[105] Ronaldo scored his first goal for Corinthians on 8 March 2009 in a Campeonato Paulista match against Palmeiras. This victory, for our fifth world title, has crowned my recovery and the work of the whole team. Former Germany striker Miroslav Klose tops the charts with 16 goals in. You'd be at a table with him and it'd be a judge sitting opposite talking to a politician with someone off the street listening in. [21] He scored 30 league goals in his first season in the Netherlands, which included seven braces and a hat-trick against Utrecht. The 10 best players of France 98", "What REALLY happened to Ronaldo before the 1998 World Cup Final in his own words", "World Cup moments: Mystery surrounds Ronaldo in 1998", "Zidane lights the blue-touch paper for France", "The mystery of Paris that refuses to go away", "Ronaldo: 1998 World Cup final mystery and why Brazil's star striker barely turned up", "Free of demons and back in land of the living", "Ronaldo: The road to redemption with Brazil at the 2002 World Cup", "Redemption for Ronaldo as world's eyes turn east", "Ronaldo's 2002 World Cup redemption according to him: "In that moment, I felt complete", "World Cup 2014 countdown: Ronaldo's comeback at the 2002 World Cup", "Ronaldo's Redemption: 2002 World Cup documentary", "Ronaldo reveals the real reason for his wedge haircut at the 2002 World Cup", "FIFA World Cup Final. [208] Ronaldo would also operate outside the penalty area before running with the ball towards goal,[63][71] with Rob Smyth writing, "he played like every attack had a 10-second deadline.. he would explode into life with no warning for defenders. After 2 operations and 20 months of rehabilitation, Ronaldo managed a comeback during the 2002 FIFA World Cup. The Brazilian scored 414 goals in 616 appearances for club and country throughout his career. #1 Ronaldo", "Ronaldo, Eric Cantona, Zlatan Ibrahimovic: The best players never to win Champions League 25-1", "The best not to have won the Champions League", "4 Great Moments from Ronaldo's AC Milan Career", "Ronaldo faces end of road after new injury blow", "Ronaldo sparks fury by ditching Flamengo for Corinthians", "Ronaldo returns to training with Flamengo but remains a free agent", "Aos 22min do 2 tempo, Ronaldo estria pelo Corinthians", "Com gol de Ronaldo no final, Corinthians arranca empate contra o Palmeiras", "Cuddly comeback king Ronaldo eating balls again", "Ronaldo Renews Corinthians Contract, Will Retire In 2011", "Ronaldo announces retirement after going from fab to flab", "Ronaldo confirma o fim da carreira (In Portuguese)", "Emocionado, Ronaldo atribui adeus s dores e ao hipotireoidismo", "Ronaldo admits in emotional retirement address: 'I lost to my body', "Confira todos os nmeros e gols de Ronaldo pela seleo brasileira", "Sorte e orgulho: islandeses relembram primeiro gol de Ronaldo pela Selao", "Ronaldo's redemption: recalling the Brazil striker's World Cup fairytale 15 years on", "Ronaldo: It was a fabulous feeling to kiss the Trophy", "Was Ronaldo Originally Called Ronaldinho? Cristiano, maybe you can guess that he has three or four tricks he would use most of the time, but Ronaldo, it was always something different. "[77] Teammates for six months, Van Nistelrooy said, "Ronaldo was the best natural talent I ever played with. [29] Until the 200809 season, Ronaldo remained the last player to score more than 30 goals in La Liga. [92] Ronaldo stated, "I live football with a passion that doesn't give me any peace for not winning the Champions League it's a trophy everyone would love to win. Surprisingly. Season Team Competition Matches Goals; 2011: Corinthians: CL: 2: 0: 2010: Corinthians: CL: 7: 3: 2006/2007: Real Madrid: UCL: 4: 2: 2005/2006: Real Madrid: UCL: 2: 0: . [89], Despite tremendous success over the past decade, Ronaldo never won the UEFA Champions League in his club career. "[23] He frequently beat several players when dribbling at speed, and excelled in one on one situations, due to his ball control, acceleration, agility, balance and nimble footwork in his prime. 88 of his 414 goalsinvolved rounding the goalkeeper and tapping into an empty net, which is a staggering 21%. Ronaldo was introduced after 30 minutes, partnering 19-year-old Neymar in attack, and had three shots on target which were saved by the Romanian goalkeeper. [29], In his final two seasons at Real Madrid, Ronaldo missed a number of games with injuries and weight issues, and with the acquisition of Ruud van Nistelrooy in 2006, he grew further out of favour with the manager Fabio Capello. [27] A hat-trick against Valencia, the third goal of which saw him dissect two Valencia defenders before striking the ball into the net, saw Barcelona fans waving white handkerchiefs as an expression of admiration for an exceptional