Alan Pattullo: Farewell, Ronaldo
No-one in the stadium that night will ever forget Ronaldo - and we are talking about the original Ronaldo here - being applauded from the field by Manchester United fans when substituted after just 67 minutes. He looked genuinely taken aback.
Ronaldo had the world at his feet having also powered Brazil to the title of world champions. On Tuesday he made his last appearance in the famous yellow shirt, handed a 15-minute cameo appearance prior to half-time of the friendly with Romania in Sao Paulo. A rather fuller figure now, he wound down his career as a shadow of his former self. But who could possibly have maintained the intensity he managed for so long?