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February
6, 2001
RIO DE JANEIRO-- (AP) - Armed bandits chased Brazilian
soccer star Ronaldo along a seaside road and stole his car at
gunpoint, the player said Monday.
Ronaldo, 24, was driving along Rio's two-lane coast road toward
his home in the fashionable Barra da Tijuca district Sunday night
when his BMW was overtaken by another car, Ronaldo said in a
television interview. The car skidded to a stop, blocking both
lanes, and three armed men got out.
"They pointed guns to my head and told me to get out," the
Internazionale Milan striker said. "I was calm, turned around and
just prayed nothing would happen."
Their attitude changed when one of the men recognized the
two-time FIFA Player of the Year.
"They were aggressive, but one recognized me and they lowered
their guns," he said. "I sensed a reaction of shock and surprise,
but it was too late. They weren't going to waste the trip."
The thieves took the car, and Ronaldo went to a police station to
file a complaint. The car, equipped with a satellite tracking
system, was found undamaged an hour later in a residential
neighborhood. Only Ronaldo's wallet was missing.
Ronaldo, who is in Rio recovering from reconstructive knee
surgery last year, says the violence won't scare him away from his
home town.
"It's a problem we have to mobilize to resolve," he said. "But
this is where I'm from, and I just hope it will change so we can live without violence."
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