BORN TO SCORE GOALS
People are born into the world with one purpose. Is there anyone who is unsure of Ronaldo's purpose? As well as being an out and out goalscorer, this particular world beater is blessed with an amazing range of tricks and skills; he is capable of doing things that make even opposition fans stand up and applaud.
Such wonderful talent could be seen as soon as he started kicking a ball. Born in the suburbs of Bento Ribeiro, in Rio de Janeiro, it was there, on the local pitches, that the legend of Ronaldo was born. The player fell in love with football at Valqueire futsal club and soon after at Social Ramos. He was top scorer in every competition he played in for both these clubs. He then made the step up to eleven-a-side with São Cristóvão, a small club in the northern suburbs of Rio.
It was immediately clear that boy and ball were made for each other. Cruzeiro were quick to take notice and soon signed him up. ‘Dadado’, as he was known as a kid, left his childhood home to follow his destiny and moved to Belo Horizonte. From that moment on, his star has not stopped shining brightly. In 1993, wearing the Number 20 shirt for Cruzeiro, he impressed in the Minas Gerais State Championship. The following year, now wearing the Number 9 shirt that he has made famous all over the world, he was given a bigger stage, as he was introduced to Brazil’s national championship Ronaldo, then known in football circles as Ronaldinho, scored a total of 57 goals in 59 matches for Cruzeiro, a strike rate that earned him a call-up to his first World Cup at just 17 years old, just like Pele. Even though he didn't get on the pitch at USA’94, he sealed a move to Europe straight after the tournament, signing for PSV Eindhoven.
It wasn’t long before the whole world was waking up to Ronaldo’s talents. It took him just one season in Holland (1994-95) to show everyone what he could do. He was top scorer in the league and a Dutch Cup winner in his first season. Overall, during his time with PSV he scored an incredible 66 goals in 71 matches. However, there were even more dramatic developments to come. In 1995, he cemented place in the starting eleven of the Brazilian national team, and the following year he joined the mighty Barcelona.
His trajectory at the Catalan club was every bit as meteoric as his previous rise in the football world had been. He enjoyed ten unforgettable months wearing the Number 9 shirt for Barca, scoring no less than 47 goals in 51 matches in the 1996-97 season, including 34 goals – most of them memorable - in 37 league matches. Inter Milan had been watching closely, and in 1997 they swooped to sign him for a world record fee. It took Ronaldo very little time to earn himself the ideal nickname, one which has since stuck: ‘The Phenomenon’. Although playing in a country where defences are notoriously difficult to break down, Ronaldo, wearing the Number 9 shirt once more, continued to waltz past defenders and leave goalkeepers picking the ball out of the back of the net. In the 1997-98 season, thanks to his wonderful skills and prowess, he chalked up the best goal average in the history of Italian football. His scoring average was hampered by a serious injury that sidelined him for a long period, but even so he managed 69 goals in 114 matches for Inter. After returning from injury, he not only made a full recovery, but proved to the world just how great a player he was by winning the 2002 World Cup in Japan and Korea, bringing the tournament to life and finishing top scorer with 8 goals.
He returned to Spain in 2002, now wearing the Number 11 shirt of Real Madrid (though he would later be given his beloved Number 9). As a member of the ‘Galacticos’ team along side David Beckham, Zinedine Zidane and Raul, he scored 118 goals in 194 games during a five-year spell, his longest with one club.
Having played for Spain’s two biggest and bitterest rivals, he went on to repeat the feat in Italy. Halfway through the 2006-07 season, AC Milan decided to show the world – and rivals Inter, their most fierce adversaries – that a ‘Phenomenon’ as gifted as Ronaldo could not resist the allure of their world-famous red and black shirt. This time his number was not 9, but the 99. The striker scored 8 goals in his first 14 appearances for the Rossoneri.
On top of all his club goals, Ronaldo has, to date, scored 73 goals in 112 senior and Olympic matches for his country. If you then add the two goals he has scored for FIFA representative sides, the world beater from Rio has amassed an incredible 440 goals in 616 professional matches, averaging 0.71 goals per game.
Does anyone still doubt that Ronaldo was born to score goals?
