He was the subject of a tabloid hate frenzy that would frighten Shane Warne but Cristiano Ronaldo floated above it all and kept on rising. Now he’s set his sights on silverware – for himself and United.
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For all this talk of teamwork, end product and maturity, what sets Ronaldo apart from almost every other player on the planet is his footwork, his trickery, his showmanship – all carried out at high speed. With Diego Maradona as his role model, it was these God-given attributes, honed on the streets of Funchal, which persuaded Sir Alex Ferguson to part with £12m ($30m) of Manchester United’s money in August 2003 to prise the 18-year-old from Sporting Lisbon.
Upon the recommendation of his Portuguese assistant, Carlos Quieroz, Ferguson had been watching Ronaldo for some time. The clincher came when this spindly kid ran United ragged in a friendly; even the arch pragmatist and renowned perfectionist Roy Keane insisted United sign the teenage box of tricks. “I had a good relationship with Keane,” recalls Ronaldo fondly, “and I was very pleased that a great player with a big name in football told the manager to sign me.”
But does the new, improved, more productive Ronaldo signal a scaling down of the trickery? He laughs. “It depends on a lot of things – the game, the situation. I want to always be useful to the team and give the most I can. That’s what I’m doing this season, it’s working and I want it to continue that way.”
Ironically, it is United’s ability to finally cope without Keane – and to a lesser extent Jaap Stam, David Beckham and Ruud van Nistelrooy – that has enabled them to mount a serious title challenge for the first time since they last won the league in 2003. This changing of the guard involving Nemanja Vidic and Michael Carrick, along with the form of Rooney, the resurgence of Scholes and, of course, the consistent brilliance of Ronaldo, has left Chelsea trailing in United’s wake. And unlike Jose Mourinho’s double champions, they’ve rarely scraped past teams, instead beating them convincingly. But as you would expect, Ronaldo is taking nothing for granted.
“We’ve got a good lead and the chances of winning the league this season are great, but nothing is guaranteed yet. Chelsea are a great team and we’re only halfway through the season. But we’re on the right path. We’re playing good football, we’ve been the most consistent team and if things continue that way, we can win the championship. My dream of winning the league is very much alive.”
The Premiership would complete the full set of domestic silverware for Ronaldo. Then what? The Champions League and a couple of player of the year awards? “I want to win all the trophies possible!” he smiles. “It could almost be the perfect year.”
After what threatened to be his annus horribilis, that would surely be enough to produce that mischievous grin again – if not another wink.
Upon the recommendation of his Portuguese assistant, Carlos Quieroz, Ferguson had been watching Ronaldo for some time. The clincher came when this spindly kid ran United ragged in a friendly; even the arch pragmatist and renowned perfectionist Roy Keane insisted United sign the teenage box of tricks. “I had a good relationship with Keane,” recalls Ronaldo fondly, “and I was very pleased that a great player with a big name in football told the manager to sign me.”
But does the new, improved, more productive Ronaldo signal a scaling down of the trickery? He laughs. “It depends on a lot of things – the game, the situation. I want to always be useful to the team and give the most I can. That’s what I’m doing this season, it’s working and I want it to continue that way.”
Ironically, it is United’s ability to finally cope without Keane – and to a lesser extent Jaap Stam, David Beckham and Ruud van Nistelrooy – that has enabled them to mount a serious title challenge for the first time since they last won the league in 2003. This changing of the guard involving Nemanja Vidic and Michael Carrick, along with the form of Rooney, the resurgence of Scholes and, of course, the consistent brilliance of Ronaldo, has left Chelsea trailing in United’s wake. And unlike Jose Mourinho’s double champions, they’ve rarely scraped past teams, instead beating them convincingly. But as you would expect, Ronaldo is taking nothing for granted.
“We’ve got a good lead and the chances of winning the league this season are great, but nothing is guaranteed yet. Chelsea are a great team and we’re only halfway through the season. But we’re on the right path. We’re playing good football, we’ve been the most consistent team and if things continue that way, we can win the championship. My dream of winning the league is very much alive.”
The Premiership would complete the full set of domestic silverware for Ronaldo. Then what? The Champions League and a couple of player of the year awards? “I want to win all the trophies possible!” he smiles. “It could almost be the perfect year.”
After what threatened to be his annus horribilis, that would surely be enough to produce that mischievous grin again – if not another wink.
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