Ronaldo 9 appreciation thread

[Martin Alvito]

To compare him with Ronaldinho highlights complete ignorance of his ability. It’s akin to comparing Magic Johnson with Michael Jordan. Ronaldo could do everything Ronaldinho could do, but much faster, with more end product and was a goal machine to boot.

To bring up Magic vs. Michael does Ronaldo a disservice. There's a legit argument for Magic due to versatility and abiliity to play with anybody. There is not a legit argument for Ronaldinho.

 

[Gwladys St. Glory]

'cause it never gets old...for me, anyhow. Ending cracks me up...end of his career and that defender refuses to swing a leg out of pure fear/respect, despite being like 3 feet away at one point.

 

[Miss blue beard]

My favourite player of all time. Could watch videos of him all day.

 

[Liam-EFC]

Was unbelievable in this match.

 

[Goat]

R9 was the best to ever play the game for me.

Injuries ruined him sadly.

But he would have eclipsed Cr7 and Messi if his knee didn't collapse.

 

[Sinski]

Just saw a video of him pop up on my facebook and was from a UEFA cup final of Inter v Lazio and I was surprised how deep he used to come for the ball with so many of his teammates ahead of him. I did not remember him like that as I remember him destroying defenses but he would get the ball in midfield and get past the opposing midfielders which would then open the field for him. Just loved watching him play.

 

[artetas_biggest_fan]

100 different skills, that’s 95 more than Cristiano possessed as his former United teammate Silvestre points out.

‘Ronaldo has three or four tricks that you can guess’ – Silvestre ranks R9 above former Man Utd colleague | Goal.com UK

Cristiano Ronaldo is not as fearsome as his Brazilian namesake, says former Manchester United team-mate Mikael Silvestre, with the Portuguese considered to have “three or four tricks” while R9 was “something different”.

www.goal.com

You could maybe triple that 100 figure to get the total number of moves in his locker. What makes him greater than Cristiano (besides having four great international tournaments to Cristiano’s none) is his natural ability. His footwork and speed of thought is unmatched in the modern game with the sole exception of Messi whose ball control is quite probably the best of anyone who has ever kicked a ball.

When you think of that much lauded United team of Fergies (Scholes, Keane, Beckham, Giggs, Van Nistelrooy) that played against Real in ‘03, an overweight, less mobile Ronaldo who was three years past his prime and roughly 65% to 70% of what he was was a better player than them. That’s the gulf we are dealing with here. What he did the previous year in winning the golden boot at the ‘02 World Cup having barely kicked a ball in over two years is one of the greatest achievements in the history of sport. It’s remininsent of what Ali did to George Foreman in that even though like Ali he was past his best and became more of a penalty box striker than the outfield forward he was previously, he was still better than anyone. He spearheaded a Brazil team, that had been dreadful without him in qualifying, to the title. He scored in three finals for Brazil as they won the trophy (97 Copa America, 99 Copa America, 02 World Cup) and only one he didn’t, the 98 World Cup, was because he had a seizure hours before the game in a tournament in which he was the best player.

 

[Cork Evertonian]

100 different skills, that’s 95 more than Cristiano possessed as his former United teammate Silvestre points out.

‘Ronaldo has three or four tricks that you can guess’ – Silvestre ranks R9 above former Man Utd colleague | Goal.com UK

Cristiano Ronaldo is not as fearsome as his Brazilian namesake, says former Manchester United team-mate Mikael Silvestre, with the Portuguese considered to have “three or four tricks” while R9 was “something different”.

www.goal.com

You could maybe triple that 100 figure to get the total number of moves in his locker. What makes him greater than Cristiano (besides having four great international tournaments to Cristiano’s none) is his natural ability. His footwork and speed of thought is unmatched in the modern game with the sole exception of Messi whose ball control is quite probably the best of anyone who has ever kicked a ball.

When you think of that much lauded United team of Fergies (Scholes, Keane, Beckham, Giggs, Van Nistelrooy) that played against Real in ‘03, an overweight, less mobile Ronaldo who was three years past his prime and roughly 65% to 70% of what he was was a better player than them. That’s the gulf we are dealing with here. What he did the previous year in winning the golden boot at the ‘02 World Cup having barely kicked a ball in over two years is one of the greatest achievements in the history of sport. It’s remininsent of what Ali did to George Foreman in that even though like Ali he was past his best and became more of a penalty box striker than the outfield forward he was previously, he was still better than anyone. He spearheaded a Brazil team, that had been dreadful without him in qualifying, to the title. He scored in three finals for Brazil as they won the trophy (97 Copa America, 99 Copa America, 02 World Cup) and only one he didn’t, the 98 World Cup, was because he had a seizure hours before the game in a tournament in which he was the best player.

