THE KING AND THE PRINCE

Filling Ronaldo's boots is not an easy task, but it can be done

- ANTONY JOHN

In the beautiful port city of Yokohama, there are three important high-rises collectively called the Three Towers. When referred to individually, they are the King, the Queen and the Jack. The King is the headquarters of the Kanagawa Prefecture; Queen, the Yokohama Customs building; and Jack, the Yokohama Port Opening Memorial Hall. The three survived the massive Great Kanto earthquake of 1923, and are the lucky mascots of the Japanese. They believe that seeing all three from one place (Osanbashi Pier is the best place to see them together) will bring you luck. It is just a 40-minute drive from the Three Towers to the Imperial Palace of the emperor. The emperor has no abode in Yokohama, but in 2002, a coronation took place in the economic and commercial hub of Tokyo.

On June 30, a new king of football was crowned in the city. At the Yokohama stadium, three towers stood tall as Brazil destroyed Germany in the final of the FIFA World Cup and emerged champions. They were Ronaldo, Rivaldo and Ronaldinho. Fans called them Ro-Ri-Ro. Those who have witnessed all three playing together are considered lucky, and I am one of them. As Brazil lifted the cup, wild celebrations broke out outside the stadium. Beautiful Brazilian women threw away their shape-wear, cupped their breasts and yelled: “One for Honaldo, one for Hivaldo.” (In Portuguese, R is pronounced as H.) Someone asked: What about Ronaldinho? Pat came the reply: “He is a kid.” Ronaldinho, at 22, was one of the youngest players in the championship team.