Kev2012
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Article: From Rags to Riches, and Beyond...
...The humble story of Cristiano Ronaldo started, for Man Utd fans anyway, in the summer of 2003. It was just your usual friendly that Manchester United partakes in during their preseason. This “friendly” had added significance to the opponents however. It was the inaugural match for Sporting Lisbon at their new stadium, the Alvalade XXI Stadium, and it was the mighty Manchester United who would help lift the curtain at their new venue. After the game though all the talk focused on one player, and no he wasn’t wearing the red of Manchester but the green of their opponents. A certain Cristiano Ronaldo had astounded for the entire match, so much so that Manchester United’s own players couldn’t stop talking about the young virtuoso winger during the bus journey back home, matter-of-fact they were so impressed that a posse of them, rumoured to be led by Gary Neville, approached Sir Alex Ferguson and “begged” that he sign the winger, so they “don’t have to play against him in the future”, and Ferguson obliged.
In August of 2003 Ronaldo signed for the Red Devils, and he was instantly inured in folk law before he even kicked a ball for he was handed the prized number 7 shirt, a garment the likes of Cantona, Best, Robson and Beckham had donned and dazzled in during the decades previous. It took a while for Ronaldo to settle, his skills were evident but many said the “end product” wasn’t there. Ronaldo worked hard at his game, and his effort and skill was winning over the Man Utd fans. But in the summer of 2006 things took a nasty turn for the worst, Ronaldo and Rooney, team-mates at Manchester United, got embroiled in an altercation that saw Rooney red-carded and many, included the hardcore Man Utd fans, blamed Ronaldo, and his somewhat devious wink, for this, and England’s subsequent exit from the World Cup.
In the coming weeks the fallout from the World Cup included a statement from Ronaldo declaring his desire to leave Man Utd for Spain, Real Madrid headed up the queue of potential suitors, but Alex Ferguson, arguably the greatest man manager the game has ever seen, had other ideas. He alone talked Ronaldo into staying in Manchester and what a moment of pure managerial genius that turned out to be. The season of 06/07 started in spectacular style and has just got better and better for both Cristiano Ronaldo and Manchester United, culminating in the historic 7-1 mauling of AC Roma, a result that sent shockwaves throughout world football and the day that Ronaldo, scoring his first and second Champions League goals, announced his arrival on the worlds greatest club stage.
The superlatives that have been thrown Ronaldo’s way have been endless. Journalists have drained the dictionary of words and are no resorting to obscure metaphors to portray Ronaldo in literacy. But in all honesty this is an impossible feet, Ronaldo is one of the very few players in the world that stuns, genuinely stuns, every game you watch him play. Words cannot describe the footballing genius that Ronaldo possesses. Without question he’ll be both European and World player of the year this year, not to mention having all the domestic accolades to put on his mantel piece, what remains for all to see is whether Cristiano Ronaldo can drive Manchester United on to repeat their remarkable feet of 1999. Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League.
And even if it doesn’t happen this year, Ronaldo, just 22 years of age and yet at the peek of his powers, has another 5 years in Manchester to really cement himself in Old Trafford legend. For today, 13th April 2007, the Portuguese Matador signed a contract extension that will see him remain at the club until 2012, and possibly beyond.
The possibilities are endless and Ronaldo, already being compared to Pele and Maradona, has the ability, character and guile to surpass the aforementioned. For he is doing what they done in the cynical modern game, where players are taught to foul in a professional manner to stop the likes of Ronaldo performing, yet week in week out he is rising above his would be assassins, the most fouled player in the premiership has all the attributes to become the best player this sport has ever seen.
Copyright of Kevin Dean Martin - 2007
Post Edited By Kev2012, Apr/13/2007, 1:20 pm
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Apr/13/2007, 1:18 pm
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