He's in his element on this early morning alright, although at least he ain't waxing lyrical about the rs for a change.lol What's the point of all this? Both are great players. Why the disrespect for the other Ronaldo? Im sure the fact that the other Ronaldo is a former Man U player, who played in that Real Madrid team, that tore the rs a new one, in the 2018 champions league final has nothing to do with it.lol

 

[artetas_biggest_fan]

The contrast between deliverance and hype.

It’s the 2002 World Cup. Ronaldo hadn’t played for Brazil in over two years after his knee “exploded” with Inter. In qualifying for the tournament Brazil had been a “shambles”, but with Ronaldo at the tournament “it was a different story” (Tim Vickery).

Maybe 65% to 70% of what he was, predominantly now a penalty box player as he couldn’t make those blistering runs from midfield on his own, he was chunkier so the footwork wasn’t as nimble, the blurry stepovers were no more. And yet, Ronaldo scored 8 goals in 7 games, both goals in the World Cup final, receives the golden boot as top goalscorer, named world player of the year, and get accolades galore for this extraordinary comeback.


It’s Euro 2016. Cristiano Ronaldo, the man with the same “three or four tricks” (Mikael Silvestre), is lauded for “barking orders from the side of the pitch” in the final. This display of greatness is to feature in a Cristiano documentary on the BBC. You couldn’t make it up. First though, the 2014 CL final:

Seven things to expect from Ronaldo: Impossible to Ignore

Ronaldo: Impossible to Ignore comes to BBC iPlayer on Saturday, 29 May. From his tough start in life to becoming the ultimate sports brand, we unpack the documentary's highlights here.

www.bbc.co.uk

"Playing in the 2014 Champions League final, I'm looking out the tunnel and I can see the Champions League trophy," Clement describes. "When I got that view, it actually physically took my breath away. Cristiano had obviously heard that. He just turned and looked over his shoulder and went, 'Paul, don't worry.'"

- Don’t worry Paul, Sergio Ramos will come to the rescue and score a last second equaliser, otherwise Real are going home potless. Now the main bit:

He showed his leadership qualities in the Euro 2016 final​

That force of will came to the fore at the Euro 2016 final. Home nation France came in as firm favourites, but they obviously hadn't got the memo that Ronaldo was the protagonist of this story.

After the heartbreak of losing to Greece in the 2004 final, Ronaldo had a score to settle. What's more, as Ferdinand explains in the documentary, there was extra motivation - Messi had never won a major tournament with Argentina.

Not even having to be taken off on a stretcher in the 25th minute would get between Ronaldo and that trophy.

Team-mate Nani describes him barking orders from the side of the pitch. "He was calling out all the players, every name. He was giving some information. I think almost everyone felt his presence on the touchline," he remembers.

Shearer says: "People at times over the years might have thought he was pretty selfish, in terms of the goals he scored, the desire that he had, but I think when you look at him in that final and the way he was trying to drive his team forward from the touchline, I think that told you how much he wanted to win."

- He was a bleedin cheerleader. The hype machine has gone into overdrive on this one. While Cristiano “drove his team on” by waving his arms, Ronaldo was busy scoring twice for Brazil, doing so for a third final for his country. The reference to Messi is equally ludicrous. Yeah Cristiano deserves credit for “barking orders” while his Portuguese teammate was scoring the winner, and Messi deserves scorn for bottle job Higuain missing a sitter when clean through that would have put the Argies 1-0 up in the 2014 World Cup final.


Cristiano is a great player. Fabulous athlete (arguably the greatest in that regard), a prolific scorer of all types of goals, and he’s possibly the most driven player ever, but Ronaldo he ain’t. And Messi he ain’t either. The latter two have the genius label with extraordinary ball control. I’d rank Cristiano third in my lifetime, only ahead of Ronaldinho who had more natural ability but nowhere the relentless drive to succeed.

 

[McBain]

Doesn’t get the recognition coz his absolute peak didn’t last long. Van Basten the same. You need to do it across a generation to be considered in the highest tier of footballer and sadly Ronaldo’s prime was too short. Fantastic player though.

 

[Westend Blue]

R9 and dinho where pure magic the reason why we watch this sport won’t see the likes of them again sadly imo

 

[Chegsy]

He had the lot. Shame injuries robbed him in his peak years. Easily my favourite player ever.

