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| Tuesday, 3 December, 2002, 12:52 GMT Real capture world crown ![]() Ronaldo (right) grabbed the opening goal for Real Olimpia de Asuncion 0-2 Real Madrid Goals from Ronaldo and Jose Maria Guti helped Real Madrid defeat Olimpia of Paraguay 2-0 in the World Club Cup in Tokyo. The European champions defeated their South American counterparts to help celebrate their centenary year in style with victory in the competition now known as the Toyota Cup. The star-studded Spanish side added the intercontinental crown to the Champions League and European Super Cup titles already on show at the Bernabeu.
Ronaldo scored two goals on his last visit to the International Stadium in Yokohama to seal the World Cup for Brazil. And he marked his return by opening the scoring after 14 minutes for Real after strike partner Raul had cleverly dummied a cross from Roberto Carlos. Olimpia went close through Rodrigo Lopez shortly after Ronaldo's opener when he volleyed a cross from right-back Nestor Isasi against the post. The nine-times European champions were on top for the majority of the game, but had to wait until four minutes from time to seal the win after missing a series of opportunities.
Ronaldo should have added a second shortly before half-time, but he blazed over after being released by Raul. Ronaldo and Raul both went close to a second after the break. And Roberto Carlos brought an acrobatic save from Olimpia keeper Ricardo Tavarelli from 30 yards as Real put their opponents under intense pressure. Claude Makelele should have put the result beyond doubt in the 69th minute, but the French midfielder miskicked with the goal at his mercy after good work from the lively Ronaldo. Guti, who had come on for Ronaldo with six minutes left on the clock, secured the win when he scored with his first touch of the ball following a cross from Luis Figo. Real coach Vicente del Bosque believes the win could be the spark they need after slipping to seventh in La Liga, eight points behind leaders Real Sociedad.
"It was satisfying not just to win this title in our centenary season, but to find our scoring touch again was important," he said. "We haven't been scoring goals recently so that, and the fact we had several players back from injury, gives us reason to be optimistic about the rest of the season." Ronaldo, who has been battling the flu, was delighted with his scoring return to Yokahama. "You could call this a lucky stadium for me, but you have to make your own luck and the whole team worked hard for this win," he said. "Today was a different occasion from the World Cup but the adrenalin was still there." It was a third World Club title for Real, who won the crown in 1960 and 1998 but slipped to a surprise defeat to Boca Juniors in 2000. |
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