"[269] [156] In the final against Germany in Yokohama, Japan, Ronaldo scored twice in Brazil's 20 win and tied Pel's Brazilian record of 12 career World Cup goals. "Profitable Marketing Communications: A Guide to Marketing Return on Investment". [129][130][131] He also took part in the friendly Tournoi de France in 1997, preceding the 1998 FIFA World Cup, scoring a goal as Brazil became runners-up. "[81] On 25 January, Ronaldo flew from Madrid to Milan, with statements on the club's website stating Ronaldo was in Milan for a medical, and that a meeting had been arranged with Real Madrid officials to discuss and finalize his transfer to the Milanese club. 12 of those goals came during his 14 World Cup appearances,. [8] Ronaldo's agents accepted an offer of 50,000 from the club, and he scored four goals on his youth team debut. The speed of thought he had and the speed he had to carry out his actions were perfect. First name Ronaldo Luz Last name Nazrio de Lima Nationality Brazil Date of birth 22 September 1976 Age 46 Country of birth Brazil Place of birth Rio de Janeiro That is not to belittle Ronaldo's achievements in the second half of his career, when he scored eight goals in a single World Cup [in 2002] and became the first Ronaldo to receive a standing ovation at Old Trafford [in 2003], but it is the memory of the early years that puts mist in the eyes of grown men. [134] The starting line up without Ronaldo was released to a stunned world media. [168][169] The all-star Brazilian team was promoted as masters of Joga Bonito, "the beautiful game", which was advertised by Nike before the tournament. [273] In 1998, he featured in a Nike commercial set in an airport with a number of stars from the Brazil national team, including Romrio and Roberto Carlos. Ronaldo starred alongside Romrio, dubbed the Ro-Ro attack, at the 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup, helping Brazil win their first ever Confederations Cup title where he finished as the third-highest scorer with 4 goals, scoring a hat-trick against Australia in the final. He was so natural, so cool, so utterly in control. "[23] In one on one situations, Ronaldo often used elaborate feints to trick and beat defenders and goalkeepers; he popularised the use of many football tricks such as the elastico and the step over. [223][224] At his unveiling as the club's new owner at Valladolid city hall, Ronaldo stated, "I have gone through many stages in my training in football to prepare for this. Neymar has scored total 269 goals in 439 games (for clubs) since his debut with Santos in 2009. He revealed, "when I arrived in training with this haircut everybody stopped talking about the injury". Later in 2002, he won the FIFA World Player of the Year award for the third time, and transferred from Inter to Real Madrid. Scored 92 goals in 80 games during the 1981-82 season. (2005), Goal II: Living the Dream (2007) and Goal III: Taking on the World (2009). The boy was born after a brief relationship between Ronaldo and Michele Umezu, a Brazilian waitress who Ronaldo first met in Tokyo in 2002. [46], "The knee injuries suffered at Inter Milan took away the explosiveness that made him possibly the greatest young footballer of all time, a futuristic fusion of speed, strength and skill. [247] Ronaldo co-owns the sports marketing company 9INE, with his friend, mixed martial artist Anderson Silva, one of his clients. [132] On the combination of Ronaldo and Romrio, Will Sharp writes: "to the elation of all those fortunate enough to have watched them, they found themselves together, fated with the opportunity to forge one of the most outrageous offensive pairings the game has ever seen. [186][187], On 13 December 2011 Ronaldo and Zinedine Zidane played a charity match with their friends against former and current players of the German team Hamburg in the ninth edition of the Match Against Poverty series, which Ronaldo and Zidane established in 2003. [58][59], Having signed for Real Madrid for 46million, his jersey sales broke all records on the first day. ", "Ronaldo wins world player award for third time", "Laureus World Comeback of the Year 2003 nominees", "Ronaldo: "I didn't want to leave Real