 

[artetas_biggest_fan]

Doesn’t get the recognition coz his absolute peak didn’t last long. Van Basten the same. You need to do it across a generation to be considered in the highest tier of footballer and sadly Ronaldo’s prime was too short. Fantastic player though.

Nonsense. Most pros rank Ronaldo the best. Most managers rank Ronaldo the best. It’s the media today who are culpable for by pushing the Messi vs Cristiano rivalry which has resulted in the lesser more glamorous Ronaldo appearing in their greatest debates. See the reference to the BBC Cristiano doc above for evidence of the hype. In terms of recognition Cristiano has also benefited enormously by the social media age. Ronaldo was the most famous sportsman on the planet in his prime, but he never had the media platform afforded to Cristiano which has further exacerbated the media hype.

Ronaldo has had four great international tournaments (twice best player, and twice top goalscorer, scoring in three finals, the only final he didn’t he suffered a convulsive fit hours before kick off). He’s a World Cup legend.

Cristiano has never had one great international tournament. His World Cup pedigree is non existent. A footnote. Every time Portugal have been eliminated he’s been anonymous. The media scrape the barrel with their reference to him waving his arms as a cheerleader on the sidelines in the Euro 2016 final.

Longevity is a silly argument. The Stones would be ranked ahead of Beatles otherwise. Being the best striker post Pele and being in his prime for four years is long enough. Even when he was past his prime in being top scorer at the ‘02 World Cup he achieved more than Cristiano has in his prime.

 

[Terrarian]

Nonsense. Most pros rank Ronaldo the best. Most managers rank Ronaldo the best. It’s the media today who are culpable for by pushing the Messi vs Cristiano rivalry which has resulted in the lesser more glamorous Ronaldo appearing in their greatest debates. See the reference to the BBC Cristiano doc above for evidence of the hype. In terms of recognition Cristiano has also benefited enormously by the social media age. Ronaldo was the most famous sportsman on the planet in his prime, but he never had the media platform afforded to Cristiano which has further exacerbated the media hype.

Ronaldo has had four great international tournaments (twice best player, and twice top goalscorer, scoring in three finals, the only final he didn’t he suffered a convulsive fit hours before kick off). He’s a World Cup legend.

Cristiano has never had one great international tournament. His World Cup pedigree is non existent. A footnote. Every time Portugal have been eliminated he’s been anonymous. The media scrape the barrel with their reference to him waving his arms as a cheerleader on the sidelines in the Euro 2016 final.

Longevity is a silly argument. The Stones would be ranked ahead of Beatles otherwise. Being the best striker post Pele and being in his prime for four years is long enough. Even when he was past his prime in being top scorer at the ‘02 World Cup he achieved more than Cristiano has in his prime.

You don't half vociferously defend the lad. He was so good for quite a few years, he was on the European scene at 17, in a then decent Dutch League don't know where people are getting he only had a few peak years from. He obviously didn't have as many years at the top as he should due to injury but still was the best striker around for a good few years.

 

[McBain]

Nonsense. Most pros rank Ronaldo the best. Most managers rank Ronaldo the best. It’s the media today who are culpable for by pushing the Messi vs Cristiano rivalry which has resulted in the lesser more glamorous Ronaldo appearing in their greatest debates. See the reference to the BBC Cristiano doc above for evidence of the hype. In terms of recognition Cristiano has also benefited enormously by the social media age. Ronaldo was the most famous sportsman on the planet in his prime, but he never had the media platform afforded to Cristiano which has further exacerbated the media hype.

Ronaldo has had four great international tournaments (twice best player, and twice top goalscorer, scoring in three finals, the only final he didn’t he suffered a convulsive fit hours before kick off). He’s a World Cup legend.

Cristiano has never had one great international tournament. His World Cup pedigree is non existent. A footnote. Every time Portugal have been eliminated he’s been anonymous. The media scrape the barrel with their reference to him waving his arms as a cheerleader on the sidelines in the Euro 2016 final.

Longevity is a silly argument. The Stones would be ranked ahead of Beatles otherwise. Being the best striker post Pele and being in his prime for four years is long enough. Even when he was past his prime in being top scorer at the ‘02 World Cup he achieved more than Cristiano has in his prime.

Don’t even know where to begin with this. Great player, up there with the best of his generation but football has seen many generations. Had a few good seasons but by 23 was crocked. Hardly the greatest player of all time and wouldn’t make the first 11 best players ever in any of your so called ‘most pros and most managers’ unsubstantiated waffle.