Adding to the list of quotes: Inter president Massimo Moratti said: "Ronaldo was the most powerful centre forward in history. It was an honour to have him at Inter at the pinnacle of his career." Zico "Imagine if that 1982 Brazil team had Ronaldo...wow! His technique, his strength and the way he comes up with the important goals always make him a factor," "Ronaldo is breaking all sorts of records and will keep on doing so. He has come back from all his injury problems and still produces on the pitch. That's the mark of a great player." Pele " "No matter how tightly you mark him, it's impossible to intimidate Ronaldo." "I'm his nubmer one fan as a Brazilian but you can compare him to me only after he has won the World Cup Jairzinho "When the ball is at Ronaldo’s feet it’s like the team has already scored half a goal." Maldini " the most difficult opponent to mark out ever since Maradona"[/B][/B] Cruyff "Do not compare him to anyone. He will be great only if he remains himself." Sir Bobby Robson: "The best player I ever worked with? It has to be Brazil's Ronaldo" Capello: " The best player ever was under my disposal? Brazil Ronaldo" Mourinho: " The greatest player ever to play the game since Maradona" (Brazil Ronaldo) AC Milan President Adriano Galliani "If you had our Ronaldo in attack, and Kaka and Cristiano behind, then you could calmly go to the cinema and, without worry, ask how Milan got on."
Ronaldo jersey's on sale on world soccer shop for $19 have at it! http://www.worldsoccershop.com/369250-ronaldo-9-yl.html
He gave me my biggest joy in football, scoring those 2 goals in the final against Germany in 02 to win the cup for a 5th time. He left a BIG BIG gap which nobody has yet to still fill.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEKyl2yakOE&feature=related"]YouTube - Ronaldo all 15 World Cup goals[/ame]
A few World Records set by Ronaldo for new generation to break: 1- 15 WC goals 2- Youngest WPOY (at 19yrs) 3- Youngest Ballon Dor (at 20yrs) 4- 8goals per WC (include final since Muller's 10goals at WC70) 5- First UEFAcup winner to win both MVP and best forward of UEFA & UCL Some "unofficial records" (as to be or maybe already broken) 1- 0.7GPG in Europe Leagues (since Basten 1992) 2- Scored a famous penalty hat trick against rival Argentina in WCQ06. 3- Score 34goals/Liga for Barca 97(Tied record with Messi by 2009) 4- Score 47goals/season for Barca 97(Tied record with Messi by 2009) 5- 10games scoring streak at Barca 97 (Tied record with Nistelroy 2004)
Goodbye to a LEGEND!!! RONALDO one of the greatest players to ever play ! God bless you and you will definitely be missed in the field!
All of these accolades (plus a World Cup and 3 total WPOYs? or Ballon D'Ors, I forget)...and yet many would say his potential was left unfulfilled: that's how good he was. Scary, really.
http://www.canchallena.com/1349957#lectores Some of them are even asking him to come to their clubs in their league. Ha ha. What's interesting is that a few of them are saying that the "real" Ronaldo is gone, in a comparison to the Portuguese player in Real Madrid - and they like our Ronaldo better.
Here are a few more quotes by other soccer greats. "It is, without any doubt, a very sad day for soccer. Those who don't like Ronaldo must be lying. He is a mirror for me and for many people, for all he endured in his career. Ronaldo won many things and I hope to reach, who knos, the same success he had. It was a brilliant career." - Neymar, Santos and U-20 Brazil NT and senior Brazil NT striker "For me it was a privilege to play with Ronaldo, one of the greatest I was able to play with. It is a great loss for Brazilian soccer and for world soccer." - Rivaldo, SPFC striker, and former teammate of Ronaldo in the senior Brazil NT; played with Ronaldo in the 1998 and 2002 World Cups and in the 1999 Copa America "One of the best who ever played soccer. Injuries prevented him from being the best of all time. I will offer a few minutes of silence.." - Rio Ferdinand, Manchester United and England NT defender; faced (and was defeated by) Ronaldo in the 2002 World Cup and in the 2003 Champions' League "He was the man I played with. Ronaldo was always an example as a player who overcame. I played with him for many years and lived many great things together. He was always my hero and it'll always be that way. I'm proud of this. I had the pleasure of playing with him for Brazil and I'm a fan of his. He was quick in thinking, explosion, which were extraordinary. He had wonderful moments wherever he passed by and he will always be remembered as one of the greatest of all time." - Ronaldinho Gaucho, Flamengo attacking midfielder; played with Ronaldo in the 2002 and 2006 World Cups and in the 1999 Copa America
Re: Ronaldo - O Fenômeno (set to retire Monday) Same for each and every player who was in any of the 5 teams winners of the world cup: Too many to mention, but.... Didi, Nilton Santos, Gilmar, Tostao, Gerson, Ronaldinho Gaucho, Rivaldo, Mauro Silva, Dunga, Taffarel, etc etc etc!!
