These days, many people think of Cristiano Ronaldo when they hear the name ‘Ronaldo’. This is understandable, given Cristiano Ronaldo’s popularity and success. However, he is not the original Ronaldo. Without further ado, read on to learn about Ronaldo Nazario, the original Ronaldo.
Ronaldo Nazario: His Origins
It makes sense to start by discussing the Brazilian Ronaldo’s origins. Ronaldo Luis Nazario de Lima entered the world on September 18th, 1976. His parents were Nelio Nazario de Lima Senior and Sonia dos Santos Barata. Ronaldo left school around age 11 and instead pursued a football career. Ronaldo developed his skills on Bento Ribeiro’s streets, a suburb of Rio de Janeiro.
He became a part of the Social Ramos futsal team when he was 12. He scored an incredible 166 goals in his first season with the team. Former Brazil international Jairzinho noticed him and recruited the young Ronaldo to the Sao Cristovao youth team. Additionally, Ronaldo rose through the ranks quickly, playing with the club’s under-17 and under-20 teams despite being only 15.
Alexandre Martins and Reinaldo Pitta, Ronaldo’s agents in Brazil, signed the young man when he was only 13. Also, they recognized that he was special. Once Ronaldo turned 16, Jairzinho recommended him to Cruzeiro, one of his former clubs. It was a significant step in the young Ronaldo’s career.
Ronaldo Joins Cruzeiro
Ronaldo received interest from other clubs, but ultimately joined Cruzeiro for a few of 50,000 euros. He immediately impressed, scoring four goals in his debut for the youth team. Also, Ronaldo debuted professionally against Caldense on May 25th, 1993. Ronaldo scored his first senior goal in a friendly game against Portuguese club Belenenses. Additionally, Ronaldo played well during Cruzeiro’s tour of Portugal.
He impressed Porto enough that they bid $500,000 for him but Cruzeiro president Cesar Masci rejected the offer. Additionally, Ronaldo scored 20 goals in 21 games from the summer of 1993 until the end of the year. Ronaldo excelled in the Supercopa Libertadores, finishing as the tournament’s top scorer with eight goals. This meant he was the youngest top scorer in the history of the tournament.
Ronaldo scored five goals in Cruzeiro’s 6-0 home thrashing of Bahia in the 1993 Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A on November 7th, 1993. In doing so, he became the second youngest South American to score a hat-trick in the Brazilian top flight after Pele. Also, Ronaldo enjoyed two great seasons with Cruzeiro, scoring 44 goals in 47 goals. He also led the club to the 1993 Copa de Brazil title, their first, and the 1994 Minas Gerais State Championship.
However, Ronaldo Nazario was too talented to stay in Brazil forever.
Ronaldo Nazario Heads to PSV
Following the 1994 World Cup, Ronaldo transferred to PSV in the Dutch Eredivisie. Ronaldo scored ten minutes into his debut and this set the tone for his time at the club. In total, he scored 30 league goals in his first season with PSV. Additionally, Ronaldo impressed in European competition, scoring a hat-trick against Bayer Leverkusen in the UEFA Cup. Luis Enrique, who played for FC Barcelona at the time, was stunned by Ronaldo’s quality when he watched him on TV.
Ronaldo’s electric pace, dribbling, and skill on the ball made him a must-watch player. A knee injury disrupted his second season as PSV. However, he still scored 19 goals in 21 appearances and this includes four goals against Finnish club MyPa in the UEFA Cup. Ronaldo was the Eredivisie’s top scorer in 1995 and won the Dutch Cup in 1996. Overall, he scored 54 times in 58 games with PSV.
Ronaldo Nazario Becomes an FC Barcelona Player for a Record Fee
Naturally, now that Ronaldo had proven himself in Europe, big clubs wanted to sign him. Inter Milan and FC Barcelona competed for his signature, but FC Barcelona won in the end. Barcelona paid $19.5 million to sign Ronaldo in July 1996, a record transfer fee at the time.
Ronaldo played very well in the 1996-97 season, with 47 goals in 49 games. He led Barcelona to the 1996-97 UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup title and the 1996 Supercopa de Espana title. Ronaldo scored the winning goal in the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup final. Additionally, Ronaldo scored 34 goals in 37 La Liga appearances, earning him the European Golden Shoe and the La Liga top scorer award. No one repeated his feat of scoring more than 30 La Liga goals in a season until the 2008-09 season.
However, there were issues regarding renegotiating his contract. Eventually, Inter Milan paid the buy-out clause fee and signed Ronaldo Nazario for $27 million. This meant he had broken the world transfer fee record twice. His time with Inter Milan is interesting to examine.
Inter Milan Adds Ronaldo
Despite Serie A being the best defensive league in Europe at the time, Ronaldo had little trouble adapting to the Italian game. He scored 25 Serie A goals in his first season at Inter and won Serie A Footballer of the Year. This includes several goals against Inter Milan’s bitter rivals, AC Milan. Ronaldo became the captain of Inter Milan after the 1998-99 season.
However, recurring knee injuries marred his final seasons with Inter Milan. Ronaldo did help Brazil win the 2002 World Cup, but that was a rare bright spot in a dark few years for Ronaldo. In total, he scored 59 goals in 99 games for Inter Milan. However, Ronaldo’s next move would shock the football world.
Ronaldo Returns to Spain with Real Madrid
Few players have played for both FC Barcelona and Real Madrid due to the intense rivalry between the two clubs. However, Ronaldo is one of the players to have done so and joined Real Madrid for 46 million euros in 2002. Ronaldo enjoyed an excellent first season with Los Blancos, winning the La Liga title, Intercontinental Cup, and Supercopa de Espana.
Despite a Champions League hat-trick against Manchester United, injuries plagued his second season with Real Madrid. Juventus eliminated Real Madrid in the Champions League semifinals. The next season was even worse, as Real Madrid had a chance to win the treble. Instead, they lost the Copa del Rey final, crumbled in La Liga, and fell short in the Champions League quarterfinals against AS Monaco.
Individually, Ronaldo had a very good 2003-04 season, winning the Pichichi Trophy as La Liga’s top score with 25 goals. Ronaldo scored more than 100 goals in four and a half seasons at Real Madrid. However, injuries, weight issues, and the signing of Ruud Van Nistelrooy meant he lost favor with the club’s manager Fabio Capello. As a result, Ronaldo would change clubs once again.
Ronaldo Nazario Goes Back to Italy
Ronaldo joined AC Milan in January 2007 for 8.05 million euros. He scored seven times in 14 appearances in his first season. Injury issues and weight problems meant he only scored two goals in the 2007-08 season. A severe knee injury in February 2008 ended his 2008-09 season. AC Milan released Ronaldo at the end of the season as his contract expired.
Ronaldo Nazario Ends His Career Back Home
Ronaldo returned to Brazil by signing a one-year contract with Corinthians in December 2008. In his single season there, he aided the club in winning the Campeonato Paulista with 10 goals in 14 games. Additionally, Ronaldo scored to help Corinthians beat Internacional in the 2009 Copa do Brasil. Ronaldo scored 12 goals in 20 matches in the 2009 Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A. Also, Ronaldo continued playing for a while longer, but retired in February 2011.
Ronaldo Nazario’s story is an inspiring one and one all football fans should know.