Today football loses one of its most influential and scintillating players, as Ronaldo, El Fenomeno, has announced his retirement. Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima retired from professional football at the age of 34. With a phenomenal 326 goals in 466 games, and 62 goals in 97 appearances for Brazil and enough trophies to rival any footballer, Ronaldo was simply one of the best footballers and strikers that the world has ever seen.
As a European, I have never been one to support South American football. I have however learned to appreciate the South American game, and the simple belief, that the game should be played beautifully with an eye to always entertain. And my oh my, did Mr. Ronaldo ever entertain.
Here is his timeline and footballing biography: (Courtesy of Sport.uk)
June 1993
Signed by Jairzinho a 16-year-old Ronaldo makes his first team debut for his homeside Cruzeiro. He went on to score 12 goals in 14 appearances helping them to the Copa do Brasil title.
Signed by Jairzinho a 16-year-old Ronaldo makes his first team debut for his homeside Cruzeiro. He went on to score 12 goals in 14 appearances helping them to the Copa do Brasil title.
July 1994
Signs for PSV Eindhoven from Cruzerio, where he scored 58 goals in 60 games. He was also a non-playing member of Brazil’s USA ’94 World Cup winning squad. Ronaldo revealed it was Romario who recommended his former club as the perfect place for the 17-year-old to start his European football career.
June 1996
Bobby Robson brings the striker to Barcelona for £12 million, after he scores 42 goals in 46 appearances in two years at the PSV, winning a Dutch Cup. His appearances in his last PSV season are few and far between as he suffers a knee injury, the first of many in his career. Earlier in the summer he represents Brazil at the Atlanta Olympic Games, finishing with a bronze medal.
December 1996
Wins the FIFA World Player of the Year award for the first time.
May 1997
Scores the decisive penalty in a 1-0 Cup Winners’ Cup final victory over Paris St Germain. The Catalans finish runners-up to Real Madrid in La Liga, but Ronaldo finishes as the league’s top-scorer with 34 goals in 37 league games, 47 goals in 49 games in all competitions.
June 1997
Moves to Inter Milan for €30.5 million, after winning the Copa America with Brazil, scoring five goals in the process.
December 1997
Retains the FIFA World Player of the Year award, the first player to do so in the award’s history, as well as becoming the first Brazilian to win the "Ballon d'Or".
May 1998
Scores in Inter’s 3-0 UEFA Cup final victory over fellow Italian side Lazio. Finishes the season with 34 goals in all competitions.
July 1998
Helps Brazil reach the final of the ’98 World Cup in France, scoring 4 goals overall and picking up the ‘Golden Ball Award’. Controversy strikes as Ronaldo is initially left out of coach Mario Zagalo's side when the teamsheet was issued 72 minutes before kick-off at the Stade de France.
Team doctor Lidio Toledo revealed the striker had been rushed to hospital after suffering a convulsion in his sleep but was cleared to play after neurological and cardiac tests. Half an hour later he was back in the line-up, but rumours of a dispute within the Brazilian camp were fuelled when the team failed to emerge for the pre-match warm-up.
Brazil went on to lose 3-0 to France, courtesy of a brace from Zinedine Zidane and a goal from Emmanuel Petit, with Ronaldo looking a shadow of the man who had led the line so superbly in the previous rounds. Conspiracy theories circled around the Brazilian press, some claiming match-fixing, others saying Nike forced the management to play an unfit Ronaldo, hence his late inclusion in the starting line-up.
October 1999
After putting the events of the World Cup final behind him, Ronaldo wins his second Copa America with Brazil in the Summer of 1999, but tragedy strikes in October as he suffers a knee injury in a 6-0 victory over Lecce for Inter. The injury requires surgery, and the striker faces six months out.
April 2000
Returns to action in the Italian Cup Final as a second-half substitute, but ruptures a knee ligament after just six minutes on the field and misses the entire 2000-2001 season.