Please continue ... Gerd Muller said: "...Although Ronaldo is now in his third World Cup, this is nevertheless still a great achievement on his part. In my opinion, he's the best, most complete attacker there is." -- France midfielder Patrick Vieira on Ronaldo. "Even when we saw he was not 100 percent, we had to keep on playing our game."
best player I've seen!!! watching his confrontational, Rambo style of football was like crack to me and a lot of kids during the 90s but the last 10 years we haven't seen a striker that can match up to his style, when will we see a sprinter that can actually play? Btw one thing I have always wondered and maybe in the brasilian media this was addressed: Whats the deal with the "Sign of the horns" hand gesture he always does in games and off the field?
One of the greatest players of all time! And I always wondered how good his career could of been if it wasn't for all the injuries. It's too bad he never won the Champions League. I will never forget that 2002 WC. Just amazing!
Anyone remember this special appearance on American TV? [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4KYkUA3cew&feature=related"]YouTube - Ronaldo on simpsons[/ame]
Karim Benzema has hardly gone out of his way to make himself popular since arriving in Madrid. He arrived at the Bernabeu with his foot in his mouth, but his first faux pas was an endearing, as well as a memorable, one. Asked in his exit interview at Lyon if he was looking forward to playing alongside the second generation of ‘galácticos’ – Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka Raul Ikersias... etc – Benzema said, “I would have loved it if Ronaldo, the real one, the number 9, was still there.” The real one! Stick that in your CR9-branded marketing pipe and smoke it.
Us brasileiros are so spoilt with an abundance of awesome footballers. Many other countries would be so lucky to even have one of our craques. i even remember reading about Juninho Pernambucano one time and he was described as someone who would be 1st choice in any other NT outside of the Seleção O Fenômeno is definitely someone that made his mark in the world of football. His comeback for all of us at the Copa 2002 was something i won't ever forget. Sad that he was overlooked by the Brasilian public before the Copa, but Felipão made the right choice and o Fenômeno showed us once again why is the Phenomenal One What i most appreciate about the man is his love for the game. It's like watching a boy just doing what he loves to do: play footy. You could tell that he loves football and he infused that love to us all the more with his play It will be hard to imagine football without Ronaldo... VALEU RONALDO!
Usually, it take alot for me to cry but it was pretty hard not too this time. I am honored to be alive during his era. Greatest striker to have ever played the game.
What's the first thing Ronaldo does after he retires? Makes me wonder how long he has been doing things like this... And his good buddy, RC...
Well the most surprising one is Roberto Carlos. Ronaldo has been out of shape for years, but Roberto Carlos is sort of known for his "lungs" (not literally, but as a description of his stamina at the lateral position).
I just find it pretty sad that someone who has overcomed tougher things than weight issues to go on and accomplish so much, finished the way he did along with his attitude of not really caring. He didn't take care of himself like he could have off the field (food, exercise, other habits). He could have produced much more than he did if he was actually serious enough to work hard. He knew coming into this year that this would be his final season and he had a chance to make a run at a title he never has won in his career nor his team in their history(not to mention their fans are obsessed with it). He pretty much stopped trying after the Copa do Brasil in 2009. He was in decent shape after the competition, so he wasn't bad during the Brasileirão that year. In 2010, he had already slipped and came into the offseason training season as fat as a ball. He wasn't very effective at all in any of the competition. He also missed a few months to injury. In 2011, he pretty much carried off his playing and physical form from 2010. Pathetic and an embarassment to what was a very illustrious career.