Player Profile: Cristiano Ronaldo

It’s got to be intimidating to wear the number 7 shirt for Manchester United. To sport the same number worn over the years by the likes of George Best, Bryan Robson, Eric Cantona, and David Beckham is a privilege, and certainly nothing to take for granted. To be worthy of such an honor, the deserving player should have incredible talent, with attitude and character to match.

Enter Cristiano Ronaldo.

Though still at the very beginning of his footballing career, Cristiano Ronaldo is a rare gem that brings an injection of flair and skill into his English club. And with his first World Cup appearance only a few months away, the world will soon be ready to see what the Portuguese have up their sleeves, provided they maintain or better their form during their Euro 2004 run.

Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro was born on the 5th of February, 1985, in Funchal on the island of Madeira, Portugal. Interestingly enough, his second name (Ronaldo) was given to him in honor of former US President Ronald Reagan, though not for political reasons—Ronald Reagan was his father’s favorite actor.

Ronaldo showed promise early on in his life as a footballing star, and in 1999 he was picked up by Sporting Lisbon, one of Portugal’s top-three clubs. He gained the attention of Sir Alex Ferguson in 2003, when Sporting Lisbon played Manchester United at the inauguration of the Alvalade XXI stadium and beat them, 3-1. After the game, United’s players spoke highly of the teenager, saying that they would rather have him on their team, than to have to play against him. 12.24 million pounds later, Cristiano Ronaldo was filling in the shoes left by David Beckham.

Since debuting in the Premier League, Ronaldo has earned both praise and criticism for his flashy and ‘individualistic’ style of play. While certainly a wonder with the ball, he often times will play a bit too much of keep-away with defenders instead of putting in an early cross. Speaking of crosses, he’s got a way to go in this department too. Though getting better, his crosses have often lacked the accuracy needed to pull off a clinical finish for the likes of Ruud Van Nistelrooy or Pauleta.

This season has been especially hard on him—losing his father this past September to illness and facing rape accusations weeks later have certainly struck a blow to his physical and psychological performance. February has proven to be kind to him, however, as he has scored 4 goals in his last 2 games. He has even gained the recent praise of Luis Figo and Eric Cantona, the latter of whom stated that with a little more hard work he could be the top player in the world.

If Ronaldo is able to stay consistent inform and become a bit of a better team player, there is no doubt in my mind he will be a force to be reckoned with in Germany.