of course he's the ronnie again. after all he went through he only got stronger and better. anyways just look at his performance at wc 2002 there's all the proof you need.
Not anywhere near what he used to be. Ronaldo doesn't have the speed he used to have, he's a poor passer and doesn't hold the ball well. Yes, he's scored goals for Madrid but who couldn't with the service he receives there. I hope he can return to his past form but for now he's just a shadow of what he used to be.
now, my viewing of madrid is limited, given that i don't get to see regular la liga games here in san diego, but the few times i have seen him play i have been generally underwhelmed by his performances.
Re: Re: Is Ronaldo 100% the super Ronnie of '96-'98? Merengue, your post was very harsh towards Ronaldo. You'd think he barely deserves to play in La Liga. [Not what he used to be]---- I agree with that. Then again, who today is close to what he used to be? Not even Raul, as good as he is, is what Ronaldo used to be. He's still a dangerous forward that opposing defenders must account for. That in itself is of use to the whole Madrid offense, as Raul and Zidane can play off of him to make runs in space. [Poor passer] ---- disagree. He is very good on one-two's, and generally will play the ball to a better positioned player. I assume your comparing his passing to Raul's. They are two different types of forwards. Ronnie is a pure forward and is not expected to do the 'vision' thing. [Doesn't hold the ball well] ---- that has never been his game. He runs at people, an inherently riskier endeavor than holding for possession. In the past he was more difficult to take off the ball, but I believe much of that will return with time. On certain days, and in spots during certain games, its clear his skills have not left him. [Scores goals, but who couldn't with service at Real] ---- does that go for Raul as well? Ronaldo may never be what he once was, but can he be a top five player in the world? IMO definitely. Give him some time to recapture his game. Even today he's better than Morientes, and with much more potential upside; so why all the beef from Madrid fans? As a Real fan, can you shed some light on the rumored feud with Raul? I've read that Raul has given him the cold shoulder since his arrival. Is there another DiStefano - Didi situation underway?
Ronaldo is getting back to where he was. Not quite there. But he's still scoring a lot of goals, but not as good a quality as 96-98.I agree with you tpmazembe
Re: Re: Is Ronaldo 100% the super Ronnie of '96-'98? Well as you can see I too am a Real Madrid fan. I think Merengue is right in part and wrong in others. Certainly Ronaldo isn't what he was before injury. he does lose the ball a lot more than he used to do. Madrid's attack is built for the center forward to hold the ball and wait for Raul, Zidane, Figo and others to come up and give him support. Ronaldo does not do that well. that's why lately del Bosque has been switching Raul and Ronaldo at times with Raul playing in front of Ronaldo instead of vice versa. This is done because Raul is excellent at holding the ball while Ronaldo is not and does not pass well. Still for most of the game Ronaldo does play as the punta, as they call it in Spanish, which is as the center forward. This is becasue he is still very dangerous at running into space as demonstrated this weekend when he ran onto a great through ball by Guti and fired in a fine goal from outside the box (reminded me of his goal at the Copa America 99 final). The problem of course is that usually that space isn't available to Ronaldo as most teams sit back and defend when playing Madrid. As for tpmazembe's question about a feud between Raul and Ronaldo, i've heard nothing of that before. Sounds like something made up by sensationalist press.
Re: Re: Re: Is Ronaldo 100% the super Ronnie of '96-'98? I believe he is talking about the time Raul complained that Ronaldo was going to extend his vacation to party at Carnaval. Im not sure what happened but i doubt it turned into a feud.
He is not the player he was but he is still very good.And he is FAST.In the game versus Dortmund he ate Worns alive in one run. He does 3 or 4 explosives runs per game.He is very dangerous now,but not the same player he was in 1996.Not even close,but he is still young.
