured by rather too many.

Somehow when it is perpetrated by the tournament's co-leading scorer, and in many eyes its most accomplished player, it is all the more heinous. Against England, on Friday, we witnessed other examples of Rivaldo's dramatic arts when the histrionics and gestures of pain were about as convincing as a portrayal of Othello at the village hall.

So which face of Rivaldo will we see in Saitama today as the teams are re-matched, with their quest this time a seventh final for Brazil or a first for Turkey? That of beauty, or the one which is pitted not just with warts but with pustules?

Alpay Ozalan, the Aston Villa defender, who was also dismissed in that tempestuous first game, has already threatened retribution against Brazil in general and Rivaldo, specifically. The coach Senol Gunes, who described Rivaldo's antics in the first game as "having nothing to do with fair play" has attempted to douse such incendiary emotions by describing revenge as "a job for lesser people". But one suspects the referee Kim Milton Nielsen will need to be multi-optic.

Rivaldo insisted yesterday: "It would be wrong if they [Turkey] are seeking revenge against me, as, if it wasn't for Brazil, they wouldn't be in the semi-final. They needed us to beat Costa Rica for them to qualify [from Group C] and that is what we did."

His observation does not exactly answer Turkey's complaint, but this is a man who is considerably more articulate with his feet than his tongue. His contribution to Brazil's progress thus far has been remarkable on two counts. During his nation's erratic qualifying campaign such was the malevolence directed towards him by the home crowds – against Colombia in São Paulo the supporters chanted that he was useless, and hurled missiles – that he considered retiring from international football.

The principal accusation has been that Rivaldo rarely translated his form for Barcelona to a similar level for his country. Once Brazil were bound for the Far East, he still had to overcome a serious knee problem to participate. He did so, just, and, in a World Cup in which too many illustrious names have failed to perform because of injury, the marvel is that Rivaldo stands with the Golden Boot and the unofficial honour of player of the tournament within his reach.

What do those who maligned him say now of a player who is at the same time is both deft of touch and explosive, bandy-legged yet somehow elegant of carriage, lean of frame but deceptively powerful in the challenge? He has his own answers. "I'm happy with the way I'm playing," Rivaldo declared after training. "Although I went through some difficult moments, I always had confidence in myself. A lot of things were said. There were even jokes and comments about my knee and that made me a bit sad."

Rivaldo, now 30, added: "I battled hard and brought a physiotherapist to Barcelona from Brazil to look after me 24 hours a day. I worked very hard, but people didn't realise and criticised me. They said I was crocked and another player should be picked instead." Thankfully for Brazil, their coach Luiz Felipe Scolari was deaf to such suggestions, though even now Rivaldo is accused of being on the periphery of play at times. But that is not to appreciate the attacking midfielder's talent, as he demonstrated against Sven Goran Eriksson's men, of drifting unobserved into dangerous positions. His consummate finish, for Brazil's equaliser, was a trademark Rivaldo product, steered with the precision of a surgeon's scalpel, beyond David Seaman.

It maintained his goal-a-game sequence. Another tonight, and one more in a possible final, would enable him to match the feats of Uruguay's Alcides Ghiggia in 1950 and his compatriot Jairzinho in 1970. Rivaldo, however, scoffs at the mention of records. "It's nice to score, of course," he said. "I don't think about being a goalscorer. Basically, it doesn't interest me."

A World Cup final certainly does, though, in his last attempt. Hopefully it will be one where we remember him for his shooting prowess. Not his theatrical excess.