Football365 have been running a series profiling iconic players from the history of the game and theyve recently put up a marvellous piece on Ronaldo , the legendary Brazilian striker dubbed Il Fenomeno, The Phenomenon.
Imagine you asked God to be the best player in the world, and he listened to you Sir Bobby Robson.
The article begins with Ronaldos miraculous comeback at the 2002 world cup
It then looks back at Ronaldos peak season at club level, 1996/7 with Barcelona at the age of 20:
Many of his strikes left even his own team-mates astonished, one such example being his goal against Compostela.. He is kicked, tripped and shirt-pulled by the opposition but he pulls away from defender after defender in a sprint from the halfway line in which the ball never leaves his feet until the final moment when he fires it inside the near post.
Old football can look relatively slow and clumsy, evolution being what it is, yet Ronaldos speed is awesome even to modern eyes spoiled by the frantic pace of the game nowadays.
As the writer makes clear:
In spite of his efforts, Barcelona did not win the league thanks to the organization of La Liga. The season did not finish until mid-June and as a consequence that meant Ronaldo was off playing for Brazil in the Copa America instead of playing his part in Barca's title run-in.
Ronaldo could have done no more however. He helped the team win the Copa del Rey and scored the winning goal in the Cup Winners' Cup final against Paris Saint Germain. The team had also won the Spanish Super Cup. He had also scored the goal that meant Barcelona won the second Clasico of the season against Real Madrid that left them in pole position for the league ahead of the run-in.
Sadly Ronaldo's continued to succumb to serious injuries;
Alas, Ronaldos body was not made for footballing old age.
In 1997, aged 21, Ronaldo became the youngest winner of the Ballon dOr, a record he still holds. He received 38 votes for first place that year; nobody else got more than two. He also broke the world transfer record twice before his 21st birthday.
Hes the greatest striker Ive seen in my lifetime, I feel privileged to have seen him play, he was the perfect centre-forward. Explosive power and pace, but blessed with a supreme first-touch and dribbling technique. He was unstoppable, regularly humiliating some of the best defenders in the world on a weekly basis and at such a young age. One of the most famous battles being against the great Alessandro Nesta in the 1998 UEFA Cup final, his signature Elastico trick performed against him is shown in the last gif in this post.
Who can forget that night at Old Trafford when he scored one of the best hat-tricks the Champions League has ever seen , he later went off to a standing ovation from both sets of fans.
What I think some people may forget when they talk about Ronaldo is the man had three serious knee injuries. Its nothing short of extraordinary that he still had the career he did, playing at perhaps barely half at his physical potential, he was still among the worlds best. A total freak of a footballer, a phenomenon.
There are players who have achieved more, but nobody has truly replicated his blend of strength, speed and skill.
The fat one. The old one. There are still people who remember him as the one: Il Fenomeno.
If he did not have these injuries, (in my opinion) that he would be regarded unequivocally as the greatest player to have ever graced the game.
A selection of quotes:
Imagine you asked God to be the best player in the world, and he listened to you Sir Bobby Robson.
The article begins with Ronaldos miraculous comeback at the 2002 world cup
It then looks back at Ronaldos peak season at club level, 1996/7 with Barcelona at the age of 20:
Many of his strikes left even his own team-mates astonished, one such example being his goal against Compostela.. He is kicked, tripped and shirt-pulled by the opposition but he pulls away from defender after defender in a sprint from the halfway line in which the ball never leaves his feet until the final moment when he fires it inside the near post.
Old football can look relatively slow and clumsy, evolution being what it is, yet Ronaldos speed is awesome even to modern eyes spoiled by the frantic pace of the game nowadays.
As the writer makes clear:
In spite of his efforts, Barcelona did not win the league thanks to the organization of La Liga. The season did not finish until mid-June and as a consequence that meant Ronaldo was off playing for Brazil in the Copa America instead of playing his part in Barca's title run-in.
Ronaldo could have done no more however. He helped the team win the Copa del Rey and scored the winning goal in the Cup Winners' Cup final against Paris Saint Germain. The team had also won the Spanish Super Cup. He had also scored the goal that meant Barcelona won the second Clasico of the season against Real Madrid that left them in pole position for the league ahead of the run-in.
Sadly Ronaldo's continued to succumb to serious injuries;
Alas, Ronaldos body was not made for footballing old age.
In 1997, aged 21, Ronaldo became the youngest winner of the Ballon dOr, a record he still holds. He received 38 votes for first place that year; nobody else got more than two. He also broke the world transfer record twice before his 21st birthday.
Hes the greatest striker Ive seen in my lifetime, I feel privileged to have seen him play, he was the perfect centre-forward. Explosive power and pace, but blessed with a supreme first-touch and dribbling technique. He was unstoppable, regularly humiliating some of the best defenders in the world on a weekly basis and at such a young age. One of the most famous battles being against the great Alessandro Nesta in the 1998 UEFA Cup final, his signature Elastico trick performed against him is shown in the last gif in this post.
Who can forget that night at Old Trafford when he scored one of the best hat-tricks the Champions League has ever seen , he later went off to a standing ovation from both sets of fans.
What I think some people may forget when they talk about Ronaldo is the man had three serious knee injuries. Its nothing short of extraordinary that he still had the career he did, playing at perhaps barely half at his physical potential, he was still among the worlds best. A total freak of a footballer, a phenomenon.
There are players who have achieved more, but nobody has truly replicated his blend of strength, speed and skill.
The fat one. The old one. There are still people who remember him as the one: Il Fenomeno.
If he did not have these injuries, (in my opinion) that he would be regarded unequivocally as the greatest player to have ever graced the game.
A selection of quotes:
