Archive for the ‘Sports’ Category

The Real Ronaldo

Wednesday, March 25th, 2009

Matt Snelling at 411mania.com writes a lengthy piece about Ronaldo, our Ronaldo. While undoubtedly Cristiano Ronaldo, the other Ronaldo, of the Red Devils is also great football player who is at his prime, a lot of people forget that our Ronaldo was as good, if not better, when he was at his prime.

It’s no real surprise that if you asked the majority of fans today what they thought about Ronaldo, they’d probably tell you that he’s pretty flash, that he has some amazing tricks, that he’s the reigning World Player of the Year and that *whisper it quietly* he sometimes likes to go to ground a little easily.

If you then mentioned that you wanted to know about the one born in Brazil, or rather Ronaldo Luis Nazario de Lima then you might well get a reaction along the lines of; “Who? Oh yeah that guy, hasn’t he retired?” Perhaps even more depressingly your stock response would probably be closer to; “Oh sorry, you meant the fat one.”

True, Ronaldo is not the same football player that he was when he was younger – age and all the injuries he’s suffered throughout the year are starting to take their toll on him. He deserves, however, the respect that he earned when he wowed us all with his football prowess. And it’s not over yet. I still have high hopes that he’ll shine once again shine, maybe not as brightly as when he was younger. He’ll shine nevertheless, even just for another brief moment.

Read more of Matt’s great article at 411mania.com.

Ronaldo Scores First Goal Since Return

Tuesday, March 10th, 2009

Ronaldo scores his first goal since his return from a knee surgery over a year ago! Woohoo! We’ve all been waiting for this to happen. Some of us knew that it was just a matter of time, but there were some who doubted he’d come back as the Ronaldo we knew.

The International Herald Tribune reports:

Ronaldo scored his first goal since returning to football more than a year after knee surgery, heading a late equalizer for Corinthians in a 1-1 draw against rival Palmeiras in the Sao Paulo state championship on Sunday.

Ronaldo, on as a substitute, headed home from a corner three minutes into injury time, beating his marker at the far post to give Corinthians a point in Presidente Prudente.

“It was a wonderful moment for me,” Ronaldo said. “Especially with the match they way it was, with the team losing.”

Ronaldo ran toward Corinthians’ fans behind the goal and jumped onto a fence to celebrate and was mobbed by teammates and surrounded by reporters and photographers. Fans joined Ronaldo on the other side of the fence, partially bringing it down.

The Phenomenon is back! We love you, Ronaldo!

Ronaldo Short Biography

Sunday, March 1st, 2009

Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima (born September 18, 1976), referred to simply as Ronaldo, is a Brazilian professional footballer who currently plays for Campeonato Brasileiro club Corinthians. His nickname is O Fenômeno (”The Phenomenon”).

Having begun his professional career at Brazilian side Cruzeiro, Ronaldo signed with PSV in 1994, and after that he had tenures with Barcelona, Internazionale, Real Madrid, and Milan. A former member of the Brazil national football team, Ronaldo has played 97 international matches, and was part of the Brazilian squads that won the 1994 and 2002 World Cups. He is the highest goalscorer in the history of the World Cup with 15 goals, having surpassed Gerd Müller’s previous record of 14 at the 2006 tournament.

Ronaldo is a two-time Ballon d’Or winner (1997 and 2002), and is one of only two men to have won the FIFA Player of the Year award three times, along with Zinédine Zidane. In 2007 he was named in the best starting eleven of all-time by France Football.