This is a tribute to a player I consider the best I have ever seen… The one & ONLY Ronaldo.

It seems he is about to hang up his boots, ending his career in Brazil playing with Corinthians. He is now certainly over weight, his knees are decimated but his grin is still there!

My 1st memory of him was in 1994 hearing that there was this young kid in the Brazil squad for the  World Cup & he is going to be the next big thing, he never came on & actually never came back on to my radar till the 1996 Olympics where at 19 he took the tournament by storm.

He left his 1st club Cruzeiro to join PSV in Holland & after two seasons & 54 goals in 57 appearances the star was really announced to the world.

Barcelona & Sir Bobby Robson came calling. Now for me this one year with the Catalan giants was the single best years of his career! He ripped La Liga & European football apart with defender bouncing off him as he skipped by them. I have never seen a striker so strong yet so fast. In that single year with Barca he banged in 47 goals in 49 games.

A world record transfer fee for £19m seen Ronaldo get

on a plane & leave Spain for Inter Milan in his 1st season in Serie A he was just as magical with his quick step overs fooled defenders & keepers alike, I cant forget forget the goal he scored against Lazio where his skill dumped the keeper on his backside!

But at Inter he ruptured his tendon in his knee & rarely looked the same in the Blue & Black stripes.

I will insert my Brazilian national team paragraph here. His record for his country stands at an impressive 62 goals in 97 games. In France 98 he was again showing the world his pedigree scoring 4 goals leading Brazil to the Final… Then the confusion began, would he play or not play the final… He had a fit on the eve of the final & only turned up hours before kick off. No one knows if pressure played a part in him playing but he did & he was a ghost, it overshadowed even Zidane’s brilliance.

In 2002 at the World Cup in Japan/Korea after a torrid few seasons at Inter he was a surprise inclusion & was written off. But like a Phoenix from the flames & sporting a bizarre hair cut so his child could spot the difference between daddy & Roberto Carlos the fenomeno was back. He thumped in 8 goals, including two in the final, winning the golden shoe & getting his hands on the World Cup again. He was reborn!

He would return a ‘bigger’ figure in 2006 but his 3 goals in Germany took him past Gerd Muller as the competitions all time leading goalscorer.

After his success in Asia in 2002, he return to Spain this time becoming a Galactico with Real Madrid. He found his scoring boots again in his 1st three seasons he sored 31, then 30 & then 24. Who will forget his sublime hattrick against Man Utd at Old Trafford? He was subbed late on & he was amazed by the standing ovation the home faithful showed an opposition player. He would fall out of favour with boss Fabio Capello & after the signing of Ruud Van Nistlerooy, Ronaldo would be shipped off to AC Milan.

It was at the Bernabeu on the 5th of October 2003, I saw my hero play live for the one & only time. It was against Espanyol, Real won 2-1. I still know the team off by heart; Casillas, Salgado, Roberto Carlos, Pavon, Helguera, Beckham, Figo, Guti, Zidane, Raul & their number 9 Ronaldo! I bought a replica shirt the day before with the same name & number on the back. The game was good, Michel Salgado was the man of the match, tearing up & down the right flank like a top racehorse, he never stopped. But my day was made with a Ronaldo brace, both amazingly with his head! That made a nice holiday a fantastic one. I still have the next days Marca & like a geek I spotted a Ronaldo china money bank & bought it & I still love it.

He had an unsuccessful stint with AC before returning to Brazil.

His career was gold laden he won 2 World Cups, Cup winners cup, UEFA Cup, 2 La Liga’s as well as so many more. His individual honours include 3 Fifa World player of the year awards & 2 Ballon d’Or’s plus so many more that I am not going to start or I will struggle to stop!

He is now known as the ‘Fat’ Ronaldo but to me Fenomeno will always be my hero! An AMAZING player. To Ronaldo I thank you for making Beautiful Football!

Posted on February 14th, 2011 by scott
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