THE RISE OF THE OTHER RONALDO
Imagine being a full-back confronting Manchester United and Portugal winger Cristiano Ronaldo in full stride - the ball is at his feet, except you can't keep track of it as he drags his legs and steps over it two, three, four times and all the while you are scrambling backwards, trying to maintain concentration. Ronaldo is most certainly a Player to Watch - but only if you can keep your eyes on him for long enough. If such a hypothetical scenario had been played out in reality, at least you would have been in good company because Ronaldo has been tormenting the world's finest full-backs over the course of the past few years. Manchester United broke the world record transfer fee for a teenager when they paid Sporting Lisbon £12.24m for the youngster in August 2003 - handing the then 18-year-old a five-year deal. United, who had just sold David Beckham to Real Madrid, needed a new star on the right flank to somehow plug the gap left by the England captain.
Their attention was first drawn to the pacy winger during a pre-season match held in the Portuguese capital. It seemed they had found exactly what they were looking for when they came up against Ronaldo playing for Sporting Lisbon that night. The United players might have been momentarily alarmed to see the name Ronaldo on the Sporting team sheet, but if anyone had explained that this was, in fact, a kid from Madeira who was allegedly named in honour of the former American president Ronald Reagan, their initial concerns would likely have been eased.
United lost the game 3-1 but were left mesmerised by the trickery, pace and dribbling skills of Ronaldo, a player that Sporting had signed up as far back as 1997 from Nacional and blooded in their first team in the 2002/03 campaign. The visitors talked about him non-stop and were so impressed that on the plane back to England they personally urged Sir Alex Ferguson to sign up Ronaldo immediately. Unknown to them, their manager had been keeping tabs on Sporting's pearl for months and as other clubs started to show an interest, Ferguson made his move for what he described as "one of the most exciting young players I've ever seen". When his record signing was announced, Ronaldo was thrilled to be given the number seven shirt worn by the departed Beckham. Curiously, seven is also the number worn by Ronaldo's idol Luis Figo and, a week after joining United, he made his full debut for Portugal alongside his mentor Figo against Kazakhstan.
Ronaldo's performance in his first game for United against Bolton Wanderers earned him rave reviews and Sir Alex, delighted to see his new signing slot into Beckham's position so well, proclaimed: "It looks like the fans have a new hero." Yet his first season at United was not all plain sailing and after showing initial promise he eventually attracted criticism for what some saw as an over-elaborate step-over dribbling action and a mystifying failure to deliver the final, killer cross.
Ronaldo, as he himself always stresses, is quick to learn and he has worked hard on that part of his game, though his manager is keen to protect his investment and has opted to let the player rest in Portugal for the past two winters. As Sir Alex explained during Ronaldo's first season: "He is only 18 and we have to be careful how we use him." The Scot's wisdom shone through in the 2004 FA Cup Final when a refreshed Ronaldo produced a devastating man-of-the-match performance against Millwall at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium, scoring a header as the Red Devils prevailed 3-0 to claim their tenth cup. He took that outstanding form into UEFA EURO 2004 with Portugal, where he was instrumental in his team's memorable run all the way to the final, although disappointment lay in store as Greece pulled off a fairytale victory. Ronaldo capped a hectic summer by taking part in the Olympic Games football tournament, but Portugal failed to make an impression in Athens.
A return to the FA Cup Final a year later ended in disappointment as United were pipped to the trophy, on penalties, by Arsenal. But the Mancunians were impressed with Ronaldo's progress over the previous 12 months and offered him an improved contract. In the summer of 2005 he agreed an extension that will keep him at Old Trafford until 2010.
Having been short-listed for the FIFA World Player of the Year accolade for two years running, Ronaldo received special recognition by fans worldwide who voted him their Young Player of the Year at the FIFPro awards in 2005. However, the season building up to the 2006 FIFA World Cup™ started in difficult circumstances for Ronaldo when his father was taken seriously ill and he died just a day before Portugal's qualifying match away to Russia in September. Ronaldo bravely played on to honour his dad in Moscow and helped Portugal towards the finals as they secured a 0-0 draw, with coach Luiz Felipe Scolari paying special tribute to his courage afterwards.
