Full Name: Luiz Nazario de Lima Ronaldo
Birth date: 9/22/1976
Birth place: Rio de Janeiro
Birth Nation: Brazil
Height: 179
Weight: 75
Nationality: Brazilian
Position: forward
Born on the 22nd of September 1976 in Bento Ribeiro, a suburb of Rio de Janeiro, Ronaldo has come a long way from the days of playing Futebol de Salão, or football indoor, played with a size 2 ball on a pitch the size of a basketball court. He has won it all - he was the star of the world cup triumphant samba magicians, he has won the “Golden Shoe” for being the best scorer in all European championships (1997), then the “Golden Ball” by the French magazine “France Football”, and the “FIFA World Player”.
The “Phenomenon” ever since he was a little boy showed great interest and passion for the game. He grew up watching his father play soccer with his friends and preferred to stay outdoors, playing barefoot and dreaming of becoming like his idol Zico. The youngster got a moment to cherish when during a tournament for junior players he played like a comic book hero for Valqueire against the rich Vasco de Gama team. He scored and he has never really stopped doing so.
His exploits earned him a call in the under 17 Brazilian national team and like the legendary Pele his first game was against Argentina. He played for ten minutes replacing Bebeto. He was called up for the 1994 Brazilian National team for the 94 USA world cup. Sadly he did not get a chance as Romario and Bebeto dazzled the crowds and Brazil went on to win the title for a record fourth time.
Although sidelined for the entire tournament his talents did not go unnoticed. PSV Eindhoven, the Dutch giant, handed him a lucrative offer. His talent was also discovered by Nike, who started sponsoring the young star and all just 12 months after he didn’t even have the money to pay for a pair of Nike boots. Ronaldo won the heart of the Dutch club’s supporters and became a cult figure. He played, he scored - that is how you could describe his exploits with PSV - he went on to become the Best Scorer of the Dutch season.
He joined Barcelona then and the entire Catalan region was basked by his goal-scoring prowess. The ’’Barça’’, number 9 shirt became a symbol of the Catalan pride -’’Ronaldomania’’; had truly begun. He continued to score and his celebration -like a little airplane - became more and more common. Children started imitating it, together with everything else, which is Ronaldo; like his baldhead and the widely spaced teeth.
He moved to Inter Milan and although showed signs of his brilliance was more or less side lined due to injuries. There were doubts whether he could play for Brazil in the 2002 World Cup. He answered the cynics with his customary way of silencing them through scoring goals. He became the top scorer with 8 goals to his credit and destroyed Germany and Kahn all by himself.
After the world cup he joined Real Madrid and joined his awesome friends Roberto Carlos, Zidane, Figo and made Real look a frightening prospect to play against. He has made a slow start in Real but of late he is showing signs of what he does best - scoring goals.
Ronaldo is the flag bearer of the beautiful game and follow in the paths of Pele, Zico, Rivelinho, Junior etc. He is an artist who will be long remembered for his exploits on the soccer pitch.