RONALDO
By his 12th birthday he is playing in an organized youth club called Tennis Club Valqueire. With them, he played "futebol de salao" or small-sided football with a miniature ball. This is considered an important step in Ronaldo's development because playing with a smaller ball has been proven to rapidly increase foot skills. In the following few years, he takes part in various youth tournaments and begins attract
Young Luis Nazario gets his big break at the age of 17 when he is called up by Brazil's senior national team. He performs well and is selected for his country's World Cup squad. Because of his tender age, the young Fenomeno is kept as a substitute and watches the entire 1994 World Cup from the bench, as his team wins the gold.
Ronaldo's international appearances help him get noticed by European club PSV Eindhoven. With his new squad, he becomes top scorer of the Dutch league. With his growing popularity in Europe, Ronaldinho is quickly singed by Spanish giant FC Barcelona. With them, he gets global recognition by scoring numerous spectacular goals. Moving to Italian Internazionale was the next step in his career. Rona's start in the Calcio was promising, but playing against the rough Italian defenders gradually took its toll.
The year 1998 was the start of a decline in Ronaldo's career. He led his national team to a World Cup Final, but failed to deliver in the decisive match. His squad settled for silver as a wide range of speculations (from illness to black magic) were made about Ronaldo's indifferent display. By the end of 1998, Ronaldo is forced to leave the pitch after a knee injury picked up with his club. It haunted the Brazilian for a few years causing him to miss the entire 2000/1 season.
As he recovered, Spanish powerhouse Real Madrid decide to sign him. This change helped the prolific striker to resume his regular scoring.
Ronaldo also returned to the Brazilian national team, scoring two goals in the final and wining the World Cup at Korea and Japan in 2002. As a footballer, practically everything has been said about the Brazilian soccer player, because of his worldwide fame. Regardless of all the talk, he is a footballing genius with incredible skill on the ball. Before his injury, Ronaldo was a player of great speed with the ability of carrying the ball over large distances. This has changed now, as he has gained weight and lost his youthful pelt. That makes him somewhat more predictable but not in any means less dangerous. In one-on-one confrontations, he can beat any defender on Earth. On air balls, the Brazilian soccer player is relatively mediocre.
Ronaldo plays with the typical Brazilian flair because of which he is adored by many fans. In recent times, he has become more experienced and street wise.
