Soccer king ronaldo breaks mullers record at fifa world cup 2006
RONALDO became the leading scorer in World Cup finals history when he struck early in Brazil's last-16 match against Ghana in Dortmund yesterday.
The out-of-condition Real Madrid striker slotted home after four minutes to score his third goal in Germany and put his team on course for a 3-0 win and a place in the quarter-finals.
The 29-year-old exceeded the record set by Gerd Muller and has now scored 15 goals at the World Cup.
Muller's mark of 14 was set during West Germany's World Cup win of 1974. Muller played in two World Cups, in 1970 and 74, but Ronaldo's goals have come over three finals from 1998. He was also a squad member of the victorious 1994 party.
"The record was never my goal, it's just something that's happened," he said. "I'm happy to have broken this record; for seven World Cups it has not been broken. It's a great satisfaction, but our main objective is to reach the final."
Muller paid tribute to the Brazilian, saying: "Although Ronaldo is now [playing] in his third World Cup, this is nevertheless still a great achievement on his part." But he added: "I've always said that I wasn't the record-holder. That honour, for me, goes to Just Fontaine, who scored 13 goals in one tournament. He's the best in my book."
Referring to his step-over which took him past Ghana goalkeeper Richard Kingston to score, Ronaldo said: "I hope they continue falling for my tricks up to the final. I sensed I had to trick the goalie somehow. I figured it would complicate things if I kept the ball too long so I decided to do that dribble."
His coach, Carlos Alberto Parreira, paid tribute to the striker who many media observers thought should be dropped after early sub-standard performances. Parreira said: "We never had the doubt over Ronaldo. He is a special player and a player for the big moments."
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