Ronaldo de Lima

Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima, born 22 September 1976, more commonly known as Ronaldo, is a Brazilian professional footballer currently playing for
Campeonato Brasileiro club Corinthians.
In 1993, Ronaldo began his professional football career playing for Cruzeiro which was already going on to become a successful club. In his first and only year with Cruzeiro, he amassed 12 goals in 14 appearances and lead them to their first Copa do Brasil championship. After Cruzeiro, he signed with Dutch football team PSV in 1994. In 1996, his final year with PSV, Ronaldo helped them win the Dutch Cup. Ronaldo has also played for FC Barcelona, Internazionale, Real Madrid and Milan. He is one of only four players to have played for 5 of the so called G-14 Clubs.

Ronaldo is also an established national footballer for Brazil. He has
appeared in 97 international matches, amassing 62 goals and standing 15 goals away from the Brazilian national scoring record. He was a part of the Brazilian squad that won the 1994, and 2002 World Cups. During the 2006 World Cup, Ronaldo became the highest goalscorer in the history of the World Cup with his fifteenth goal, surpassing Gerd Müller's previous record of 14.Nicknamed O Fenômeno ("The Phenomenon" in English), Ronaldo was also one of the most prolific scorers in the nineties and in the early twenty-first century. During his football career in Europe, Ronaldo became one of the most renowned strikers in the world by winning his first Ballon d'Or as the European Footballer of the Year in 1997 and again in 2002. He is also one of only two men to have won the FIFA Player of the Year award three times, along with French footballer Zinédine Zidane. In 2007, he was named as one of the best starting eleven of all-time by France Football and was named to the FIFA
100, a list of the greatest footballers compiled by fellow countryman Pelé.

He is considered by many football fans, players and managers to be the greatest striker in the history of football, especially noted for the now legendary 96/97 season with FC Barcelona, considered by many to be the greatest display by a footballer in a season. His clinical finishing, ability to beat defenders with ease, skills on the ball and many comebacks from injury have seen him lauded by football fans worldwide. He is an idol to many modern footballers such as Karim Benzema, Kaká and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Ronaldo was also one of the first major football superstars to popularize Futsal and Street Football skills on the pitch, becoming associated with the stepover. He is also credited with igniting a stronger marketing interest in football worldwide,particularly due to his rapport with Nike who had previously focused mainly on Basketball.Club career Cruzeiro, São Cristóvão, Tennis Club Valqueire, Social Ramos Club, PSV, FC Barcelona, Internazionale, Real Madrid, AC Milan and
Corinthians.

Personal information

Full name Ronaldo Luis Nazário de Lima
Date of birth 22 September 1976 (1976-09-22) (age 33)
Place of birth Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position Striker

Club information
Current club Corinthians
Number 9

Youth career
1986–1989 Tennis Club Valqueire
1989–1990 Social Ramos Club
1990–1993 São Cristóvão

Senior career*
Years Club Apps† (Gls)†
1993–1994 Cruzeiro 32 (34)
1994–1996 PSV 46 (42)
1996–1997 FC Barcelona 37 (34)
1997–2002 Internazionale 68 (49)
2002–2007 Real Madrid 127 (83)
2007–2008 Milan 20 (9)
2009– Corinthians 13 (8)

National team‡
1994- Brazil 97 (69)


Yearly Life

After he was scouted by Piet de Visser, he was soon transferred for US$6 million to PSV, where he scored 42 goals in 46 league games and reached a total of 54 goals in 57 official appearances. With PSV, Ronaldo won the Dutch Cup in 1996 and was Eredivisie top scorer in 1995.


Barcelona

Later, he attracted the attention of FC Barcelona. He played for Barça in the 1996-97 season, scoring 47 goals in 49 games (in all competitions) on the way to leading the Catalan side to UEFA Cup Winners' Cup triumph (where he capped the season with the winning goal in the cup final itself) and to Copa del Rey and Supercopa de España wins. He also won La Liga top scorer award in 1997 with 34 goals in 37 games. Until the 08/09 season, Ronaldo remained the last player to score more than 30 goals in La Liga.