Hmm you have to take a few things into account here. in 2002 Ronaldo barely played any games. Even at the World Cup he relied on 'mortal' (albeit superior to nearly all other strikers) skills to score the goals. I believe that was the combination of his poor fitness at that time, his lack of confidence in his knees holding up, a lack of match practice and also the fear of re-injuring himself. When Ronaldo arrived at Real he was overweight and not match fit and i'm sure he still suffered with confidence in his knees holding up. But these past few months he has lost weight and is starting to get stronger - match fitness wise. This past week Ronaldo's showed more of his old self then he has for 5 years and at the rate he is going with finding his 'feet' in terms of confidence in his knees and truly beleiving he can put those afterburners on - i'd estimate he'll be at least 20% better next season then he has been this season (if he can stay injury free of course). I'm thinking people are expecting far too much from Ronaldo far too soon. He recovered from a career threatening injury and to truly get back belief and confidence in his own body will take him more time then the physical side of his ongoing recovery will. It's the same mental problem as those fast players with bad hamstrings have like Owen and Giggs when they are fearful to go full speed for months after recovering from a bad hamstring injury. When you consider it's the knees with Ronaldo the recovery time should be extended in fairness to the player - if he tried to be Ronaldo 97 to soon in his development and it goes wrong his career will effectively be over ala Van Basten. So i think it's fair to expect people to give him time to find his feet. I've said since the start of 2002 that you wont see Ronaldo manage Ronaldo97-esque performances for at least 2 years and i'd still stand by that when dealing with a phenom i think it's fair enough. Ronaldo playing right now is still in the top 10 strikers in the world and that's with all the modifications he's made to his game so consider he will only get better as he grows in belief and gets back to full fitness and loses that little bit of extra weight he's been carrying. If this past week has been anything to go by the 'transformation' is just beginning.... Ronaldo looked so sharp in Germany and also looked like he had that fire back and also his performance this weekend was of a Ronaldo of quality. I'm really hoping he stays clear of injury just to watch the transformation take place. And for him to prove all his doubters wrong.
Dark Savante said, "This past week Ronaldo's showed more of his old self then he has for 5 years and at the rate he is going with finding his 'feet' in terms of confidence in his knees and truly beleiving he can put those afterburners on - i'd estimate he'll be at least 20% better next season then he " I'll agree with you Dark Savante, Ronaldo this week showed as close to his old form as I've seen in a long time. Look I certainly want him to do well with Madrid and I'm glad to see he is scoring goals. Against Alaves, he received a lot of space becasue Alaves were pushing their defenders up trying to compress Madrid in midfield (Dortmund did this to an extent too) thus they created space for Ronaldo to run into. Madrid's midfielders were able to find him and Ronaldo's fine finishing did the rest. Where Ronaldo continues to have problems is when teams sit back and defend against Madrid. Ronaldo's speed in a long spring is still there but to me he still seems slower than before in short spurts. I think Dark Savante has a point he'll take another year to likely recover, if at all, his past form. The thing is when you're as high profile a player as Ronaldo the expectations are high.
I think Ronaldo has the same pace, the same amazing acceleration! What would you say about his skills at the ball? Has he the same dribbling he had?
You can eat your words with your other Merengue buddies now, He said in an interview with Brazilian TV that he is pretty sure he is back the way he was before his injury.If you get a chance watch his goals against Alaves a few times and you'll see his accelleration.Not only on that game but he always had his speed. I dont know whats next for RM fans to criticize him.
Very balanced article: http://www.soccerage.com/en/13/l0624.html I'm thinking that 2006 will be his WC (even after last wc's golden boot).
Ronaldo delighted as Real Madrid see off Depor Ronaldo was delighted after scoring in Real Madrid's crucial 2-0 defeat of Deportivo La Coruna yesterday. The Brazilian struck Real's second after Zinedine Zidane had opened the scoring for the hosts. "It was a great game, a great victory against a very important opponent," said a happy Ronaldo afterwards. "Everyone contributed to this fantastic game, creating chances and constantly attacking." Ronaldo was given a standing ovation from the Santiago Bernabeu crowd when substituted late on and added, "It was a dream for me. Something I really needed. "Y'know, little by little I'm going to win over these supporters."
Ronaldo This guy is a powerfull striker but I still think that he could have been much more better than he is if he hadn't injured so bad!
I watched that game live and he even assisted ZZ to score the first one, Depor played without any guts as I'd wish (see my preferred teams list!) it seems they didnt know the domestic tournament its their last chance so far, but all in all I must recognize R9 played very well!
I'm with you, but Felipao seems to agree with Hagi: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/soccer/news/2003/03/28/scolari_ronaldo_ap/ Either way one of the 3 most lethal forwards in the world, and best big game striker.