performance. [74] Although the knee injuries before 2002 meant he "was robbed of the explosiveness of his early years" (FourFourTwo magazine) by the time he signed for Real Madrid, Ronaldo was named by Marca as a member of the "Best foreign eleven in Real Madrid's history". "[120], Ronaldo made his international debut for Brazil on 23 March 1994 in a friendly match in Recife against Argentina. "He could go in a restaurant, and I could go in with him, and you're not just there with close friends. [12] Ronaldo scored 44 goals in 47 games with Cruzeiro, leading them to their first Copa do Brasil in 1993, and the Minas Gerais State Championship in 1994. "[66] By 2003 he was fluent in Portuguese, Spanish and Italian, and had a good understanding of English. Pele scored 12 goals in 14 World Cup matches, which leaves him joint sixth in the overall World Cup goalscoring charts. One of them, a solo goal against Compostela, is considered one of the most amazing goals in football. But he also turned the game so that it will always look just a little bit like him. [71][201][202] He was an extremely powerful, fast, and technical player, with excellent movement, as well as being a composed finisher. [67], In the 200304 season, Madrid were on track to win the treble, until Ronaldo was injured towards the end of the season; they subsequently lost the Copa del Rey final, were knocked out of the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals to AS Monaco, and suffered a league form breakdown. Watching him was like watching a character in a video game. [123] He stated he was "overjoyed" at the experience. It was a team without any vanity, or individuals. [124] He was then known as Ronaldinho ("little Ronaldo" in Portuguese), because Ronaldo Rodrigues de Jesus, his older teammate, was also called Ronaldo and later nicknamed Ronaldo ("big Ronaldo") to further distinguish them. how many goals did r9 score in his career He believes he scored 1000 goals in his career - though not a lot of people outside of his home country agree. Inter Hall of Fame 2018", "Hall Of Fame: The first edition's 4 winners", "2001 present Real Madrid surpasses the century mark", "Monaco 3 - 1 Real Madrid (Agg: 5-5; Monaco go through on away goals)", "Ronaldo: In his pomp, he was a footballing force close to unstoppable", "Fabio Capello: Ronaldo was the hardest to coach", "Fabio Capello: "Inter's Ronaldo Superior To Cristiano Ronaldo", "The best foreign eleven in Real Madrid's history", "'He was impossible to stop' - What they said about Ronaldo", "Ruud van Nistelrooy names Brazil legend Ronaldo as the best player he ever played with", "Milan coach delighted by Ronaldo's debut", "AC Milan v Barcelona: Ronaldinho, Rivaldo, Ronaldo and the legends who played for both clubs", "AC Milan vs. Inter: 10 Players Who Played for Both Sides", "Pato has a debut to remember as Milan end their San Siro duck", "Milan in thrall to 'Ka-Pa-Ro' strike force", "From Ronaldo to Totti, the best players never to win the Champions League", "The 20 best players never to win the Champions League. [20][21] On 28 August 1994, Ronaldo scored ten minutes into his debut against Vitesse, and scored a brace on his home debut against Go Ahead Eagles. "[34] Paying the buy out clause fee in his contract, Inter Milan signed him in the summer of 1997 for a then world record fee of $27million,[35] making him the second player, after Diego Maradona, to break the world transfer record twice. Buffon vale Maradona", "As natural as Federer, Ronaldo in his prime was a true football phenomenon", "Mourinho: Neither Messi nor Cristiano beat Ronaldo Nazario", "Ballon d'Or Dream Team: Xavi alongside Messi and Cristiano", "Ranked! "[215] On his speed of thought, Kak said "For me the best players are those who are able to think of a play and execute it quickest and in the best way possible, and Ronaldo was the best at that. "[219] Mikal Silvestre states, "I played against [Lionel] Messi and I played with Cristiano at Manchester United, but he [Ronaldo] is something else in terms of speed. The collective was important. ", Joaquin Hidalgo, director of Nike's Brazilian marketing unit, 1998. He scored twice in the final and received the Golden Boot as the tournament's top goalscorer. "Ronaldo, El Fenomeno, Cristiano Ronaldo and Leo Messi have had longer careers, they have remained at the top every day for 15 years." [25] The footage of the goal was later used in a Nike advert with a voiceover asking: "Imagine you asked God to be the best player in the world, and he listened to you",[25] and the goal was said to have been replayed 160 times on the main Spanish television channels in the 48 hours following the game. To make sure you never miss out on your favourite NEW stories, we're happy to send you some reminders, Click 'OK' then 