Ronaldo's new role

Ronaldo is struggling to find form at Inter Milan

By BBC Sport Online's Tim Vickery

There will be no controversy when Brazilian coach Luiz Felipe Scolari calls up his squad this week for Brazil's trip to Portugal.

Last week against Yugoslavia Ronaldo showed that he may after all have a part to play in the World Cup.

Ronaldo only played the first half, and was reduced to walking pace long before the interval.

He was blowing like a dray horse after about 20 minutes.

The Brazilian public are entitled to feel a certain distance from the striker known in Italy as 'the phenomenon'.

Ronaldo left for Europe at the age of 17. Before last Wednesday he had not played in Brazil since September 1999.

Throughout his long absence from activity he has continued to make headlines all over the world, leaving many in Brazil questioning whether he is anything more than a phenomenon of marketing.

Even his defenders saw him as a 'star with just one move' - a player whose entire game was based on explosive running with the ball.

But last Wednesday's cameo was long enough to demonstrate that he has added more strings to his bow.

Ronaldo returned to Brazil for the first time in 30 months

Like former England star Paul Gascoigne, Ronaldo may not have much in the way of formal education, but there is a well-tuned football intelligence at work.

Gascoigne came back from injury to play a key part in the England team of 1996 and 1997.

On his return he was a different player, less explosive but more collective.

Ronaldo gave signs on Wednesday that he may be following a similar path.

In the post-match news conference he talked about how his game has changed as a result of (injuries permitting) playing alongside Cristian Vieri at Inter Milan.

Ronaldo has learned to drop deeper, draw the defence and thread passes through for his team-mates.

His new skills were on show against Yugoslavia, where he was the fulcrum of Brazil's attack.

Inter Milan are showing all the signs of being fed up with him.

But regardless of whether Inter are trying to unload their striker, coach Hector Cuper is clearly justified in leaving Ronaldo on the sidelines at this stage in the season.

Lasting 20 minutes in a tame friendly is one thing; another thing entirely is taking part in the run-in to the hard fought Italian title, which Inter have not claimed since 1989.

The World Cup is just two months away, and the odds would seem stacked against Ronaldo being able to get through seven high-pressure games in 28 days.

If he manages to do it, nobody will be able to deny that he is indeed a phenomenon.