Ronaldo went on to guide Portugal to the top of their qualifying group for Germany 2006 and now with his first finals ahead of him, perhaps this could be the time when Madeira's golden boy starts to outshine his Brazilian namesake. But the teenager is not getting carried away just yet, saying modestly: "My only concern is to be at my best and win titles with United." (FIFAworldcup.com)
Their attention was first drawn to the pacy winger during a pre-season match held in the Portuguese capital. It seemed they had found exactly what they were looking for when they came up against Ronaldo playing for Sporting Lisbon that night. The United players might have been momentarily alarmed to see the name Ronaldo on the Sporting team sheet, but if anyone had explained that this was, in fact, a kid from Madeira who was allegedly named in honour of the former American president Ronald Reagan, their initial concerns would likely have been eased.
United lost the game 3-1 but were left mesmerised by the trickery, pace and dribbling skills of Ronaldo, a player that Sporting had signed up as far back as 1997 from Nacional and blooded in their first team in the 2002/03 campaign. The visitors talked about him non-stop and were so impressed that on the plane back to England they personally urged Sir Alex Ferguson to sign up Ronaldo immediately. Unknown to them, their manager had been keeping tabs on Sporting's pearl for months and as other clubs started to show an interest, Ferguson made his move for what he described as "one of the most exciting young players I've ever seen". When his record signing was announced, Ronaldo was thrilled to be given the number seven shirt worn by the departed Beckham. Curiously, seven is also the number worn by Ronaldo's idol Luis Figo and, a week after joining United, he made his full debut for Portugal alongside his mentor Figo against Kazakhstan.
Ronaldo's performance in his first game for United against Bolton Wanderers earned him rave reviews and Sir Alex, delighted to see his new signing slot into Beckham's position so well, proclaimed: "It looks like the fans have a new hero." Yet his first season at United was not all plain sailing and after showing initial promise he eventually attracted criticism for what some saw as an over-elaborate step-over dribbling action and a mystifying failure to deliver the final, killer cross.
Ronaldo, as he himself always stresses, is quick to learn and he has worked hard on that part of his game, though his manager is keen to protect his investment and has opted to let the player rest in Portugal for the past two winters. As Sir Alex explained during Ronaldo's first season: "He is only 18 and we have to be careful how we use him." The Scot's wisdom shone through in the 2004 FA Cup Final when a refreshed Ronaldo produced a devastating man-of-the-match performance against Millwall at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium, scoring a header as the Red Devils prevailed 3-0 to claim their tenth cup. He took that outstanding form into UEFA EURO 2004 with Portugal, where he was instrumental in his team's memorable run all the way to the final, although disappointment lay in store as Greece pulled off a fairytale victory. Ronaldo capped a hectic summer by taking part in the Olympic Games football tournament, but Portugal failed to make an impression in Athens.
A return to the FA Cup Final a year later ended in disappointment as United were pipped to the trophy, on penalties, by Arsenal. But the Mancunians were impressed with Ronaldo's progress over the previous 12 months and offered him an improved contract. In the summer of 2005 he agreed an extension that will keep him at Old Trafford until 2010.
Having been short-listed for the FIFA World Player of the Year accolade for two years running, Ronaldo received special recognition by fans worldwide who voted him their Young Player of the Year at the FIFPro awards in 2005. However, the season building up to the 2006 FIFA World Cup™ started in difficult circumstances for Ronaldo when his father was taken seriously ill and he died just a day before Portugal's qualifying match away to Russia in September. Ronaldo bravely played on to honour his dad in Moscow and helped Portugal towards the finals as they secured a 0-0 draw, with coach Luiz Felipe Scolari paying special tribute to his courage afterwards.
Ronaldo went on to guide Portugal to the top of their qualifying group for Germany 2006 and now with his first finals ahead of him, perhaps this could be the time when Madeira's golden boy starts to outshine his Brazilian namesake. But the teenager is not getting carried away just yet, saying modestly: "My only concern is to be at my best and win titles with United." (FIFAworldcup.com)
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