Ronaldo brings his Madrid problems home

Ronaldo said last week that club and country are different matters and his troubles at Real Madrid would be cast aside when he pulled on the famous gold shirt of Brazil. But, if anything, his recent performances at international level have been even worse. Brazil's number nine huffed and puffed his way through Sunday's 1-0 win over Peru in their World Cup qualifier in Goiania, complaining of the heat amid media speculation that he was still overweight. "The players who come from Europe are not used to this weather," he told Brazilian television during the halftime break. Despite admitting that he found the conditions difficult, Ronaldo was kept on the pitch for the full 90 minutes by coach Carlos Alberto Parreira while the much livelier Kaka was substituted. Ronaldo missed an open goal in the first half, wasted another chance shortly afterwards when he shot weakly at Peru goalkeeper Oscar Ibanez when he was clean through on goal and at one stage was jeered by the crowd. His only notable contribution in the whole 90 minutes was to provide the pass from which Kaka scored the only goal -- Brazil's first in competitive games for four hours and 29 minutes -- in the 74th minute.