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Romario strikes a blow for older generation
(Reuters)
Updated: 2005-12-15 09:58
RIO DE JANEIRO, Dec 15 (Reuters) - They said that he was finished, that he
had overstayed his welcome and that he was blemishing his career.
Romario kisses the
trophy after receiving the award for the player who scored the most number
of goals at the Brazilian championship, at the Joao Caetano theatre in Rio
de Janeiro December 5,
2005. [Reuters] | At the age of 39, former PSV Eindhoven, Valencia, Barcelona and Brazil
striker Romario has proved them all wrong.
In an age where football places an increasing emphasis on running and
physical strength and where even strikers are expected to move back and mark,
Romario has finished as top scorer in the Brazilian championship.
Moreover, Brazil's 1994 World Cup winner has done it the old-fashioned way by
standing in the penalty area, waiting for the ball to come to him and using
stealth and experience to outsmart markers little more than half his age.
"I want to thank the Vasco directors who believed in me and gave me all the
freedom I needed to score my goals," Romario said after scoring two penalties in
Vasco's last game of the season to finish with 22 goals.
"They can say what they want but goals scored from penalties also count."
"I also have to thank my team mates for their support."
Adding that he planned to continue for at least another year, Romario said:
"I feel that I'm in good shape to continue. It's difficult to leave all this."
"I'm not one of those horses that sets off quickly and gets caught with a few
furlongs to go. Once again, I've shown that I'm a thoroughbred.
"They said I had to end my career but I had more faith than them. I showed
that I can still give a lot. It's a personal victory."
BEACH SOCCER
As far as international soccer is concerned, Romario disappeared off the
radar back in 1998 when he was dropped from Brazil's World Cup squad on the eve
of the competition because of a nagging muscular problem.
His last experience with a European club had been in 1997 when he had an
unhappy spell with Valencia.
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