Ronaldo calls it quits

AFTER a series of serious injuries, Brazilian football superstar Ronaldo has announced his retirement from football at the age of 34.  At a press conference in Brazil, the ex-Barcelona, PSV Eindhoven and AC Milan striker was in tears, as he admitted to giving up the games he loves due to lack of consistent fitness.

The announcement came after his current club; Corinthians were knocked out of the Copa Libertadores last weekend.  He leaves the game as the most successful goalscorer in FIFA World Cup history and a winner of the prestigious World Player of the Year on three separate occasions.  Although recent years have seen a dramatic fall from grace and younger readers may not know Ronaldo that well, his talents at his peak were awe-inspiring.  On his own, he could beat teams’ hands-down and the 2002 World Cup finals in the Far East was a prime example of this.  Since he made his professional debut in 1993, the Brazilian has gone on to score over 400 goals and has the distinction of having represented both Milan clubs and Spanish sides Barcelona and Real Madrid.  Sadly, he never made it to apply his trade in the Premiership, but Serie A and La Liga saw a striker when at his best, destroy opponents and leave them dazzled.

Ronaldo first made his name with Cruziero in 1993, and after scoring 12 goals in just 14 appearances, was a shock inclusion in the Brazilian squad for the 1994 World Cup finals in the USA.  Although he got a winners medal, he never played in the tournament.  However, the experience he gained from going and learning from other deadly finishers Bebeto and Romario would turn out to be valuable.  After the finals, Romario advised Ronaldo to make the move into European football and his first destination was Dutch side PSV Eindhoven.  Despite the first of many knee injuries, Ronaldo was top scorer in his first season in the Eredevisie in 1995 and attracted the attention of both Barcelona and Inter Milan.

WINNER: Ronaldo scores the penalty that wins the 1997 Cup Winners Cup

He moved to Barcelona in 1996, tutored under the guidance of Sir Bobby Robson.  Ronaldo scored the winning penalty that beat PSG to win the 1997 European Cup Winners Cup for his new side, top scored in La Liga and won the FIFA World Player of the year award for the first time.  A year later, after contract negotiations stalled with Barca, Inter Milan forked out £19million for Ronaldo and it would turn out to be money well spent.  He scored 59 goals in 99 games for Inter, including netting in the 1998 UEFA Cup final.  However, 1998 was to be a dark year for Ronaldo personally, as form and injuries began to take its toll.

After scoring four times in the 1998 FIFA World Cup, Ronaldo suffered a series of dangerous epileptic fits in the lead-up to Brazil’s final showdown with France.  After some farcical confusion over the Brazilian team sheet, he played, but looked like he’d just rolled out of the bed hungover.  France won 3-0 and Ronaldo’s mysterious lack of performance was blamed for Brazil’s shambolic final.  Less than a year later, he ruptured a knee tendon playing for Inter in Serie A against Lecce and three more surgeries were required in the next three years.  He only just regained fitness in time for his glory hour, the 2002 World Cup.

TARGET: Ronaldo turned the 2002 World Cup into his own

Ronaldo saw the 2002 World Cup as the chance to seek redemption for the shambles of 98.  It was his tournament.  He scored eight goals, finding the net in every game except the quarter-final against England and scored both goals in the 2-0 final win over Germany in Yokohama.  Had it not been for Ronaldo’s goal scoring abilities, Brazil won’t have won their fifth trophy.  He won the World Player of the Year in 2002 and secured a world record transfer from Inter Milan to Real Madrid for £39million.

At Madrid, Ronaldo was loved and won the La Liga title in his first season at the Bernabeau.  He scored twice on his debut and scored one of the finest ever hat-tricks in football to knock Manchester United out of the UEFA Champions League in 2003.  Injuries hampered his form at Madrid, but an impressive 83 goals in 127 games is an incredible strike rate.  He fell out of favour with Fabio Capello due to her excessive weight issues and was sold to AC Milan in January 2007.  Before then, Ronaldo appeared in one more World Cup finals and although his body was starting to adapt to the constant injuries he picked up, Ronaldo broke Gerd Muller’s 32-year record and became the top scorer in FIFA World Cup history, when he got the opener in Brazil’s 3-0 last 16 win against Ghana.  He ended up scoring 15 goals at the World Cup, 62 for Brazil in total before retiring from international football after Brazil’s quarter-final exit, at the hands of arch-enemy France.

END GAME: His final club move was to play for Corinthians

Once again, injuries would ruin his experience at the San Siro.  Ronaldo only featured 20 times for AC Milan and eventually was released at the end of the 2007/08 campaign.  He returned to Brazil, to see out his career with Corinthians.  The team’s cup exit has bought this retirement decision forward.  In an interview with a Brazilian newspaper last October, Ronaldo had already decided to retire at the end of the Brazilian season, once his contract expired.

Although he never managed to win the UEFA Champions League, Ronaldo won pretty much everything else in his career and despite become a pale shadow of his previous in recent seasons, he was the greatest player in the world at the turn of the millennium.  His legacy on the game and for Brazilian football can never be forgotten.