Goodbye Ronaldo

The name Ronaldo has become synonym of great football in the past few years. Today, it is mostly associated with unfortunately Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo. The real legend behind the name, however, is Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima – the real Ronaldo.

Ronaldo’s list of accomplishments is absurd: two World Cups, two Copa Americas, one FIFA COnfederations Cup, three FIFA World Player of the Year awards (the only one to ever win it three times alongisde Zinedine Zidane). He is the one who has scored the most in World Cups – 15 goals – and has recovered from two major knee surgeries. The list goes on…

Today football loses on of the best footballers to ever touch a football pitch. Ronaldo was fast and his positioning and skills touched the line of perfection. Even overweight, at Corinthians, he scored unbelievable goals. At age 34, Ronaldo cannot play competitive anymore due to pain and a hyperthyroidism (thus his weight fluctuation over the past few years).

I am lucky to have seen him at the World Cup in Germany and at one of his last games ever for Corinthians.

Ronaldo: all 15 World Cup Goals