'Allow' to enable notifications, .css-1diosym{color:black;}@media (prefers-color-scheme:dark){.css-1diosym{color:#fff;}}Published17:38,31 October 2020 GMT@media (prefers-color-scheme:dark){.css-jirzs7{color:#72B97D;}}| Last updated17:39,31 October 2020 GMT. 88 of his 414 goals involved rounding the goalkeeper and tapping into an empty net, which is a staggering 21%. How many goals did Ronaldo scored for Portugal? il piacere del calcio", "Ronaldo at Valladolid: Inside the Brazil legend's reinvention", "Ronaldo Lus Nazrio de Lima: A Tribute to O Fenmeno", "Ronaldo la resurrezione diventa un film", "Mercato Juventus, Ronaldo: "Il mio erede e' Leandro Damiao", "Milan, Ambrosini risolve i problemi continua l' inseguimento Champions", "Ibrahimovic: Ronaldo il Fenomeno, non ci sar mai un giocatore migliore di lui", "Mohamed Salah Names 2002 World Cup Winner as Favourite Brazilian Footballer of All Time", "World Cup 2014: England's Wayne Rooney looks to the 'original' Ronaldo for inspiration", "Ronaldo deserves more credit as one of the game's greatest players", "Happy 40th birthday, El Fenomeno! [274] In the run-up to the 2002 World Cup in Korea and Japan, he starred in Nike's "Secret Tournament" commercial (branded "Scopion KO") directed by Terry Gilliam, appearing alongside football players such as Thierry Henry, Fabio Cannavaro, Francesco Totti, Ronaldinho and Hidetoshi Nakata, with former player Eric Cantona as the tournament "referee". Neymar has scored total 269 goals in 439 games (for clubs) since his debut with Santos in 2009. The Portuguese striker scored a penalty kick in the 70th minute to give Manchester United a 3-2 victory. [177], Having been listed in Guinness World Records, Ronaldo stated, "I am proud of my career and of the records I set. But in spite of scoring 49 goals in European competitions, Ronaldo never got to win the Champions League. Cristiano Ronaldo has hit the 800-goal mark in his senior career, a feat which he achieved against Arsenal. [19], Ronaldo joined PSV after the 1994 World Cup. With him, it was a different story. [245], In a 2011 interview with the BBC, former Real Madrid teammate Steve McManaman spoke about Ronaldo's personality. 115 goals Since then, he has become the current all-time record goalscorer for the Portugal national team, and the highest overall men's international goalscorer in history, having scored 115 goals in 184 appearances. An individual who considers himself white may be genomically more African than an individual who considers himself to be brown or black. [43] Ronaldo scored a trademark goal against Lazio in the 1998 UEFA Cup Final. [164] Prior to the tournament, questions were asked of his weight and fitness,[165][166] but was declared fit for Brazil's opening match with Croatia. He won successive Bundesliga titles with BVB. [192], Ronaldo was chosen as a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in 2000 as he had the highest global appeal among sportspeople, and he accepted the role as he saw it as "an obligation" to help with causes around the world. "[246], Ronaldo was the co-owner of A1 Team Brazil, along with former F1 driver Emerson Fittipaldi. Player Profile for Ronaldo in the Soccer World Cups. p. 1998. "[233] According to a study led by geneticist Srgio Pena of the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, most Brazilians often have a misconception about their roots. The Brazilian soccer legend has updated his Instagram bio to say that he's now the all-time leading goal scorer. [261] Released in 2000 for the PlayStation and Game Boy Color, the video game Ronaldo V-Football was exclusively endorsed by Ronaldo. [123][153], Ronaldo scored against every opponent in the tournament except in the quarter-finals against England. He was a perfect physical specimen. "However, if we are talking strictly about talent and skill, nobody surpasses Ronaldo [Nazario]. He is currently the all-time top goalscorer for Brazil with 77 international goals, which he scored in 92 matches. Jimmy Greaves (2008). [226][227] Although they never married, they began a long-term relationship and lived together in Milan until the beginning of 1999. "Ronaldo had a problem called trochlear dysplasia. [94][95] The closest that he came to Champions League success was in 2003 when he helped Real Madrid to the semi-finals, in which they lost to Juventus. [250] On 11 December 2014, Ronaldo became a minority owner of the Fort Lauderdale Strikers of the North American Soccer League. What stood out to all of us, from the moment we met Ronnie, was that he could do things which other players found very difficult and make them look easy. Had he managed to stay free of injury, he had every chance of becoming the best footballer ever. 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