1996/97: Ronaldo spot on for Barça
Wednesday 14 May 1997
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Ronaldo won the final for Barcelona (©Getty Images)
FC Barcelona 1-0 Paris Saint-Germain FC
Feijenoord stadium, Rotterdam
The jinx lived on in Rotterdam, where Paris Saint-Germain FC became the eighth team to reach a second consecutive final and lose it. They were beaten by Bobby Robson’s FC Barcelona side which won the trophy for a record-breaking fourth time.
Smooth progress
The Catalans progressed smoothly to the final, thanks largely to the eight goals shared by the Brazilian duo of Ronaldo and Giovanni da Silva. Major doubts only appeared after a Gabriel Batistuta goal had earned Fiorentina AC a 1-1 at the Camp Nou in the semi-final first leg. But goals by Fernando Couto and Josep Guardiola in Florence rounded off the 2-0 win which put them on the road to Rotterdam.
Roller-coaster ride for Ricardo
With Ricardo Gomes replacing Luís Fernández on the PSG bench, the French had a roller-coaster ride to the final. In the second round, they won 4-0 in Paris after losing 4-2 to Galatasaray SK in Istanbul and started the quarter-final by conceding a goal-less draw to AEK Athens at the Parc des Princes. A hat-trick by Patrice Loko earned them a 3-0 win in Greece. In the semi-final, they recorded a 3-0 home win against Liverpool FC but hung on by finger-tips after the English had scored twice at Anfield.
Ronaldo forces key error
In Rotterdam, PSG failed to impose their own game yet stifled the opposition. The 38th minute was decisive. Ronaldo’s first touch in the PSG area was faulty but he turned in a flash and his ‘bodyguard’, Bruno N’Gotty, brought him down. Ronaldo hit a tame spot-kick which left Bernard Lama pounding the ground in frustration at not having saved it.
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