Madrid", "Brazil 3-1 Argentina: Ronaldo hit a hat-trick of penalties as Brazil sank arch-rivals Argentina 3-1 in a World Cup qualifier", "Kaka's spectacular run with Milan and Brazil overshadowed by his successors", "Brazil give magic quartet another chance to shine", "At the 2006 World Cup Ronaldo was jeered for being overweight and too slow", "Japan 1-4 Brazil: Brazil striker Ronaldo became the joint highest scorer in World Cup history as he scored twice against Japan", "Official FIFA Awards: Zidane wins adidas Golden Ball award", "World Cup Rewind: Ronaldo sets all-time goals world record", "World Cup rewind: Miroslav Klose beats Ronaldo's all-time goals record", "Kaka: I prefer Brazilian Ronaldo over Cristiano", "Ronaldo makes emotional farewell appearance for Brazil against Romania", "Ronaldo laughs off misses in his final match for Brazil", "Neymar surpasses Ronaldo as Brazil's second-highest goalscorer", "Ronaldo Lus Nazrio de Lima - Goals in International Matches", "Hamburg to host 2011 Match Against Poverty ", "Blic Sport | Ronalda ne naputa oseaj za gol /video/", "Zinedine Zidane And Ronaldo Reunite For Charity Match", "Match Against Poverty: Brazil's Ronaldo stars", "Didier Drogba to join Ronaldo and Zidane in 12th annual Match Against Poverty", "World Cup 2018: Ronaldo and Robbie Williams star in opening ceremony", "Ronaldo, Romario Reinvented Striker's Role, Says Thierry Henry", "Ronaldo e Batistuta. One of his greatest talents was the way he could glide past goalkeepers and that's shown in. [26] Speaking to The New York Times regarding Ronaldo later that season, Robson said "I don't think I've ever seen a player at 20 have so much". Often dubbed 'R9', the former Real Madrid man won a slew of trophies in his career including two World Cups with Brazil. He was named player of the tournament in 1997, was the top scorer in 1999 and scored in the finals of both, against Bolivia in 1997 and Uruguay in 1999. Ronaldo, as so many of those who looked up to him acknowledge, changed what it is to be a centre-forward. Ronaldo leads the scoring table with 815 career goals, a figure that will continue to rise as it seems. [145] The parliamentary inquiry was unable to find any wider conspiracy, although the Brazilian public remained unconvinced. [32], "He was physical perfection, and he seemed like a mythical figure. ", Brazilian defender Cafu on 17-year-old Ronaldo. [67] He finished the season as La Liga's top scorer with 25 goals and received the Pichichi Trophy for a second time, despite Madrid losing the league title to Valencia. What allowed him so many chances at an open net was his close control when one on one with the keeper. [28] He also won La Liga top scorer award in 1997 with 34 goals in 37 games, and the European Golden Shoe. But he could also produce those things while running at an unbelievable, explosive pace. This attacking performance currently places them at 3rd out of 326 for Bundesliga Players who've played at least 3 matches. In 2020, Ronaldo was named in the Ballon d'Or Dream Team, a greatest all-time XI published by France Football magazine. There will never, in my view, be a better player than him. [203][204][205] Highly regarded for his technical ability, Ronaldo was able to use both feet, despite being naturally right footed,[206][207] and is considered one of the most skilful dribblers in the game. [100] Rio-based sports newspaper Lance! In 2015, Pele posted a tweet claiming that he had scored 1,283 goals during his illustrious career. 9 his own. [14], "The first time I saw him play was at Cruzeiro. One of them, a solo goal against Compostela, is considered one of the most amazing goals in football. You just understand when you see quality. [49] During his first comeback on 12 April 2000, he played only six minutes during the first leg of the Coppa Italia final against Lazio before suffering a complete rupture of the knee-cap tendons. [68][69] During that second season at the club, Ronaldo scored one of the fastest goals in the club's history when he netted after 15 seconds in a league match against Atltico Madrid at the Bernabu on 3 December 2003. How many goals did Pele score in his career? And usually, he was