About Ronaldo

Ronaldo Luis Nazario de Lima, most commonly known simply as Ronaldo, is a Brazilian football striker who plays for Sport Club Corinthians. He participated in four World Cups for Brazil National Team winning two titles and finishing in second place once. Ronaldo also won the Balon D’Or award, as the best footballer of the world, for three times 1996 (at age 20), 1997 and 2002. Pelé named Ronaldo one of the 125 greates football players of the history. He received, in 1997, the nickname Il Fenomeno (The Phenomenon) when playing for Internazionale Milan.

Background

Ronaldo in the futsal team of Social Ramos

Born in the humble neighbourhood of Bento Ribeiro in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Ronaldo Luis Nazario de Lima probably didn’t think that he would one day be called Ronaldo, The Phenomenon. But soon his talent emerged and the youngest of three siblings would gain international fame.

Ronaldo started playing futsal at an early age in small clubs in Rio de Janeiro. The fast-paced game in a small court helped him develop his technique and ball control like no other. Soon he made a move to the grass playing in the youth categories of Sao Cristovao FC, a small club from his city.

Club Football

Ronaldo playing for Cruzeiro EC

Cruzeiro Esporte Clube In 1993, at age 16, he signed his first professional contract with Cruzeiro Esporte Clube of Belo Horizonte. In 59 matches played for the club Ronaldo scored 57 goals. The two most impressive matches were against Bahia EC in which he scored 5 of the 6 goals in the team’s 6-1 win, and the hat trick scored against rivals Atletico-MG.

PSV Eindhoven So many amazing performances gave the 17 year old a spot in the Brazil National Team’s roster that won the 1994 FIFA World Cup. He sat on the bench during the whole competition but his qualities were not ignored by European clubs and right after the World Cup he signed with Dutch club PSV Eindhoven.

Demolishing defenses in Holland

The success continued as Ronaldo scored 66 goals in 71 matches helping the dutch club win the 1995 Dutch Cup. Ronaldo was also the topscorer of the Dutch League that season.

The defenders feared him. The fans adored him.

FC Barcelona In 1996 Ronaldo was bought by FC Barcelona to fill the spot left by another Brazilian striker, Romario. In ten months with Barcelona Ronaldo scored 34 goals in 37 matches and won the Copa Del Rey, the Spain Supercup and the European Re-Cup. It was also in Spain that Ronaldo created his airplane goal celebration.

With all the merits Ronaldo was elected the best footballer of the world for two years in a row in 1996 and 1997.

Internazionale Milan From being a very skinny kid for many years called Ronaldinho (Little Ronaldo), he looked quite strong and built-up when, in 1997, he was transferred to Internazionale Milan. Ronaldo was 21 years old then and all that talent, speed and skills made the fanatical Italian press give Ronaldo the nickname “Il fenomeno” (The Phenomenon). His first match with the back and blue team was a friendly against Manchester United and attracted 60 thousands Italian fans to the Giuseppe Meazza Stadium. Ronaldo’s goals helped Internazionale win the UEFA Cup in 1998.

Real Madrid Once again elected the best footballer of the year, in 2002 Ronaldo saw himself in a very controversial transfer to Real Madrid. The deal is said to have cost something around 39 million of Euros for Los Merengues. There he played with Zidane and together the duo helped the team win the Spanish League, with Ronaldo being the topscorer of the competition.

The following season was not as good for Ronaldo and for Real Madrid. The team had now Roberto Carlos, Raul, Luis Figo, David Beckham, Ronaldo and Zidane as main players but “The Galacticos” – as they were known – failed to win any title and some muscle injuries ended up shaking the relationship between Ronaldo and the club. Even with all the problems The Phenomenon played 127 matches for Real Madrid and scored 83 goals.

AC Milan In January of 2007 Ronaldo began negotiating his transfer to AC Milan but Real Madrid wouldn’t release the striker until the end of his contract. A few weeks of discussion with Madrid’s directors and an agreement was reached. Ronaldo completed his transfer to the Rossoneri on January 30 receiving then his new number 99 jersey.

The first months in Milan were great for Ronaldo. In his second game with AC Milan he scored twice and gave the assist for a third goal when the team beat Siena in an exciting 4-3 win. It seemed that Ronaldo would become the perfect replacement for Ukranian striker Andryi Schevchenko who had been negotiated with Chelsea FC and Brazilian Ricardo Oliveira who wasn’t producing as much as expected.

But things started to go wrong when warming up for a game against Benfica Ronaldo pulled a calf muscle. The injury caused concern and Ronaldo was even linked with Brazilian club Flamengo. The player is a known fan of the Brazilian scarlet-black club and the deal seemed close when AC Milan confirmed that they would extend Ronaldo’s contract until June of 2008.

On January 12, 2008, Ronaldo played an incredible match and along with Kaká and new star Alexandre Pato, helped AC Milan beat Napoli 5-2. Ronaldo scored two of the goals. But a month later, in a game against Livorno the Phenomenon faced his worst nightmare again. A rupture on the patellar ligament of the left knee was just like a repeat of the problem Ronaldo had in 1999 and 200 while playing for Internazionale.

