This deserved its own thread.
Ronaldo Nazario da Lima announced his retirement on 14 February. The Brazilian will be honored on Saturday prior to kick-off of the Real Madrid-Sporting Gijon match. Accompanied by Florentino Perez and Jorge Valdano, the former Madridista will head down to the Santiago Bernabeu turf to be presented with a replica of the Machinbarrena and Aranguren statue that was created in 1925 and that now sits on front of the first team's dressing room.
Very few players have been capable of returning to the world football elite after having two extremely serious knee injuries. Ronaldo managed to do this and left unforgettable memories in the minds of all football fans, such as the standing ovation he received at OId Trafford after scoring a hat-trick with Real Madrid against Manchester United. Ronaldo won two league titles, one Intercontinental Cup and one Spanish Super Cup with the Whites, as well as a Pichichi Trophy. His class and quality will be remembered by generations to come.
Ronaldo arrived in Spain just after winning the World Cup in 2002 to join a squad boasting the talents of Zidane, Figo, Roberto Carlos and Raul. The striker led Brazil to triumph in Japan and South Korea with eight goals, two of which proved decisive in the final against Germany.
He adapted easily to Real Madrid and scored a brace in his debut against Alaves on 6 October 2002. He stepped onto the Bernabeu pitch on the 63-minute mark and needed just one effort to score his first goal. He controlled the ball inside the box and defeated goalkeeper Dutruel with a magnificent lobbed shot. The crowd went wild. Ronaldo scored his second strike 14 minutes later. The front pages of every sports newspaper in Spain featured Ronaldo, and they never ceased until he left the team to play in Italy in the winter of the 2006/07 season.
Director General Jorge Valdano once said about the Brazilian that "once he's one the run, it's as if a pack of buffalos had decided to stampede all at once." This was a perfect description of Ronaldo's power, as evidenced by the 104 strikes he netted for Real Madrid.
http://www.realmadrid.com/cs/Satellite/en/1330051083854/noticia/Noticia/Ronaldo_to_take_honorary_kick-off_prior_to_Real_Madrid-Sporting_match.htm
Ronaldo Nazario da Lima announced his retirement on 14 February. The Brazilian will be honored on Saturday prior to kick-off of the Real Madrid-Sporting Gijon match. Accompanied by Florentino Perez and Jorge Valdano, the former Madridista will head down to the Santiago Bernabeu turf to be presented with a replica of the Machinbarrena and Aranguren statue that was created in 1925 and that now sits on front of the first team's dressing room.
Very few players have been capable of returning to the world football elite after having two extremely serious knee injuries. Ronaldo managed to do this and left unforgettable memories in the minds of all football fans, such as the standing ovation he received at OId Trafford after scoring a hat-trick with Real Madrid against Manchester United. Ronaldo won two league titles, one Intercontinental Cup and one Spanish Super Cup with the Whites, as well as a Pichichi Trophy. His class and quality will be remembered by generations to come.
Ronaldo arrived in Spain just after winning the World Cup in 2002 to join a squad boasting the talents of Zidane, Figo, Roberto Carlos and Raul. The striker led Brazil to triumph in Japan and South Korea with eight goals, two of which proved decisive in the final against Germany.
He adapted easily to Real Madrid and scored a brace in his debut against Alaves on 6 October 2002. He stepped onto the Bernabeu pitch on the 63-minute mark and needed just one effort to score his first goal. He controlled the ball inside the box and defeated goalkeeper Dutruel with a magnificent lobbed shot. The crowd went wild. Ronaldo scored his second strike 14 minutes later. The front pages of every sports newspaper in Spain featured Ronaldo, and they never ceased until he left the team to play in Italy in the winter of the 2006/07 season.
Director General Jorge Valdano once said about the Brazilian that "once he's one the run, it's as if a pack of buffalos had decided to stampede all at once." This was a perfect description of Ronaldo's power, as evidenced by the 104 strikes he netted for Real Madrid.
http://www.realmadrid.com/cs/Satellite/en/1330051083854/noticia/Noticia/Ronaldo_to_take_honorary_kick-off_prior_to_Real_Madrid-Sporting_match.htm