right". [239] On 6 April 2010, Maria Beatriz Antony gave birth to their second daughter. You'd be at a table with him and it'd be a judge sitting opposite talking to a politician with someone off the street listening in. Ronaldo was unpredictable in his movement and it made it hard to judge which way he was going. But he also turned the game so that it will always look just a little bit like him. Cristiano, maybe you can guess that he has three or four tricks he would use most of the time, but Ronaldo, it was always something different. [66], In a 2005 interview with Folha de S.Paulo, Ronaldo revealed that, somewhat unexpectedly, he identified racially as white,[231] generating a wider conversation about the complex role of race in Brazil. 7His 84 goals make him the 7th highest scorer for Manchester United in Premier League history - he's 7 away from his soon-to-be boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. [175] Brazil, however, were knocked out by France 10 with a goal by striker Thierry Henry in the quarter-finals. "[124] Dubbed the "three R's", Ronaldo starred in a formidable attack alongside Rivaldo and Ronaldinho, and the trio were named in the FIFA World Cup All-Star Team. [255] The Maccabiah is described as "the Jewish Olympics"; Ronald is not Jewish, but some participating countries have more relaxed rules about eligibility and Ronald is a member of a Jewish football club. "[23] Ronaldo's second season was marred by a knee injury which kept him out of most of the campaign, but he still averaged nearly a goal a game, scoring 19 goals in 21 appearances,[20] including a UEFA Cup four-goal haul against Finnish side MyPa. [62] That same reception was observed at the final game of the season against Athletic Bilbao, where Ronaldo scored to finish his first season with 23 league goals and seal La Liga title for 2003. [12] Ronaldo's agents in Brazil, Reinaldo Pitta and Alexandre Martins, signed him as a 13-year-old. ", "Seleo Brasileira (Brazilian National Team) 1998-1999", "Olympic bronze medal means everything to me, says Ronaldo", "FIFA Confederations Cup Saudi Arabia 1997", "World Cup: 25 stunning moments No15: Ronaldo falters as France win", "Ranked! But I know that one day they will be broken. This victory, for our fifth world title, has crowned my recovery and the work of the whole team. [63][71][199] Nicknamed Il (or O) Fenomeno (the phenomenon),[200] he was a prolific goalscorer, and despite being more of an individualistic attacker, he was also capable of providing assists for his teammates, due to his vision, passing and crossing ability. His Brazil teammate Romrio having played for PSV from 1988 to 1993 advised Ronaldo to move to the club. He is a five-time winner of the Ballon d'Or award. "Football's Great Heroes and Entertainers". [111], In February 2010, Ronaldo signed a contract extension with Corinthians that would keep him with the club until the end of 2011, and said he would then retire. Sid Lowe of Sports Illustrated states, "That season Ronaldo was unstoppable. [64], In the second leg of Real Madrid's Champions League quarter-final, Ronaldo scored a hat-trick against Manchester United at Old Trafford, knocking the English team out of the competition. [147], Prior to the 2002 FIFA World Cup, Ronaldo had barely played since rupturing the cruciate ligament in his right knee in April 2000, and he missed Brazil's entire qualification campaign where, in his absence, the team had been poor. United Nations Development Programme Goodwill Ambassador, one of the fastest goals in the club's history, Laureus World Sports Award for Comeback of the Year, Trofeo EFE La Liga Ibero-American Player of the Year, IFFHS World's Top Goal Scorer of the Year, Association of Football Statisticians (AFS) Top-100 Players of All Time, International Federation of Football History & Statistics, List of most expensive association football transfers, List of men's footballers with 50 or more international goals, "2006 FIFA World Cup Germany: List of Players: Brazil", "Aps incio pobre em Bento Ribeiro, Ronaldo conquista o mundo", "Brazil's Ronaldo Has the World at His Feet", "The making of O Fenomeno in Brazil: 'It was as if he had come from the