Rivaldo: the man that saved Barcelona (Video)
It is a shame that Rivaldo is remembered more for a moment of ridiculous play acting as opposed to his footballing talent.
The embarassing way in which he fell to the ground clutching his head after a barely moving ball had stroked his leg was not one of the Brazilian’s finer moments.
It can sometimes be forgotten that Rivaldo was a very good footballer and he reached the height of his powers during a five year spell at Barcelona from 1997-2002.
He made a 157 appearances for the Catalan club and scored 86 goals and was named Player of the Year after an outstanding 1999-2000 season.
Out of those 86 goals none were more important than the one scored on the final day day of the 2001 season against Valencia.
Needing a victory to secure qualification for the following season’s Champions League Barcelona and Valencia were deadlocked at 2-2 as the game entered stoppage time.
Already on a hat-trick, Rivaldo scored a quite brilliant overhead kick after controlling the ball on his chest to ensure Barcelona would be playing Champions League football the next season.
Incredibly, Rivaldo is still playing today at the age of 40 for Brazilian club Sao Caetano.
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