Thursday, October 23, 2008
Cristiano Ronaldo finally started in Tuesday’s Champions League game against Celtic. The Portuguese Superstar is gaining match fitness since his return from injury and his determination to be at his peak proves a lot through his will to feature in the squad as much as he can.
Ronaldo has never started on the bench since he last did that at Stamford Bridge and he hopes to keep his place as a starter despite few worries about his fitness.
Earlier on Monday evening, the Star winger spoke to Manchester United TV about his United career.
Ronaldo insists he is at the right club at the moment and it presently looks like his dream of playing for the Spanish Giants Real Madrid is fading away.
Cristiano is certainly not at his best and his is yet to find his amazing regular ability of scoring goals. However, he is still the entertaining player he used to be and his many flicks, tricks and pace came at the delight of Manchester United’s supporters on Tuesday night.
The Reds play Everton in the weekend and Ronaldo will hope to repeat what he did the last time both sides met, when he scored twice to give Manchester a vital 2 – 1 victory.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Saturday’s late kick-off in the English Premier league featured the reigning champions Manchester United at home to West Bromwich Albion.
After a week of international fixtures, the attention was yet again on club football.
Fortunately, Ronaldo was fit to play for the Reds despite receiving a slap on the face during Portugal’s game against Albania.
Before the match on Saturday evening, the Selaccao captain had gone four games without scoring a goal, which came much to the anxiety of his fervent supporters.
Cristiano Ronaldo was creative, entertaining and deadly in front, making tricks and pushing the game forward. In the first half, he set up Wayne Rooney who fired the ball into the net only for his goal to be controversially ruled out.
Ronaldo had a chance to steal the lead for his side but the goalkeeper was just too alerted.. His low shot inside the box was easily caught by Scott Carson.
However, the goalkeeper could not boast of containing Ronaldo for too long. Manchester United already had already gone in front with a Wayne Rooney strike and the Reds were determined to stamp their authority. Cristiano Ronaldo had an excellent opportunity to double the lead. This time, he did not miss the target. Ronaldo drove the ball past Carson in a simple manner to remove any fears of a draw.
Manchester United indeed crushed West Bromwich by an emphatic 4 – 0 score line and Ronaldo was yet again the creator of Nani’s 90th minute goal.
Ronaldo becomes better as days go by and the challenge for the 2008/09 EPL Golden Boot Award is on the run.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Manchester United’s ace and winger Cristiano Ronaldo is likely to miss tonight’s Champions League match between the Red Devils and Celtic.
The Portuguese Superstar is still recuperating from the ankle surgery he had earlier in the summer therefore, Ferguson believes Ronaldo should patience before regularly playing full games.
It has been reported that the Scottish boss met with his former assistant coach Carlos Queiroz over the issue of Cristiano Ronaldo’s fitness, and that Queiroz’s advice resulted in Fergie’s decision to rest Ronaldo.
Alex is tempted by the option of replacing the European top scorer with his compatriot Luis Nani who came out of the bench but still managed to score on Saturday.
Ronaldo has scored three times since returning from injury and he is determined to be at his peak and defend his European top scorer title in tonight’s Champions League match.
There is a huge possibility that Ronaldo will start from the bench however, Ferguson believes that Cristiano Ronaldo can still fulfil his wish of scoring his 95th United goal at the Theatre of Dreams tonight.
Monday, October 20, 2008
The French Football magazine has released its list of 30 players in contention for the Ballon d’Or Award later in December. Eleven Premiership footballers have been nominated.
Amongst them are Arsenal’s Adebayor and Cesc Fabregas, Liverpool’s Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres as well as Chelsea’s Frank Lampard. Wayne Rooney is also part of the nominees but the hot favourite to win this prestigious award is his Manchester United teammate Cristiano Ronaldo.
Euro 2008 winner Iker Casillas has also been include in the list, but his club rival Lionel Messi looks more like Cristiano Ronaldo’s fiercest challenger in this competition.
The Portuguese Superstar stands a very stiff contest against the Argentine, not forgetting Fernando Torres, though individual statistics and achievements arguably tip Ronaldo well above these two as the right man for the price.
It will be up to the 96 journalist around the world to vote and elect the one to succeed Ricardo Kaka (who is also in enlisted) as the Ballon d’Or winner on December 2nd.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Cristiano Ronaldo did not enjoy the best of circumstances during international soccer as Portugal drew goalless twice in their 2010 World Cup qualifier matches.
The Superstar has been playing amazing football. However, shooting in front of goal has not been his priority. He is more like the creative player who unselfishly sets up his teammates.