moon', "Ronaldo O Fenomeno: Sao Cristovao's greatest son", "Ronaldo: My history & goals can't be erased", "PSV Eindhoven rekindle glory days of Romrio and Ronaldo", "The big interview: Luis Enrique "I'd like to manage in England at some point the fans are faithful", "Ronaldo at 40: Il Fenomeno's legacy as greatest ever No 9, despite dodgy knees", "Ronaldo given route back by Corinthians", "Spain - List of Topscorers ("Pichichi") 1929-2011", "Jose Mourinho: Brazil's Ronaldo is the best player from last 20 years", "Brazilian Ronaldo was simply a phenomenon", "Ronaldo says exits from Barcelona are often ugly for Brazilians", "Ronaldo at Inter Milan: The UEFA Cup, the goals and the injuries the full story of his time in Italy", "Goal O' The Times: Alvaro Recoba vs. Brescia (1997)", "Italy - Footballer of the Year: List of winners", "Brazil legend Ronaldo retires from football", "European Football: Ronaldo's duel with Batistuta", "Djorkaeff's UEFA Cup glory day at Inter", "Ecco l'Inter di Hodgson. In 1997, Inter Milan broke the world record fee to sign Ronaldo, making him the first player since Diego Maradona to break the world transfer record twice. He scored 136 goals in 236 apps he made with Santos from 2009-2013. [112][113] Commenting on his weight issues following this announcement, Brian Homewood of The Guardian states, "Sadly, Ronaldo's celebrity is now more of a draw than his skills on the pitch Coldplay, Israeli prime minister Shimon Peres and actor Hugh Jackman have all visited So Paulo to get a picture with the rolypoly star. Or talks about it. Ronaldo National Team Brazil Ronaldo Stats Detail of World Cups Played He was so fast he could score from nothing. Nothing disturbed him, nothing overawed him, nothing threw him off his game. [21] After scoring a hat-trick in PSV's game against Bayer Leverkusen in the 199495 UEFA Cup, Leverkusen striker and Germany World Cup winner Rudi Vller stated in a post match press conference, "Never in my life have I seen an 18-year-old play in this way. [269][270] To celebrate 15 years of the boot, Nike created a Mercurial Vapor IX inspired by the 1998 design, with Phil McCartney, VP of Football Footwear for Nike, stating; "Ronaldo's impact on the game 15 years ago was immense, and in the run up to 2014, we wanted to celebrate that boot and the man himself. With him, it was a different story. "[8] He joined the Social Ramos futsal team at the age of 12 and led the city's youth league in scoring with a record 166 goals in his first season which included scoring 11 of his team's 12 goals in a single game. Roma a caccia del 4 posto", "Maradona And Ronaldo Best Ever - Maldini", "He and Ronaldo Give Inter a Dynamic Duo: For Vieri, One More Change of the Jersey", "Ronaldo (Luz (Ronaldo) Nazrio de Lima) Milan and Brazil", "Ronaldo's kneecap exploded, it was by his thigh', "Ronaldo fights the flab and dodgy knees", "Ronaldo e la fascia da capitano: "Giusto che la porti Zanetti" e in serata il s di Cuper", "Serie A in the '90s: when Italian football ruled the world", "Ronaldo Nazario da Lima Interview. Every day I trained with him, I saw something different, something new, something beautiful. "[210] The goalscoring idol of Lionel Messi, the Argentine states "Ronaldo was the best striker I've ever seen. [240], "In the dressing room, I was sat between [Paolo] Maldini and Ronaldo, who asked me if I wanted to be part of his clan, showing me a copy of Playboy, or if wanted to be part of Kak's clan, who had a few church things in the dressing room. I know, I lost my battle. His reaction was the same. Salah then went on to effectively help Liverpool win all possible trophies that. Despite his injury woes, many people speak so highly of Ronaldo including Jose Mourinho, who believes he is the best player he's ever seen. [274] In the run-up to the 2002 World Cup in Korea and Japan, he starred in Nike's "Secret Tournament" commercial (branded "Scopion KO") directed by Terry Gilliam, appearing alongside football players such as Thierry Henry, Fabio Cannavaro, Francesco Totti, Ronaldinho and Hidetoshi Nakata, with former player Eric Cantona as the tournament "referee". From that point on he showed he was truly a phenomenon. [177], Having