Ronaldo Nazario · Biography

Ronaldo Luis Nazario de Lima was born on September 22, 1976 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Known as the 'phenomenon' and considered one of the best strikers in history, he has become the example of several generations. His rapid emergence led him to be compared to Pele, although the serious injuries he suffered throughout his career kept him away from the podium of the greatest.

His beginnings in Brazil

Ronaldo grew up in a humble family in a suburb of Rio de Janeiro. Early on, he began to stand out in the world of soccer, although his economic scarcity led him to decline the call of Flamengo, as he could not afford to pay for travel to training sessions. Fortunately, he received financial support from his family to join São Cristóvão. There he began to stand out and score goals between 1990 and 1993. Ronaldo began to be called up to the Brazilian U-17 national team, with which he broke a record of goals that no one has yet been able to beat, 59 goals in 57 games. He was only 16 yearsold and thanks to his credentials he would sign for Cruzeido. He made his debut at the Belo Horizonte club at the age of 16 and became one of the great promises of Brazilian soccer. He scored 44 goals in 47 games and managed to win the Brazilian Cup and the Minas Gerais championship. His performances made the senior national team coach, Carlos Alberto Parreira, take notice of him, who gave him his debut in a friendly against Argentina in 1994. The Brazilian's first goal was against Iceland, which opened the door for him to be called up for the World Cup in the U.S.A. He did not play a single minute, although he was part of the four-time world champions.

Arrival in European soccer

The Brazilian league was already too small for the promising Brazilian, which led him to sign for PSV Eindhoven for 5.5 million euros. He played for the Dutch team from 1994 to 1996. Ronaldo arrived as a child, but was marked as an absolute idol, as had happened with Romario. This helped him to adapt to European soccer and learn to exploit his qualities. In his first season at PSV he scored 35 goals in 36 games, becoming the youngest scorer in the Dutch league. The following season he managed to score 19 goals in 21 games, although an injury forced him to miss the end of the season. Even so, his 54 goals in 57 games led him to become a star, which made him pack his bags to come to Spain.

Ronaldo signed for the club culé, they paid 15 million euros, which made him the most expensive signing in the history of Spanish soccer. The nicknamed Ronaldinho arrived in the league of the stars. At Can Barça he experienced his definitive consecration. He made his debut against Atlético de Madrid in the Supercopa, where he scored a goal and left an elastic for the memory. Little by little he adapted to Spanish soccer until he became the sensation of the championship. His displays against Real Sociedad, Zaragoza, Valencia or Compostela went around the world and served to confirm him as the best player in the world. His season with the Culés ended with 49 games played and three titles: Supercopa, Copa del Rey and Recopa de Europa. He went from being a promising player to becoming a true star coveted by the biggest clubs. Inter took notice of him, although FCB was not very happy with his departure from the club. The Culés negotiated his renewal and despite being announced, it never happened. So the striker's agents broke the agreement with the Catalan club and, against Ronaldo's wishes, took him away from Barcelona, bringing him closer to the Italian club. This became known as the Ronaldo case, a controversial conflict that is still remembered today.

Injuries marked his career

While the Brazilian was playing and winning the Copa America in Bolivia, the youngster's lawyers landed him at Inter Milan for a record 28 million euros. In his first season as a Neroazzurro, he scored 34 goals in 47 games and won the UEFA Cup. The 'phenomenon' arrived at the 1998 World Cup in France as the best player in the world. He had a great tournament with Brazil, but before the final against the hosts he suffered several convulsions. After going to the hospital he was discharged from hospital and played in the title match despite what had happened, but he did not perform at his best and Brazil lost 3-0. After a season with Inter, Ronaldo returned to win the Copa America with his national team in 1999. On his return to Italy, he suffered a serious knee injury against Lecce that kept him out for six months. Ronaldo managed to make his comeback on April 12, 2000 in a Cup match against Lazio, but in his first appearance he ruptured the patellar tendon in the already injured knee. The phenomenon was dying in tears, in what seemed to be the end of his career.

After a year of recovery, Ronaldo managed to return to play in the final stretch of the 2001/02 season. He scored important goals for Inter, although he lost the Scudetto on the last matchday. The Brazilian had met the recovery timetable, although his call-up for the Korea-Japan World Cup was still up in the air. His coach at Inter, Héctor Cúper, advised coach Scolari not to call him up, but in the end he did. With doubts about his physical condition, Ronaldo started scoring against Turkey and ended up being the star of Brazil's pentacampeonato. The phenomenon scored 8 goals in 6 matches, two of them in the final against Germany.

The 'phenomenon' as a white star

His return to stardom provoked the interest of Florentino Perez, who wanted to join him with Figo and Zidane in the Real Madrid of the 'galacticos'. After lengthy negotiations and 45 million euros, Ronaldo left Inter after scoring 58 goals in 99 official matches. It only took him 62 seconds to score with the white shirt. That night against Alavés he scored two of the 23 goals that gave Los Merengues La Liga. It was his second title in white, after scoring and winning the Intercontinental Cup final against Olympia. That Ronaldo won the Ballon d'Or in 2002, although he had nothing to do with the previous years, injuries reduced his power and speed, but intensified his instinct in the box making him the king one-on-one against the goalkeeper. In his second year he became the championship's top scorer with 24 goals, but he could not prevent the Whites' debacle. The departures of Del Bosque, Hierro and Makelele weakened a Madrid side that only managed to win the Spanish Super Cup. That would be his last title with the Merengues, who were unable to win anything for eight years. Ronaldo played his last World Cup in Germany 2006 with the desire to retain the title. The Canarinha had the best team of the championship, but were eliminated in the quarterfinals by Zidane's France. Despite his discreet performance, Ronaldo scored three goals and became the top scorer in the history of World Cups with 15 goals.

The 2006/07 season was Ronaldo's last at Concha Espina, after a year accumulating injuries and with an evident overweight, Fabio Capello condemned him to the bench. With the Italian he played 13 games, scoring four goals before leaving for Milan. In the winter market Ronaldo returned at the age of 30 and for 7.5 million euros.

The return home

In Milan he started scoring goals, but soon the physical problems began. He was diagnosed with hypothyroidism, which caused him to gain more weight. On January 13, 2008 he reappeared scoring 2 goals against Napoli, but a month later against Livorno he suffered a ruptured patellar tendon in his left knee. Ronaldo was reliving the nightmare of 2000, but this time in good health and at the age of 30. His contract with Milan ended while he was recovering from the injury in Brazil and in December 2009 he signed for Corinthians.

The phenomenon was returning to his country after a year of rehabilitation, with Timao he played 69 games and scored 35 goals before retiring in 2011. In his last match, played on June 7, 2011, Ronaldo played 30 minutes of the first half. He was replaced by Nilmar and received a standing ovation from 30,000 spectators.

Life as president

In 2018, the Brazilian became the majority shareholder of Real Valladolid, acquiring 51% of the club's shares, thus becoming president. He even stated in 2019 that the pucelano club could dream of reaching the Champions League.

"In five years the normal thing is that Valladolid fights to play in the Champions League".

 

Although he has also stated that he has suffered more as president than as a player, but he remains loyal to the club and thinking about what is best for the vallisoletanos.