In the beginning of 2009 Corinthians Paulista announced that they have signed Ronaldo to join their squad for their return to the Serie A of the Brazilian League. Ronaldo is back to his number 9 and even though his shape is not the same anymore he already made a huge impact with the fans by scoring an important goal on the state derby against rivals Palmeiras.

International Football

Brazil National Team In 1998 Ronaldo was the biggest star of the Brazilian Team that went to the World Cup in France to defend their title. Ronaldo scored 4 goals in the tournament but what really marked his participation in the competiton were not the goals.

July 12, 1998 is a day that will be hardly forgotten by Ronaldo and his fans. A few hours before the World Cup Final and the chance to lift the trophy again this time as part of the strating eleven, Ronaldo suffered a still mysterious convulsion. Head coach Mario Zagallo insisted on starting the game with Ronaldo on the pitch and a numb and unrecognizable Brazilian team was easily beat 3-0 by Zidane’s France. But the worst was still to come.

In November of 1999 Ronaldo suffered a knee injury during a match between Internazionale and Lecce. He returned five months later and in a match against Lazio, in only 7 minutes played, he injured the same knee in a much more serious way and this time he would be away from the sport for 1 year and 5 months. For many critics that was the end of The Phenomenon. He was only 24 years old then.

Coach Luis Felipe Scolari shocked many critics when in 2002 he decided to call Ronaldo for the squad that would travel to the Korea-Japan World. Many would prefer to see Romario as the team’s striker and considered Ronaldo out of shape and done for football.

In the 2002 World Cup Ronaldo proved the world wrong. With 8 goals in the tournament he not only became the topscorer but also helped the team win its fifth World Cup. The Phenomenon was back!

The 2006 World Cup in Germany was a landmark for Ronaldo. Even though Brazil didn’t move past the quarter-finals losing 1-0 to France, Ronaldo’s three goals in the competition gave him the title of overall leading goalscorer in World Cups with a total of 15 goals in 4 participations.

Important Moments

Awards and Honours

Cruzeiro EC

• Brazilian Cup: 1993

PSV Eindhoven

• 1 Holland Cup: 1995/1996

Barcelona

• Cup Winners' Cup: 1996/1997
• Spanish Cup (Copa Del Rey): 1996/1997

Internazionale Milan

• UEFA Cup: 1997/1998

Real Madrid

• Intercontinental Cup: 2002
• Spanish League 2002/2003
• Spanish Supercup: 2003

Brazil National Team

• FIFA World Cup Champion: 1994, 2002
• FIFA World Cup runner-up: 1998
• South American Cup: 1997, 1999
• Confederation Cup: 1997

Personal Awards

Career Statistics

M = Matches, G = Goals, A = Assists

Personal Info

United Nations Ambassador In 2000 Ronaldo accepted the UN invitation to become United Nations Development Programme Goodwill Ambassador. He has visited many countries victimized by wars always with the role of talking to the leaders about putting an end to the conflict in the name of those who suffer the most: the poor and the children. "No one should be doomed to a life of poverty, whether by birth or as a consequence of war”, said the Ambassador Ronaldo.

Wife / Girlfriend

Ronaldo and his now 8-year old son Ronald

Ronaldo’s personal life certainly deserves a chapter itself. In 1999 Ronaldo married Milene Domingues, a childish looking brazilian girl who was then, famous for her football juggling skills. They welcomed their son Ronald in 2000 and in 2003 the divorce was announced.

Rumors say that affairs and a busy nightlife caused the marriage to collapse. But Ronaldo, who has always been linked with beautiful women, was ready for another shot. In 2004 made public his relationship with Brazilian model Daniela Cicarelli. The wedding happened in the luxurious Chantilly Castle, in the outskirts of Paris, on February 14, 2005 (Valentines Day). But this time the fairy tale didn’t last long. The couple announced the end of the relationship less than three months later. Once again the rumors of affairs emerged.

The streak of gorgeous women continued when supermodel Raica Oliveira was seen with the striker. Ronaldo and Raica dated for about one year between 2005 and 2006.

Ronaldo shares a laugh with his new girlfriend Bia Antony

Ronaldo’s new sweetheart is Brazilian student Bia Antony. The met in January of 2007 when Bia moved to Paris for a post-graduation course. She recently moved to his house in Milano, Italy. According to Brazilian gossip websites Ronaldo has been taking the relationship seriously and has plans to marry. It’s now a matter of wait and see.

Sponsors

• Nike
• Guarana Antarctica (soft drink)
• Santander (bank)
• Tim (mobile phone)

Important Links

• http://www.ronaldo-99.com/

References

• http://www.ronaldo.com/pt/default.aspx
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronaldo
• http://www.acmilan.com/LM_Actor.aspx?idSquadra=3&idStagione=14&idPersona=1891&name=Ronaldo