been listed in Guinness World Records, Ronaldo stated, "I am proud of my career and of the records I set. [241], In December 2010, Ronaldo and his family moved to a new mansion in So Paulo. Stats by club "[133], "The way he combined powerhouse athleticism with a poetic touch made for an awesome sight. [53] Since his Inter teammate Javier Zanetti had replaced him as the team captain during his absence, he eventually inherited the captain's armband in late 2001. [185] After the first half ended, Ronaldo made a farewell speech to the crowd. The Brazilian soccer legend has updated his Instagram bio to say that he's now the all-time leading goal scorer. By the age of 23, he had scored over 200 goals for club and country, while also breaking the world transfer record twice. In 1996, Nike signed Ronaldo to a 10-year contract and to a lifetime endorsement deal worth over $180 million. "[141] However, shortly before kick off, after pleading that he felt fine and requested to play, Ronaldo was reinstated by Brazil coach Mrio Zagallo. 30th June 2002. [41] During his time with Inter, he scored several goals against city rivals A.C. Milan in the Derby della Madonnina. So he just had this amazing aura, where everyone wanted to join him. His stepover was a form of hypnosis, and his signature trick, the elastico, could certainly have come from a computer screen. Maria Beatriz Antony gave birth to their first daughter, named Maria Sophia, in Rio de Janeiro, on 24 December 2008. Cristiano Ronaldo and Leo Messi have had longer careers. [142] Ronaldo later reflected: "We lost the World Cup but I won another cup my life."[135]. [104] Ronaldo responded that playing for Corinthians was the only option open to him. Mentally I wanted to continue but I have to acknowledge that I lost to my body. [94][95] The closest that he came to Champions League success was in 2003 when he helped Real Madrid to the semi-finals, in which they lost to Juventus. He was the fastest thing I've ever seen running with the ball. "In 1997, Barcelona played against PSG in Rotterdam and Ronaldo's goal, 1-0. Everything that would come to define him the lightning pace, the blurry stepovers, the implausible impression that he was faster with the ball than without it, even the exceptional upper-body strength was all there. To make sure you never miss out on your favourite NEW stories, we're happy to send you some reminders, Click 'OK' then 'Allow' to enable notifications, .css-1diosym{color:black;}@media (prefers-color-scheme:dark){.css-1diosym{color:#fff;}}Published17:38,31 October 2020 GMT@media (prefers-color-scheme:dark){.css-jirzs7{color:#72B97D;}}| Last updated17:39,31 October 2020 GMT. Leo Messi was on just 42, 11 more than Zlatan Ibrahimovic. "[34] Paying the buy out clause fee in his contract, Inter Milan signed him in the summer of 1997 for a then world record fee of $27million,[35] making him the second player, after Diego Maradona, to break the world transfer record twice. Perhaps the most complete striker in the recent past, Ronaldo has also won the World Cup twice with Brazil. "[72], "He [Ronaldo] was more talented [than Cristiano Ronaldo] and if he took care of himself like the Portuguese does, his performances would have been even more incredible. "[20] Rob Smyth added, "In many ways Ronaldo was the first PlayStation footballer. [124] He was then known as Ronaldinho ("little Ronaldo" in Portuguese), because Ronaldo Rodrigues de Jesus, his older teammate, was also called Ronaldo and later nicknamed Ronaldo ("big Ronaldo") to further distinguish them. The head wants to go on but the body can't take any more. Ronaldo was a beast. 2 Pele's goal tally has been controversial for many years Credit: Rex And that puts him top of the charts in football history as the greatest goal scorer ever. [119] Ronaldo admitted his body had finally succumbed to the crippling litany of injuries that had blighted his career: "It's very hard to leave something that made me so happy. [23], His coach at Barcelona, Bobby Robson, commented: "Ronaldo could start from the halfway line and the whole stadium would ignite. But I was training with Flamengo for four months and didn't receive any offer. "[77] Teammates for six months, Van Nistelrooy said, "Ronaldo was the best natural talent I ever played with. [5][6] Ronaldo has a brother, Nlio Jr.