Biography
Cristiano
Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro,born 5 February 1985, better known as
Cristiano Ronaldo, is a professional Portuguese footballer, who plays
for Manchester United F.C. and Portugal.
Cristiano Ronaldo was born in Portugal, to his mother Maria Dolores
dos Santos Aveiro and his father José Dinis Aveiro. He grew up with a
brother, Hugo, and two sisters, Elma and Katia. His second name
(”Ronaldo”) is relatively rare in Portugal. His parents named him after
former US president Ronald Reagan because he was his father’s favourite
actor, and not for political reasons.
Early career
He began kicking a football when he was three, and when he started
primary school at age six, his passion for the sport was obvious. His
favourite boyhood team was SL Benfica even though he would later join
their rival, Sporting. He first played for an amateur team, Andorinha,
where his father was the kit man, when he was just eight years old. By
1995, at just ten years of age, Cristiano Ronaldo’s reputation was
growing in Portugal. Madeira’s top two teams, CS MarÃtimo and CD
Nacional were both interested in signing him. MarÃtimo, the bigger
team, missed a crucial meeting with Rui Santos manager of Andorinha,
and as a result Ronaldo signed for Nacional. After a title-winning
campaign at Nacional, Ronaldo went on a three day trial with Sporting
who subsequently signed him for an undisclosed sum.
Sporting Clube de Portugal
Ronaldo joined Sporting’s other youth players who trained at the
Alcochete, the club’s “football factory,” where he received first-class
instruction. Sporting realised that Ronaldo needed more support and
arranged for his mother to join him. He made his debut for Sporting
against Moreirense and scored 2 goals. He also featured for Portugal in
the UEFA Under 17 Championships.
His performances at the UEFA Under 17 championship drew him to the
attention of the wider football world. He was first spotted by former
Liverpool F.C. manager Gérard Houllier at the age of 16. However,
Liverpool later declined him because he was too young and needed some
time to develop into a top footballer.[citation needed] However he came
to the attention of Sir Alex Ferguson in the summer of 2003, when
Sporting Clube de Portugal beat Manchester United 3–1 in the
inauguration of the Alvalade XXI stadium in Lisbon. Ronaldo
demonstrated his ability to play on both wings. After the match,
United’s players spoke enthusiastically of the young talent that they
had just played against, saying they would rather have him in their
team than play against him in the future.
Manchester United
Ferguson decided that he wanted the youngster for his team, who were
in the market for a right-sided midfielder with the departure of David
Beckham to Real Madrid; Cristiano was signed for a fee of £12.24
million. He made his debut for Manchester United as a 60th minute
substitute against Bolton Wanderers at Old Trafford. United were then
1-0 up but with just minutes on the pitch, Ronaldo won a penalty which
Ruud van Nistelrooy saw saved by Jussi Jääskeläinen. However, this
did not affect the eventual outcome as the match ended in a 4-0 win to
Manchester United and Ronaldo’s contributions were hyped everywhere,
with certain British tabloids running headlines such as Seven Heaven
(Ronaldo was handed the No. 7 shirt on his arrival, a shirt number that
has belonged to some of the biggest Manchester United legends like
George Best, Brian Robson, Eric Cantona and David Beckham). He has
played primarily as a winger for United and can play on either wing.
However for all his skill and pace, Ronaldo supposedly did not want
the pressure of living up to expectations with this number, and so
initially asked for the number 28 which he wore at Sporting.A row
between him and Ruud van Nistelrooy at the Carrington training ground
intensified speculation about their roles at the club.Ferguson has
however put his faith with Ronaldo, who signed a new deal with United
that will last through 2010. Ronaldo is also quoted in the Manchester
Evening News as saying “United have stood by me and been there for me
and I want to repay that.”
Ronaldo has occasionally had problems with his temper during games,
he was sent off in a game against Manchester City and received a
one-match ban imposed by UEFA for a “one-fingered gesture” towards
Benfica fans in a UEFA Champions League match in December 2005. While
playing for Portugal in a friendly against Luxembourg he was given a
yellow card for pushing Jeff Strasser in the throat in retaliation
after Strasser tackled him. Felipe Scolari warned Ronaldo to keep his
temper in check during the World Cup.
On the 29 October 2005 Ronaldo scored Manchester United’s 1000th
Premiership goal, in a 4–1 loss at the hands of Middlesbrough. He
bagged a double double in February, with two goals at home to Fulham
and another pair at Fratton Park, and also scored in the following
Premiership game against Wigan taking his tally to 8 Premiership goals.
On 26 February 2006, Ronaldo played in the Carling Cup Final against
Wigan in the Millennium Stadium at Cardiff, and scored a goal - taking
his season’s tally to 10 goals.
He was named FIFPro Special Young Player of the Year 2005, the only
award to be voted for by fans. He also ranked 20th in the FIFA Player
of the Year 2005 standings.
Despite the World Cup incident, Ronaldo remained popular with the
majority of Manchester United fans when he played (and scored) in his
first Premiership match since the 2006 World Cup. Manchester United
fans could clearly be heard chanting “there’s only one Ronaldo” at
various points in the game, in a 5-1 win over Fulham F.C.
Since then, a BBC report stated that Ronaldo has said he no longer
wishes to leave Manchester United, and is happy to remain at the club.
He won the Barclays Player of the Month for November 2006. During a
match with Middlesbrough F.C, he was criticised for diving by rival
manager Gareth Southgate.
By December 2006, Ronaldo had become one of United’s most
influential players, scoring six goals in 3 league games to bring his
overall tally up to 12 goals. He came on at half-time as a substitute
against Wigan Athletic and immediately stamped his influence on the
match with 2 goals in the space of a few minutes. Manchester United
manager Sir Alex Ferguson concedes he would lose his wager with the
Portuguese in his current form after setting a target of 15 goals for
the season. The Scot remarked that he was “pleased for him because he
works hard at his game. He’s still learning the game. His ability to
pass the ball has helped him this season. His passing has been very
good. That just shows he is maturing. He’s been fantastic, and he’s
getting better all the time.”
In January 2007, Ronaldo was awarded the Barclays Player of the
Month Award for the second successive month, becoming the third ever
player in the Premiership to do so (after Arsenal’s Dennis Bergkamp in
1997 and Robbie Fowler in 1996).On February 4, 2007 in a match against
Tottenham Hotspur F.C., Ronaldo was caught in yet another diving
controversy, after winning United a controversial penalty despite
seeming to receive little or no contact from Tottenham’s Steed
Malbranque.
At the beginning of March 2007, Ronaldo, as well as Manchester
United, confirmed that they would be negotiating an extension to his
current contract. The contract is reportedly worth £28 million and
Manchester United Chief Executive David Gill has recently confirmed
that the new deal could be up to 2012 and that “Every United fan can be
reassured he won’t be leaving this summer” putting an end to any
credibility transfer speculation linking him to Spain had as it has
been made clear from both parties that Cristiano does not want to leave
Manchester United.
In the wake of renewed intrest from Real Madrid, Cristiano has once
again reiterated his desire to stay at Manchester United stating “It is
a good sign to know I have so many clubs interested in me, such as Real
Madrid, it means that I am valued but I am very happy where I am and I
hope to stay at Manchester United for many years.”