But this has cause Portugal dearly. They played Wednesday’s game against Albania in front of their home fans but struggled to find the back of the net.
Portugal are suffering from a goal drought and bad results that has forced them to go third in the table with only 5 points from four games.
However, if Ronaldo’s presence could not let Portugal bounce back convincingly from their 3 – 2 defeat in Denmark a month ago, credits should be given to the 23 year old Star winger. Ronaldo has never led Portugal to defeat while being the captain for the full 90 minutes.
There is still hope for the future though things have gone tough following Portugal’s two consecutive goalless draws.
Portuguese fans need to be patient and keep supporting Portugal. The best of the Ronaldo and the squad is just about to come.
Friday, October 17, 2008
The Manchester United winger has been a top priority for several major sides and he flirted with Real Madrid this summer.
Things could have been different though as Suarez reveals he advised the Nerazzurri to sign the player only for his words to fall on deaf ears.
"Ronaldo was just 17 at the time and a friend of mine in Portugal told me to go and have a look at him," Suarez told AS.
"I went to the stadium and saw him for the first time and he did some magical things which were not normal.
"I monitored him and I called up the Inter directors and advised them to take him before he made his debut for the senior side. "
"Back then his agent was Veiga, not his current one, Fernando Mendes.
"However, everything turned out differently and we all knew what happened. He could have signed for Inter."
Ronaldo played for Sporting at the time but Inter failed to take Suarez's advice and the Portuguese international ended up at Old Trafford and has become one of the world's greatest players.
Cristiano Ronaldo Profile
Name: Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro
Birth date: February 5, 1985
Birthplace: Funchal, Madeira, Portugal
Height: 184cm
Playing position: Left/right winger, striker
First club: Sporting Lisbon
Career debut: 1999 vs Moreirense
Current club: Manchester United
International team: Portugal
International debut: August 20, 2003 vs
Kazakhstan
Cristiano Ronaldo Biography
Cristiano Ronaldo started playing competitive football at 8-year-old for amateur club Andorinha, and then for local team CD Nacional when he was 10. He then move to one of Portugal’s largest football clubs, Sporting Lisbon in 1996.
Ronaldo trained in the youth team before playing his first senior game for Sporting in 1999 against Moreirense, and scored a double on his debut.
Ronaldo played for Portugal’s youth side in the UEFA U-17 Championships and drew attention internationally. Liverpool under manager Gérard Houllier back then was reported to have interest in signing Ronaldo, but it was Manchester United that made the move in 2003 to fill the void of departed David Beckham.
Ronaldo’s signature came after Sporting Lisbon beat Manchester United 3–1 in a friendly; on the way back to England the United players spoke enthusiastically about the young winger and suggested manager Sir Alex Ferguson to secure his signature, which they did.
Ronaldo made his memorable debut for Manchester United as a substitute against Bolton. His 30 minutes performances created hype with United fans and the English media with his dazzling dribbles.
Ronaldo’s first two seasons at United received mixed reviews; despite praised for his skills, Ronaldo was often being criticized for lack of consistency and poor decision making on the field. However his consistency level has been greatly since the 2006/2007 season, which saw him becoming one of the best player in EPL.
Cristiano Ronaldo made his senior debut for Portugal shortly after being signed by United in a match against Kazakhstan in August 2003. He has become one of the key players for Portugal since then.
The controversial moment of Ronaldo’s career was in World Cup 2006, where he was alleged to influence referee to send off his Manchester United team mate and England striker Wayne Rooney in their quarter finals clash.
Ronaldo was being used as the scapegoat for England’s defeat in the World Cup and the hatred towards him had prompted his intention to leave England and Manchester United. In the end United managed to keep him, and Ronaldo had a wonderful season in the Premiership against all odds.
Ronaldo won both the PFA Player and Young Player of the Year Award in 2007. He is the first player since 1977 to bag the double in the same season. Ronaldo was also voted Footballer of the Year by the Football Writers’ Association for the same year.
Ronaldo’s performance was crucial to help Manchester United securing their first Premiership title in 4 years in the 2006/2007 season.
Ronaldo was the top 3 finalists for both the FIFA World Player of the Year and European Player of the Year awards in 2007. The eventual winner however went to AC Milan’s Brazilian playmaker, Kaka instead.
Ronaldo continued his fine form in the 2007/2008 season, netted in 40 goals in all competition (31 in Premier League), and was again voted as the PFA Player of The Year and Football Writers’ Footballer of the Year. His performance contributed to United’s double for the season; winning the Premiership in succession as well as bringing home the UEFA Champions League trophy.
