Valentine’s Day is celebrated as the day of love around the world. Yet Valentine’s Day 2011 saw one love affair end after 18 years of highs and lows, that of former Barcelona, Inter Milan and Real Madrid and World Cup winner Ronaldo Luis Nazario de Lima, or Ronaldo as he is better known as, would be retiring from the professional game with immediate effect. "Unstoppable", "Incomparable" and "Unplayable" were just a few words described by former team-mates in FourFourTwo's 200th issue whilst the late, great Sir Bobby Robson claims "I have never seen a player as fast as Ronaldo, he just explodes". Credited with bringing Ronaldo to Barcelona after attempts to bring Alan Shearer failed, Ronaldo repaid the faith shown in him by Robson by hitting a phenomenal 47 goals in 49 games during his one and only season at The Nou Camp.
Ronaldo began his professional career with Brazilian outfit Cruzeiro in 1993 with a return of 44 goals in 44 games during his sole season with A Raposa. His exceptional scoring record saw him move to Europe with Dutch giants PSV Eindhoven where the Brazilian continued his fine scoring form with 54 goals in 57 games during his two year stint in Holland. As I mentioned, a move to Barcelona in 1996 followed his more than successful spell in Holland where he added a further three trophies to the four he had already won in Brazil and Holland. His time in Barcelona was short-lived, much to the dismay if Barcelona fans, as he moved to Inter Milan for a then world record fee of £19m. The goals may not have flown as freely as they did in Spain, Holland or Brazil but Ronaldo still ended his time in Brazil with 59 goals in 99 games. His tally may have been higher had Ronaldo not suffered a serious knee injury which severely hindered the second half of his Inter Milan career.
Yet, his knee problems didn't stop a return to La Liga with Barcelona's heated rivals as Ronaldo became the latest Galactico to join Real Madrid on the back of a World Cup win for a fee of €39m. A four and-a-half year stay with the Spanish giants saw Ronaldo pick up a return of 104 goals in 177 appearances. However, with the first Galactico era coming to an end, Ronaldo moved back to Italy with Italian giants AC Milan. However, Ronaldo again picked up a serious knee injury 12 months after his Serie A return which restricted him to just 20 appearances and 9 goals during his 18 month return to the San Siro. Milan chose not to renew Ronaldo's contract at the end of 2008 season and released him due to the expiration of his short-term deal.
During his rehabilitation from knee injury, Ronaldo trained with Brazilian outfit, and current club of former team-mate Ronaldinho, Flamengo where he was welcomed to join but opted for league rivals Corinthians instead despite his deceleration of love for the Rio based team. His first season back in Brazil saw Ronaldo score 23 in 38 and in February last year he signed a new deal until the culmination of the 2011 season where he signalled his intention to retire from the game. The 2010 season saw him end with 12 goals in 27 games. His final year was supposed to be a dream ending for Ronaldo in which Corinthians were to lift the 2011 Copa Libertadores however; elimination in the early stages saw Ronaldo bring his career to a pre-mature close. Ronaldo, on his retirement, stated "It's very hard to leave something that made me so happy. Mentally I wanted to continue but I have to acknowledge that I lost to my body."
So, Valentine’s Day bought an end to the illustrious career of Ronaldo. The Brazilian has won countless individual and team trophies with La Liga, the UEFA Cup and two World Cup winners medals to boast about. The one trophy that eluded the Brazilian was the Champions League, a trophy that wouldn't look at all out of place on Ronaldo's CV. He still holds the record as the highest scorer in World Cup history with 15 goals to his name and with a total of 420 goals in 620 games spanning his career, the footballing world says goodbye to one of the games finest strikers.
Anyway, I got to go walk to dog.
Laters,
Macca
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