RIVALDO

There were just 90 seconds left on the clock, and Barcelona were coming to terms with the unthinkable.

Anxiety besieged the Camp Nou, as 85,000 fans prayed for a miracle. The Catalans had twice taken the lead at home to Valencia in the final match of a disastrous domestic season. Real Madrid had sailed into the distance to win La Liga, 17 points ahead of their Clasico foes. Deportivo La Coruna and unfancied Real Mallorca had already guaranteed their top-three spots. The fourth and final Champions League place was a shootout between the two sides facing each other in Barcelona on June 17, 2001.

Twice Rivaldo had superbly fired the hosts in front – the first with a sublime free-kick, the second with a rasping low drive from 25 yards – as they sought the three points needed to pip Valencia. They were his 34th and 35th strikes of the campaign, but still weren’t enough: Ruben Baraja had bagged a brace to make it 2-2, and the Blaugrana were on the brink of embarrassment. There would be no Champions League football for Barcelona, unless Rivaldo could work his magic one more time.

As the 90th minute approached, defender Frank de Boer chipped an aimless, hopeful pass towards the edge of the penalty box. Had it dropped to any other player, it would almost certainly have led to nothing. But it dropped to Rivaldo.

In a split second, with his back to Valencia’s goal, the Brazilian chested the ball up and flung his left foot at a bicycle kick from 20 yards out. “In football, you must take a risk,” he said. “I never imagined I’d connect with the ball that well.”

It arrowed away from Santiago Canizares into the bottom corner, and the Camp Nou descended into pandemonium. As Rivaldo ripped off his shirt and raced away