Who is C. Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro, OIH (pronounced [kɾiʃˈtiɐnu ʁuˈnaɫdu]), (born 5 February 1985 in Funchal, Madeira), known as Cristiano Ronaldo, is a professional Portuguese footballer. He plays at the English club Manchester United and Portugal Team.
His mother
His second name (”Ronaldo”) is relatively rare in Portugal. His parents named him after former US president Ronald Reagan because he was his father’s favourite actor, and not for political reasons.
Early career
He began kicking a football when he was three, and when he started primary school at age six, his passion for the sport was obvious. His favourite boyhood team was SL Benfica even though he would later join their rival, Sporting. He first played for an amateur team, Andorinha, where his father was the kit man, when he was just eight years old. By 1995, at just ten years of age, Cristiano Ronaldo’s reputation was growing in
Sporting Clube de Portugal
Ronaldo joined Sporting’s other youth players who trained at the Alcochete, the club’s “football factory,” where he received first-class instruction. Sporting realised that Ronaldo needed more support and arranged for his mother to join him. He made his debut for Sporting against Moreirense and scored two goals. He also featured for
His performances at the UEFA Under 17 championship drew him to the attention of the wider football world. He was first spotted by former Liverpool F.C. manager Gérard Houllier at the age of 16. However,
Manchester United
Ferguson decided that he wanted the youngster for his team, who were in the market for a right-sided midfielder with the departure of David Beckham to Real Madrid; Cristiano was signed for a fee of £12.24 million. He made his debut for Manchester United as a 60th minute substitute against Bolton Wanderers at Old Trafford. United were then 1-0 up but with just minutes on the pitch, Ronaldo won a penalty which Ruud van Nistelrooy saw saved by Jussi Jääskeläinen. However, this did not affect the eventual outcome as the match ended in a 4-0 win to Manchester United and Ronaldo’s contributions were hyped everywhere, with certain British tabloids running headlines such as Seven Heaven (Ronaldo was handed the No. 7 shirt on his arrival, a shirt number that has belonged to some of the biggest Manchester United legends like George Best, Brian Robson, Eric Cantona and David Beckham; Ronaldo initially asked for the number 28 which he wore at Sporting, as he did not want the pressure of living up to expectations with the number 7). He has played primarily as a winger for United and can play on either wing.
A row between him and Ruud van Nistelrooy at the Carrington training ground intensified speculation about their roles at the club.
Ronaldo has occasionally had problems with his temper during games, he was sent off in a game against
On the 29 October 2005 Ronaldo scored Manchester United’s 1000th Premiership goal, in a 4–1 loss at the hands of
He was named FIFPro Special Young Player of the Year 2005, the only award to be voted for by fans. He received the same accolade the following year in 2006. He also ranked 20th in the FIFA Player of the Year 2005 standings.
Despite the World Cup incident, Ronaldo remained popular with the majority of Manchester United fans when he played (and scored) in his first Premiership match since the 2006 World Cup. Manchester United fans could clearly be heard chanting “there’s only one Ronaldo” at various points in the game, in a 5-1 win over Fulham F.C.
He won the Barclays Player of the Month for November 2006. During a match with Middlesbrough F.C, he was criticised for diving by rival manager Gareth Southgate.
By December 2006, Ronaldo had become one of United’s most influential players, scoring six goals in 3 league games to bring his overall tally up to 12 goals. He came on at half-time as a substitute against Wigan Athletic and immediately stamped his influence on the match with 2 goals in the space of a few minutes. Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson concedes he would lose his wager with the Portuguese in his current form after setting a target of 15 goals for the season. The Scot remarked that he was “pleased for him because he works hard at his game. He’s still learning the game. His ability to pass the ball has helped him this season. His passing has been very good. That just shows he is maturing. He’s been fantastic, and he’s getting better all the time.”
In January 2007, Ronaldo was awarded the Barclays Player of the Month Award for the second successive month, becoming the third ever player in the Premiership to do so (after Arsenal’s Dennis Bergkamp in 1997 and Robbie Fowler in 1996). On February 4,
As the end of each season approached, particularly in 2006 and 2007, it became traditional for rumours to start floating that Ronaldo was unsettled at Manchester United and wanted to play for Real Madrid - the rumours frequently ori
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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