[6][7] His parents separated when he was 11, and Ronaldo dropped out of school shortly afterward to pursue a career in football. Watching him was like watching a character in a video game. ", Featured Image Credit: PA Images & @FinishedPlayers/YouTube, Topics:.css-wpf514{color:#72B97D;}Football News, Football, Ronaldo, Brazil, Real Madrid, Inter, Inter Milan, Fascinating reason behind why Brighton players stand still with their studs on the ball, its absolutely genius, Fans are putting 'absolute steal' Wout Weghorst into their Fantasy team ahead of Man Utd debut, Gabby Agbonlahor says Man Utd fans are less bothered about The Glazers when they win, Infamous porn noise played during BBC's LIVE broadcast ahead of FA Cup match, Gary Lineker couldn't believe it, VAR referee Mike Dean blasted for 'worst mistake of the season' so far, Luis Suarez scores 38-minute hat-trick on debut for Gremio, he is eternal, YouTube prankster claims he is responsible for sex noises during BBC's live FA Cup broadcast, he shows how he did it, he suffered a catalogue of serious knee injuries, who believes he is the best player he's ever seen, Ronaldo Reveals Teammate Used To Take Him Out To Try And Take His Starting Spot, Cristiano Ronaldo sold one of his five Ballon d'Ors to Israel's richest person, Walter Samuel Invented A Whole New Method To Stop Ronaldo Nazario, Fans are excited as Ronaldo Nazario drops trailer for The Phenomenon documentary. [128] Ronaldo also represented Brazil in the 1995 Copa Amrica (finishing second) and won both the 1997 and the 1999 editions of the tournament. [226][227] Although they never married, they began a long-term relationship and lived together in Milan until the beginning of 1999. Season Team Competition Matches Goals; 2011: Corinthians: CL: 2: 0: 2010: Corinthians: CL: 7: 3: 2006/2007: Real Madrid: UCL: 4: 2: 2005/2006: Real Madrid: UCL: 2: 0: . Whenever he wanted to turn it on he could, on any stage, in any stadium". [105] Ronaldo scored his first goal for Corinthians on 8 March 2009 in a Campeonato Paulista match against Palmeiras. [195][196], On 14 June 2018, Ronaldo featured at the 2018 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony held at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, Russia. [56][57] After five years he had played 99 games and scored 59 goals for Nerazzurri. "Injuries killed a career that could have been even more incredible, but the talent that that 19-year-old boy had was something incredible. [12] Upon returning from the tour, he scored 20 goals, with eight coming in the Supercopa Libertadores, including a hat-trick against Chilean side Colo-Colo in the first leg, and two in the second leg, before scoring a further three against Uruguayan team Nacional, resulting in him being the tournament's top goalscorer. Ronaldo has scored 800 goals. It was extraordinary. [54] After two operations and rehabilitation, Ronaldo came back for the 2002 World Cup, helping Brazil win their fifth World Cup title. [272], Ronaldo has appeared in a series of Nike commercials. However, if we are talking strictly about talent and skill, nobody surpasses Ronaldo. He was United's top scorer in the last three seasons of his first spell at Old Trafford, winning the Ballon d'Or in 2008 as a result, before moving to Real Madrid in 2009 as the then. "He could go in a restaurant, and I could go in with him, and you're not just there with close friends. "[218] A reliance on his superior innate ability is given as a reason for his application in training often not being as high as his teammates though his knee issues may also have been a factor with his Brazil teammate Emerson stating "Ronaldo felt he didn't need to work as hard as us, that he could do in two days what the rest of us would take ten days to do. [48] However, on 21 November, during a Serie A match against Lecce, Ronaldo felt his knee buckle and was forced to limp off the field. [60] Ronaldo was part of the Galcticos era of global stars signed by the club every summer, which included Zinedine Zidane, Lus Figo, Roberto Carlos and David