Ronaldo Thread

Stranger said:

3 years after that injury in red part of milan, yeah still remember i was so sad on that valentines day, valentine massacre was so pumped up to see him against arsenal with ka pa ro combination, then again he was not meant for milan

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Sage said:

its sad what corinthians did to him, blackmailing him while fans insulting him which lead him to retire, I mean sure hes not in top condition, but he can still be useful.

Farewell, best player of all time.

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This is sensational! Ronaldo has stated that AC Milan doctors administered him prohibited hormonal substances

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Ronaldo says he developed a hyperthyrodic (?) condition, which slows down his metabolism and makes it difficult to loose weight...

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...despite best efforts of physios and doctors. He says that at Milan he was administered substances which are illegal in football. Crikey!

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..and that those substance caused this hyperthyroid condition. He also developed vascular veins

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Mrk said:

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Sage said:

wouldnt be surprised, Milanlab are shady.

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As Ronaldo departs Corinthians there are probably some fans who are glad to see the back of him. Supporters daubed graffiti on the club's training ground walls last week, condemning the 34-year-old as a 'shameless fatty'. Corinthians had just been eliminated from the Copa Libertadores and the well-paid Ronaldo, as well as his former Brazil team-mate Roberto Carlos, bore the brunt of the fans' ire. There were threats made against the fading stars; Roberto has taken one more pay-day, $9m for two seasons' work in Russia with Anzhi Makhachkala in order to escape the goldfish bowl of Sao Paulo. Ronaldo has no such option. The end is nigh. At his peak, a long time ago now, nobody played the game as joyfully and as freely as Ronaldo. He was loved, cherished and worshipped by fans the world over. But that shimmering mist of reverence has long since evaporated. Michael Ballack, Andriy Shevchenko, Francesco Totti and Ronaldo were all born within a week of each other. But unlike his peers, the final chapter in the Brazilian's playing career is a tragic one. There will be no last hurrah at a hometown club, no suitable and dignified end to a preeminent career. He should command universal respect. He should have unanimous acclaim. But he instead became a figure of ridicule. Ronaldo slips out ignominiously.

History is usually kind to the greats. Apocryphal evidence gives them everything but the halo; magnifies their achievements. But the dust has barely settled on the final struggle of Ronaldo's staggering and staggered career and he is gone and to be forgotten. His spell at Corinthians was an uneasy and broken marriage from the start. He trained with his boyhood club Flamengo before opting to sign a deal with the rival team who had made him a better offer. His relationship with the supporters of the Timao was always fractious; he has been photographed making insulting gestures to the fans who grew weary of his expanding belly and all-night partying.

Ronaldo was in thrall to the sycophancy of the club president Andres Sanchez, who took him out to nightclubs and afforded him rest days when no other player was permitted them. A particularly rambunctious night on the tiles cost the general manager, Antonio Carlos Zago, his job. He was physically decaying. There were reports of liposuction and the once lightning fast forward had recently taken to wearing special socks to combat the effects of varicose veins. His dream of bowing gracefully out of the game with Corinthians and leading the team to the Libertadores title has been shattered. There is nowhere left for Ronaldo to turn. His good will has expired. It is time to go.

It is a woefully ill-fitting end for the Phenomenon. But his was a career that was fraught with poignancy. It began with unlimited promise and ended with much of it unfulfilled. He is the best finisher the world has ever seen, one of the greatest players of all time, yet it is still wondered what might have been.
What might have been had he stayed longer than a single season at Barcelona? He was only 19 years of age when he held la Liga in the palm of his hand. The celebration of the late Sir Bobby Robson after Ronaldo's indescribable solo effort against Compostela encapsulates what every other observer felt watching; incredulous and proud.

What might have been had he not suffered whatever he suffered the day of the 1998 World Cup final? He was not healthy that day in Paris. His mind was elsewhere. He was reduced to a pale shadow, a poor imitation of his fearsome self as Zidane and co. romped to victory.

What might have been if his fragile knee held out, at least the second time? He returned too early after hobbling out of the game against Lecce and into his second home, the surgeon's bed. The aborted comeback against Lazio makes for uncomfortable viewing, even now, more than a decade later. In all honesty, Ronaldo never recovered from it.

To be able to take his place in the pantheon of the game's elite is a remarkable achievement for a player who missed almost four accumulative years of his career through serious and debilitating injury. To think that a forward who three times won the FIFA World Player of the Year award and twice the Ballon d'Or failed to deliver on his potential is frightening and yet bittersweet.

What else could there have been? Somewhere along the way the caricature, el Gordo, superseded the myth of il Fenomeno. A faster, more powerful and more direct forward has not yet been seen since the great Ronaldo regressed. His accuracy in front of goal remains unsurpassed. But legacy is not a currency. With it you cannot pay for immunity. Ronaldo fell far at Corinthians. But in my mind now, he retired in 2002 after scoring two goals against Germany in the World Cup final. He draped the Brazil flag over his shoulders, held the trophy and smiled his toothy smile.

Goodbye Fenomeno.

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Ratzaroony said:

It was a mistranslation. He said at Milan he learned that the only thing to fix his problem was a banned substance, so he struggled with his weight instead of taking them. He WAS NOT given any banned substances.

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Ratzaroony said:

It was a mistranslation. He said at Milan he learned that the only thing to fix his problem was a banned substance, so he struggled with his weight instead of taking them. He WAS NOT given any banned substances.

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