September 2001
Makes his return to football in Inter’s UEFA Cup first round match against Romanian side Brasov. His first Italian league appearances soon follows, but an injury to his thigh in November forces him to again miss a large part of the season.
June 2002
Called up to the Brazil squad and repays the faith shown in him by coach Luis Felipa Scolari by inspiring Brazil to their fifth World Cup trophy, scoring eight goals in the process, including two in the final vs Germany to vanquish the demons of four years ago.
July 2002
Real Madrid fork out £25million for the Brazilian following his summer exploits, with the sale of his shirts breaking records on the first-day alone. Ronaldo was injured for the beginning of the season, but eventually made his debut in October, scoring a couple of goals to mark the occasion.
December 2002
Wins the FIFA Footballer of the Year award for the third time, as well as his second “Ballon d’Or”.
April 2003
Scores a stunning hat-trick to knock Manchester United out of the Champions League (winning 6-5 on aggregate) receiving a standing ovation from everyone inside Old Trafford. Real Madrid end the season with La Liga trophy, as Ronaldo finishes with 23 league goals.
March 2004
Ronaldo suffers a serious thigh-injury in Real’s La Liga match with Racing Santander and misses the rest of the season. At the time, Real were pushing for the treble, but injury to their main striker sees the Madrid side fall short on the league, get knocked out in the quarter-finals of the Champions League and lose the Copa Del Rey final. Despite the injury, Ronaldo finishes at the league’s top-scorer with 24 goals.
September 2004
Returns to Brazil fold after injury, and scores a hat-trick of penalties against Argentina in a qualifier for the 2006 World Cup.
July 2006
Called up to Carlos Alberton Parreira’s 2006 World Cup squad, despite questions over his fitness; during the group-stages he was jeered by fans for being over-weight and slow. Brazil were knocked out by France in the quarter-final stage but Ronaldo’s three goals during the tournament helped him break Gerd Muller’s all-time World Cup finals scoring record, taking his tally to 15.
January 2007
Following Real’s acquisition of Ruud Van Nistelrooy from Manchester United and Ronaldo’s falling-out with Fabio Capello over his weight issues, Ronaldo moved to AC Milan for €7.5 million. He went on to make 14 appearances for Milan that season, scoring 7 goals. He also became one of only two players to score for both sides in a Milan derby, for Inter in the 98/99 season and for Milan in the 06/07 season.
February 2008
Suffers a severe season-ending knee injury while jumping for a cross in AC Milan's 1–1 draw with Livorno. The striker is stretchered off and taken to hospital, where scans reveal he has ruptured the knee-cap ligament in his left knee. With his contract up at the end of the season, Ronaldo limps out of Milan, with many fearing the legendary striker will never play again.
December 2008
After training with Brazilian club-side Flamengo, Ronaldo signs for bitter rivals Corinthians, despite earlier pledging his allegiance to the former.
March 2009
Scores his first goal for Corinthians against Palmerias and helps the side win the Campeonato Paulista, scoring 10 goals in 14 games.
May 2010
Following a successful return to form in domestic football, many fans and pundits implore Dunga to take Ronaldo to his fourth World Cup. Dunga rejects the notion, but Ronaldo refuses to be drawn on the subject, and helps Corinthians win their 3rd ever Brazilian Cup, and thus qualify for the Copa Libertadores.
February 2011
Corinthians are knocked out of the Copa Libertadores much to the distress of their fans. Feeling the players under-performed considerably, they fans begin sending death threats and pelting the players with stones during a training session. Training-ground walls are vandalized with phrases such as, “Ronaldo is a shameless fatty” and, “Media Tart, you had disappointed us again.” With players fearing for their safety, legendary full-back Roberto Carlos leaves Brazil to join Russian side Anzhi Makhachkala.
Ronaldo decides it is best to bring his retirement forward from the end of the season, and draws the curtains on a glittering career.
Ronaldo Video Tributes
Barcelona Tribute
All 15 World Cup Goals
A Collection - With Horrendous Music
No comments:
Post a Comment