Beckham. ", Alexandre Pato on meeting Ronaldo at A.C. Milan in 2007. [29] Ronaldo was at his physical peak at Barcelona, and many of his 47 goals involved him rounding the goalkeeper before slotting the ball into the net. "[23] Asked to name the best player of his lifetime, Jos Mourinho said, "Ronaldo, El Fenomeno. [107] He scored twice in a 31 win against local rivals Santos in the first leg of the state championship final, with Santos idol Pel looking on from the stands. Here was the world's most famous sportsman, about to take part in the most important match of his career, when he suddenly, inexplicably, fell ill. Was it stress, epilepsy, or had he been drugged? Sometimes there'd be 20 to 30 people sitting at meal times with him. . As a multi-functional striker who brought a new dimension to the position, Ronaldo has been an influence for a generation of strikers that have followed. [64] Ronaldo scored in a 21 home win over Juventus in the first leg of the Champions League semi-finals, but injury crucially kept him out of most of the second leg defeat where Real were eliminated. [123] He stated he was "overjoyed" at the experience. He was unmarkable. [80] Departing Real Madrid having been the club's leading goalscorer for all of his four full seasons, Ronaldo thanked everyone except Capello, "I would like to thank the fans who've supported me all the time and thank all the teammates that I've had here and all the coaches I've had except one". "[162], On 2 June 2004, Ronaldo scored an unusual hat-trick of penalties for Brazil against arch-rivals Argentina in a 2006 World Cup qualifying match, which put them top of the group. [259], Ronaldo has appeared in various commercials, from Snickers chocolate bar to Pirelli tyres. With this goal, he has now reached the top spot in the all-time list of men's goal scorers. The 10 best players of France 98", "What REALLY happened to Ronaldo before the 1998 World Cup Final in his own words", "World Cup moments: Mystery surrounds Ronaldo in 1998", "Zidane lights the blue-touch paper for France", "The mystery of Paris that refuses to go away", "Ronaldo: 1998 World Cup final mystery and why Brazil's star striker barely turned up", "Free of demons and back in land of the living", "Ronaldo: The road to redemption with Brazil at the 2002 World Cup", "Redemption for Ronaldo as world's eyes turn east", "Ronaldo's 2002 World Cup redemption according to him: "In that moment, I felt complete", "World Cup 2014 countdown: Ronaldo's comeback at the 2002 World Cup", "Ronaldo's Redemption: 2002 World Cup documentary", "Ronaldo reveals the real reason for his wedge haircut at the 2002 World Cup", "FIFA World Cup Final. [37] His debut came on 27 July during the pre-season fixture against Manchester United. "[12], Spotted by former Brazilian player Jairzinho, who was coaching So Cristvo, Ronaldo played for the So Cristvo youth team. His innate ability went beyond anything that I'd ever seen or played alongside. Legendary forward Ronaldo Nazario scored 88 of his goals by sitting the goalkeeper down and rounding them. In terms of total goals, Ronaldo has surpassed the records of other legendary players, including Josef Bican and Pele. [208] Ronaldo would also operate outside the penalty area before running with the ball towards goal,[63][71] with Rob Smyth writing, "he played like every attack had a 10-second deadline.. he would explode into life with no warning for defenders. Then he came to Barcelona. In December 2021, he bought a controlling stake in his boyhood club Cruzeiro, investing $70 million in the club. [167], At the 2006 World Cup, Ronaldo was part of a much-publicized "magic quartet" alongside Adriano, Ronaldinho and Kak. [52] Acknowledging "he was never quite the same" after his knee injury in 2000, with "his pace and sheer brute force diminished in comparison to The Phenomenon" in the 1990s, FourFourTwo magazine ranked him the best player at the 2002 World Cup, adding "he was still a cut above the rest" in the tournament.

Dragon Ball Fusion Generator All Secret Codes, Godfrey Funeral Home Valdosta, Ga Obituaries, Cplr Time To Answer Cross Claim, What Dessert Goes With Wings, When A Girl Calls You Sweet Cheeks,