Ronaldo

[westcorklad]

Ronaldo (the Brazilian one)has retired from all levels of football.He had a 17 year career at the top and is the World Cup Finals top scorer with 15 goals.

[benin]

Ronaldo (the Brazilian one)has retired from all levels of football.He had a 17 year career at the top and is the World Cup Finals top scorer with 15 goals.

brilliant at his best...but faded at a young age...remember the 2002 world cup hair???

[CoolJay]

brilliant at his best...but faded at a young age...remember the 2002 world cup hair???

Worst hair cut ever !

[aml]

Great footballer but like may other before him peaked far too young and was pretty much finished when he was in his prime when he was bombed out of madrid....which has happened to another great in ronaldinho...

[corkpunter]

Great footballer but like may other before him peaked far too young and was pretty much finished when he was in his prime when he was bombed out of madrid....which has happened to another great in ronaldinho...

Being the best striker in World Cup history is no mean feat for someone who was pretty much finished in his prime as you put it. He also scored 100+ goals after being bombed out of Madrid, not a bad tally either for someone pretty much finished in his prime.
The best striker I have seen, above the likes of Van Basten and Romario, Gerd Muller might have come close, but he was before my time.

As for the hattrick against Utd, here it is:


EDIT: Oh and he will always be Ronaldo for me, the other one can add portuguese or whatever to his name, this is Ronaldo.

[benin]

i was at that match..ronaldo was fuckin untouchable...got a standing ovation from the home fans when he was taken off.

[aml]

Being the best striker in World Cup history is no mean feat for someone who was pretty much finished in his prime as you put it. He also scored 100+ goals after being bombed out of Madrid, not a bad tally either for someone pretty much finished in his prime.
The best striker I have seen, above the likes of Van Basten and Romario, Gerd Muller might have come close, but he was before my time.

As for the hattrick against Utd, here it is:


EDIT: Oh and he will always be Ronaldo for me, the other one can add portuguese or whatever to his name, this is Ronaldo.

I never said he was not a great player and is accomplaiments can't be denied all i was saying that is when he was in his prime 27/28 he was more interesting in the party lifestyle than taking over the mantle from the van bastens etc as being the best striker of all time...

[dr love]

Was it for any particular reason WCL .:,doc

[westcorklad]

Was it for any particular reason WCL .:,doc

From Irish Times.com

Soccer: Former Brazil striker and three-time Fifa World Player of the Year Ronaldo confirmed his retirement today, ending one of the most successful careers in soccer.

The 34-year-old, twice a World Cup winner with Brazil, said injuries and fitness problems prevented him from playing to his best form. He enjoyed a glittering club career in Spain, Holland, Italy and Brazil.

“As you can imagine and you heard during the whole weekend, I’m here today to (confirm that) I’m closing my career as a professional player,” said Ronaldo from his Brazilian homeland.

In an earlier interview with Brazilian newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo, Ronaldo revealed that his long career and succession of serious injuries had finally taken their toll on his body.

“I want to stay but I can’t. I think of a move, but I can’t perform it as I want to. It’s time. My body aches. The head wants to continue, but the body can’t take much more.”

He first moved to Europe in 1994 when he joined PSV Eindhoven from Cruzeiro. A prolific scorer in the Eredivisie, he joined Barcelona despite knee problems which blighted him in his second season in Holland, going on to achieve record-breaking success in Spain.

He spent just a year at Barca, scoring 47 goals in 49 games and becoming the youngest player ever to win the Fifa World Player of the Year award, before contract wrangles saw him join Inter Milan for a then world-record fee of €23 million.

Ronaldo’s success continued at Inter, then Barca’s great rivals Real Madrid, though injury problems hindered his time in Italy. He joined AC Milan in 2007 but after suffering a third serious knee injury he returned to Brazil in 2009.

He will perhaps be best remembered for his international exploits, having scored a record 15 World Cup goals. He scored eight in the 2002 tournament in Japan and South Korea alone, including both goals in the 2-0 final victory over Germany.

He was the first player to win the World Player of the Year award three times.

[Morpheus]

Thanks WCL. I'd forgotten how great the 'original Ronaldo' was.

He certainly was the master of the 'step over'