Cristiano Ronaldo Biography: Foreword
There aren’t a lot of soccer players in the world today that can honestly state they are more popular than Cristiano Ronaldo. Except for a few already established stars such as Ronaldinho or David Beckham, Cristiano Ronaldo is probably the most popular rising star on the pitch.
His good looks, combined with his awesome repertoire of Cristiano Ronaldo soccer tricks and a hint of trademarked Cristiano Ronaldo goals, propelled him to the level of fame he enjoys today.
This Cristiano Ronaldo biography will try to take you through his career, and although it’s a rare case that a player who is still in his early 20s receives a biography, I’m sure you’ll agree that a Cristiano Ronaldo profile is in order, considering his huge talent and fame.
Cristiano Ronaldo Biography: Youth Clubs
Born in Madeira to a family where soccer was cherished, Cristiano Ronaldo started playing for a local amateur youth team called Andorinha, where his father handled the equipment and acted as a kit man.
At 8 when he joined Andorinha, and by the time he was 10, he had already sparked the curiosity of some of Portugal’s biggest clubs. This led him to sign with the local first-division team, CD National, where he would join the youth club and immediately make an impact, helping his team win the youth championship the following year.
After just one year at National, he was offered a youth contract by bigwigs sporting Lisbon, who are internationally renowned for having one of the best youth training facilities in the world.
The young player fit right in at sporting and started scoring regularly, although he was way too fond of his dribble at that point. Despite this shortcoming, he was accepted into various levels of the Portugal national youth squad before finally breaking through at the UEFA Under-17 Championship in 2001.
His great performance there drew the eyes of Liverpool’s scouts, but Ronaldo was just 16 years old, and the Liverpool officials decided he needed more time in the Portuguese league before they signed him.
Cristiano Ronaldo Biography: Sporting Lisbon
Being included in the senior squad of Sporting meant the young player’s first contact with professional football. Although he didn’t play regularly, the few moments that he did get on the pitch were greeted with cheers from the sporting fans, who loved Cristiano Ronaldo’s soccer tricks. In 2 seasons with sporting’s senior squad, Ronaldo got to play in 28 matches, scoring 3 times, before he was picked up by Manchester United’s scouts at age 18.
Cristiano Ronaldo Biography: Manchester United
Sir Alex Ferguson, manager and coach of Manchester United, desperately needed a quality right midfielder in 2003, as David Beckham had just left the club for Real Madrid.
Bringing an 18-year-old Portuguese player to replace an international super-star like Beckham didn’t seem like a good idea at first, but from his first season, Cristiano Ronaldo’s goals proved decisive and he quickly gained the love of the Red Devils’ fans.
In his following seasons at Manchester, with more and more trust coming from Sir Alex Ferguson and the team’s fans, Cristiano Ronaldo developed into an extraordinary player that is now feared by even the sturdiest defenders out there.
Despite the fact that he is just 22 years old right now, Cristiano Ronaldo already has 208 professional matches and 53 goals (190 matches and 50 goals for Manchester, the others for Sporting) and 46 caps in the national squad, with a tally of 17 goals for Portugal. Impressive stats for such a youngster.
The best part is that with each passing year, Cristiano Ronaldo improves his game even further, so don’t be surprised if in a couple of years he steps up to become the greatest footballer in activity.
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