Juventus and Inter were locked in a fierce battle for the Serie A title during 1997/1998. The ‘Old Lady’ of Italy were benefiting from the talents of Zidane, Del Piero and Inzaghi, whilst the ‘Nerazzurri’ where hugely dependent on a 22-year-old Brazilian called Ronaldo. Signed during the summer months from Barcelona, Ronaldo’s first season was going better than anyone expected. It seemed inevitable that he would be the player at the centre of the most controversial Derby d’Italia for many years.
La Liga was renowned for being open and attacking, whilst Serie A was notorious for solid defences and excellent discipline. Pundits declared that although Ronaldo had scored 34 goals in 37 games for the Catalan giants the previous season, life in Italy would be far tougher and he would struggle with lack of time and space on the ball. Contrary to all negative opinion, the Brazilian adapted extremely quickly to life at Inter and soon began terrorising opposition defenders across the country.
With both Inter and Juventus racking up the victories on a regular basis, it seemed clear that the title would end up with one of the two clubs. A crucial game between them took place at the Delle Alpi stadium in Turin with only four games left of the season. Juventus took a 21st minute lead through Alessandro Del Piero before the pivotal moment in the match, and perhaps the season, took place. Ronaldo was clearly body checked in the penalty area and left in a heap on the ground but the referee waved play on. Juventus immediately attacked and won a penalty at the other end of the pitch, much to the anger of Inter’s players and coaching staff. Gianluca Pagliuca saved the penalty but the damage had already been done and the final whistle indicated a 1-0 home win and the end of Inter’s title challenge.
Whilst the Nerazzurri did manage to secure the UEFA cup trophy by beating Lazio, with Ronaldo rounding off the scoring for a convincing 3-0 win, it was to be the last time that Italian fans really saw Il Fenomeno at his peak. After his debut season he was to endure a torturous time on the side-lines after suffering two serious injuries that kept him out of action for almost three years in total. Once he finally made his comeback he was signed by Real Madrid and only returned to Serie A to play for Milan, Inter’s fiercest rivals.