World Soccer Presents - Rise of Ronaldo (2022)

RISEOFRONALDO 5

trademark stepovers,hecalmlyslidthe

ballpasttheon-rushinggoalkeeper.

Bythe endofthe game,thevisitors’

defencehadbeenrun ragged,resorting

toaggressive tacticstotrytobringhim

down.Buthe simplykeptgettingback

up,rightupuntilthethirdminute of

stoppagetime,whenheleapthigh

abovehismarkerstoheadhome

hissecond.

ForSporting,itwasagame-changing

moment,endinga three-matchwinless

runforthe reigningchampions.For

Ronaldo,itwas simplyanotherstep

onhisinevitableroute to thevery

topof thegame.

Hehad joinedSportingsomefive

years earlier, havingbeenspotted

playingforNacional’sacademy.The

Madeira-basedclubhadtofight off

stiff competitionfromtheirlocalrivals

Maritimotosignthe boywonder, despite

histenderyears:evenatthe ageoften,

everyoneonthe islandknewabout

Cristiano.

Hisreputationhadbeen builtwhile

playingonthe streets.Likeso many

playersbeforehim,Cristiano’s ability

withtheball washonedbyhavingto

dodgetraffic,potholesandkerbs,notto

mentionthe toughnessofolderboys.

Asa child,Cristianowassimply

obsessedwith football– an obsession

thathasneverlefthim.He wasrarely

seenwithouta ballat hisfeetortucked

underhisarm,andwhenthere wasn’t

onearoundhewouldrollupa pairof

socks instead.

Hisotherobsession,winning,was

alsowith himfroma youngage.Hisfirst

teamwasin theyouth ranksoflocal club

Andorinha, wherehisfatherwas kitman,

butthe sidethatheplayedin wasnot

successful.The youngRonaldowould

often be seenin tearswhentheydidn’t

win,butjustas frequently, he would

single-handedlydragthemtovictory,

effectivelybecominga one-manteam.

Maybeitwas thisexperiencethat

createdthe biggestflawin hisgame

whenhejoinedupwithSporting’s first

team. “For him,thethinghewantedto

ABOVE:Baby-

faced...theID

cardof Ronaldo

providedby

Andorinhaforthe

1994 -95season

ABOVE RIGHT:
Influential...
formerSporting
coachLaszloBoloni

domost wasdribble,” recalledBoloni.

“Myjobwas to tellhimthatdribbling

pastoneortwoplayersisimportant,

butfiveistoomany.”

AndRonaldolistened.Yes,thetricks

andthedribblingcontinued,andsodid

thestepovers,buthewasdetermined

tolearn andgetbetter.Heendedthe

seasonwithfivegoals andsixassists

inall competitions,and hisreputation

significantlyboosted.

Ithadnotescapedtherestof

Europe’sattentionthatintheseason

after oneRonaldohadwonthe World

CupGoldenBootwhileplayingfor

Brazil,anotheronewas emergingin

Portugal.“TheNew Ronaldo”,declared

ItaliannewspaperLaGazzettadelloSport

• littledidtheyknow just howaptthe
  comparisonwouldprovetobe.
  ForBoloni,the 2 002-03 campaign
  wasadifficult one. Despite Ronaldo’s
  presence,theteamfellspectacularly
  shortof defendingtheirleaguetitle,
  endingthe campaign 27 points
  adriftof championsPorto.
  Itwas a failure thatwouldcost the
  Romanian hisjob,but hislegacywas
  long-lasting.AswellasRonaldo,he
  handeddebutstoHugoVianaand
  RicardoQuaresma,twoof themost

excitingyoung playersinEuropeatthe

time,latersoldfor largefeestoNewcastle

UnitedandBarcelona,respectively.

Yet by nurturingRonaldothroughthe

academy,andhandinghimhisdebut,

hecanclaimtohavechangedthe

faceoffootballforever.

JamieEvans

“Anextraordinaryyoungtalent

wasrisingthroughtheranks”

Wonderkids...Ronaldo

warmsupalongside

RicardoQuaresma