In one of his first matches for the 1993 Brazilian championship, he scored five goals, and one of them lifted the fans on the spot.
Ronaldo, “The Phenomenon”, who is currently the president of Real Valladolid, a team that will face Real Madrid for that day 24 from LaLiga, started as a professional at just 16 years old in the first team of the team cruise. In a year and a half at Toca da Raposa, the former striker he scored 56 goals in 58 games, was called up to the Brazilian national team and won the 1994 World Cup before winning his place in European football.
However, at the beginning of his career, he was an unknown young man.
From São Cristóvão, Ronaldo spent little time in the youth categories at Cruzeiro before being promoted to the main team and making his debut against Caldense in the Mineiro Championship. The match, played on May 25, 1993 at the Ronaldão Stadium in Poços de Caldas, ended in a 1-0 victory.
“We made a pact for everyone to beat him on the head before the games. He was a 17-year-old boy who started to be the boy of the whole group. We support him a lot. Nonato, Paulo Roberto, Roberto Gaúcho … I created a relationship to help him and I saw great potential, “Tonze Cecílio, a former Cruzeiro defender, told ESPN.com.
One of the most striking moments of the young man with the Minas Gerais team was the 6-0 victory against Bahia. In the match, valid for the Brazilian championship in 1993, he scored five goals, in the last of which the striker stole the ball from the Uruguayan goalkeeper Rodolfo Rodríguez.
“Rodolfo didn’t realize it. It was an unusual game, especially with him as a goalkeeper. I turned my back on the defense and didn’t see the game because the ball was dominated. I heard the noise from the crowd and when I When he returned, the goal was already over (laughs).
In August 1994, the striker was sold to PSV in the Netherlands for six million dollars. He then played for Barcelona, Inter Milan, Real Madrid, Milan and Corinthians, the club where he closed his boots in 2011.
“To be very honest, what impressed me the most was that he solved the games for us. But at the age of 17 I had a clear idea that he would be a monster for the World Cup. He got to where he was in real life, that he would be one “It’s one of the best in history. It’s above Careca, Ibra, Baggio … I couldn’t measure that level at the time,” admitted Toninho.
With the Brazilian team, The “phenomenon” scored 67 goals in 98 games and is only behind Pelé. In four World Cups he scored 15 times in 19 games, with one less than Miroslav Klose.