Internazionale

Inter signed him the following year for a then world record fee, and Ronaldo duly helped them repeat his former side's cup-winning run, this time in the UEFA Cup, in which he scored their third goal in the final itself.On November 21, 1999, during a Serie A match against Lecce, Ronaldo felt his knee buckle and was forced to limp off the pitch. Medical exams after the match confirmed that the striker had ruptured a tendon in his knee and would require surgery.During his first comeback on April 12, 2000, he played only seven minutes during the first leg of the Coppa Italia final against Lazio before injuring his knee for a second time.After two operations and months of rehabilitation, Ronaldo came back for the 2002 World Cup, helping Brazil win their fifth World Cup title. Later in 2002 he won the World Player of the Year award for the third time, and transferred from Inter to Real Madrid.

Ronaldo was given his most recognizable nickname O Fenômeno by the Italian press while playing there. He was named the 20th topfootballer of all time for Inter according to Times Online and only his injuries prevented a higher ranking. He played 99 games and scored 59 goals for nerazzurri.

Real Madrid

He was sidelined through injury until October 2002 but the fans kept on chanting his name. Ronaldo scored twice in his debut for Real Madrid. He received a standing ovation in the Santiago Bernabeu. That same reception was observed on the night of the final game of the season against Athletic Bilbao, where Ronaldo scored again to seal his first season with 23 league goals and the La Liga Championship title for 2003, which Ronaldo had previously failed to win while with Barcelona. With Real he also won a Intercontinental Cup in 2002 and Spanish Super Cup in 2003. Real was on track to win the treble until Ronaldo was injured towards the end of the 03/04 season, and they lost the Copa del Rey final, knocked out of the Champions league quaterfinals, and suffered a league form breakdown. This season he finished as the league's top scorer and was awarded the Pichichi despite Real losing the league title to Valencia. Real Madrid were knocked out of the first round of the last 16 in the Champions League by Arsenal, and went a third straight season without a trophy. With the acquisition of Ruud Van Nistelrooy in 2006, Ronaldo grew more and more out of favor with the manager Fabio Capello due to injuries and weight issues.

HONORS

Cruzeiro

* Campeonato Mineiro: 1994

PSV Eindhoven

* Dutch Cup: 1996

Barcelona

* Copa del Rey: 1996
* UEFA Cup Winners' Cup: 1997
* Supercopa de España: 1997

Internazionale

* UEFA Cup: 1998

Real Madrid

* La Liga: 2003
* Intercontinental Cup: 2002
* Supercopa de España: 2003

Corinthians

* Campeonato Paulista: 2009
* Brazil Cup: 2009

National team

* FIFA World Cup: 1994, 2002
* Copa America: 1997, 1999
* FIFA Confederations Cup: 1997
* 1996 Summer Olympics: Bronze medal

Individual

* Supercopa Libertadores Top Scorer: 1993-94
* Campeonato Mineiro Top Scorer: 1993-94
* Campeonato Mineiro Team of The Year: 1994
* Eredivisie Top Scorer: 1994-95
* La Liga Top Scorer: 1996-97
* European Golden Boot: 1996-97
* Don Balón Award La Liga Foreign Player of the Year: 1996-97
* Copa América Final Most Valuable Player: 1997
* Copa América Most Valuable Player: 1997
* Confederations Cup All-Star Team: 1997
* Cup Winners Cup Final Most Valuable Player: 1997
* IFFHS World's Top Goal Scorer of the Year: 1997
* UEFA Most Valuable Player: 1997-98
* Serie A Player of the Year: 1997-98
* Serie A Foreign Player of the Year: 1997-98
* Serie A Player of Last 10 Year: 1998-07
* UEFA Best Forward: 1997-98
* Bravo Award : 1997, 1998
* FIFA World Cup Golden Ball: 1998
* UEFA Cup Final Most Valuable Player: 1998
* Copa América Top Scorer: 1999
* Copa América All-Star Team: 1997, 1999
* FIFA World Player of the Year: 1996, 1997, 2002
* Ballon D'or: 1997, 2002
* Onze d'Or: 1997, 2002
* FIFA World Cup Silver Ball: 2002
* FIFA 100
* FIFA World Cup All-Star Team: 1998, 2002
* FIFA World Cup Final Most Valuable Player: 2002
* FIFA World Cup Top Scorer: 2002
* Intercontinental Cup Most Valuable Player: 2002
* UEFA Team of The Year: 2002
* Laureus Comeback of the Year: 2002
* BBC Sports Personality of the Year Overseas Personality: 2002
* La Liga South American Player of the Year: 1996-97, 2002-03
* La Liga Top Scorer: 2003-04
* Golden Foot: 2006
* FIFA World Cup All-Time Scoring Leader
* Campeonato Paulista Best Player: 2009