Ronaldo Cristiano - Soccer Star Cristiano Ronaldo

Soccer Star Cristiano Ronaldo

Portuguese soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo has been one of the biggest names in international soccer since his debut with Sporting CP in 2002. After six years with Manchester United and a Ballon d'Or award, Ronaldo went to Real Madrid on a record-breaking transfer. Since joining Real Madrid, Ronaldo has done nothing but win titles and score unbelievable amounts of goals.

In his first season with Manchester United, Cristiano became feared by his opponents because of his aggressive style of play.

It was a shot that not manyif anysoccer players would ever really take.

Cristiano Ronaldo, the star winger for famed English soccer club Manchester United, took a pass from one of his midfielders just past the midfield line. It was April 15, 2009. He dribbled slowly forward as defenders from FC Porto began backing up to take defensive positions.

A few days earlier, Ronaldo had recorded his first Champions League goal during a 20 victory over FC Internazionale Milano that put Manchester into the quarterfinals against FC Porto.

It was only six minutes into the Wednesday night match and both teams were playing a bit nervously. They were like two great boxers feeling each other out in the first few rounds of a fight. The play was slow and unsteady. The players looked as though they were running in mud.

He could have set up an attack by sending the ball high into the air towards the box. He even may have been able to make a run down the sideline where he could cross the ball to a teammate. But Ronaldo did something different when he was still about 40 yards away from the goal.

He decided to shoot.

No one shoots from that distance. Not many players are strong enough to score from there. Plus, the opposing keeper can see the ball pretty easily from that far away and move into position to make a save.

But Ronaldo is different than your normal soccer star. Very lean, the 6-feet 1-inch tall native of Portugal is extremely powerful, not to mention confident. Not many people have the power of a cannon in their legs. But Ronaldo has proven over the years that he can score from almost anywhere on the soccer pitch. Whats even more amazing is that he is as good shooting with his left foot as he is with his right.

He set the ball up perfectly before him, rolling forward slowly and settling it. The brash young star uncorked a screaming line drive of a kick. The ball whizzed, slicing the air and traveling an incredible 65 miles per hour. The kick seemed to go faster as it approached the Porto net. It also started rising like a Justin Verlander fastball!

The keeper realized almost instantly that he was in trouble. He ran back, dove, and jumped into the air in what seemed like one fluid motion. But the ball, flying like a rocket, passed over his outstretched fingertips and exploded into the top corner of the net.

The fans long had a love-hate relationship with the star soccer player from a foreign country. But now they erupted in cheers and saluted Ronaldo with applause and waving flags. The ovation seemed to go on forever. It was a remarkable goal that players, fans, and sportswriters still talk about. More importantly, it was the only score of the game and allowed Manchester United to advance with a 10 victory.

After the match, Ronaldo was all smiles.

It is the best (goal) I have ever scored, he told reporters. It was a fantastic strike and I cant wait to see it again on my DVD. I am very happy with it.

Ronaldo has the reputation of being one of the hardest kickers in all of professional soccer.

While each player respects the others abilities and skills, Ronaldo and Messi are strictly competitors when they are on the pitch.

It was his 26th goal of the season and put Manchester United into the finals against FC Barcelona, which Manchester lost 20. The amazing goal would be long remembered by Manchester fans who soon learned that the goal would be his last playing for the team.

It is no wonder that Ronaldowho was named after a U.S. presidentis regarded as one of the two best players in the entire world, alongside rival Lionel Messi. They have clashed many times inside European soccer stadiums. Described by many as fast, elusive, and tricky, Ronaldo is also deadly accurate with his powerful kicks.

Soccer legends such as Pel, David Beckham, and Diego Maradona have all said that Ronaldo is one of the best players they have ever seen.

But he has never liked constantly being compared to Messi because the two players have such different styles of play. He once told newspaper reporters that the comparisons made him tired and that it is impossible to compare two different types of sports cars because they have different engines.

But he does admit that when he and Messi are on the same pitch, they usually push each other to play even harder. Hard work is nothing new for the superstar known as CR7 whose life has taken him from one of the most beautiful islands on the planet to the biggest soccer stage in the world.

It was hard work, after all, and the ability to overcome hardship, which has allowed him to make that journey.

On February 5, 1985, on a small island off the coast of the European country Portugal, Maria Dolores dos Santos Aveiro and her husband, Jos Dinis Aveiro, celebrated the birth of their fourth and youngest child.

The little boy was named Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro. The childs father had always wanted to name one of his children after his favorite American actor, Ronald Reagan, who later became the U.S. president.

Now he had done just that.

The Portuguese island of Madeira, off the west coast of the country, is known as one of the most popular tourist destinations in all of Europe. The land is dotted with lush flowers and beautiful beaches. It has famous wineries and the longest firework demonstrations in the entire world. It is actually closer to the continent of Africa than it is to mainland Europe. But it was Portuguese explorers who settled the island in the 1400s and claimed it as their own.

While the island is known for its wealthy and lavish lifestyle, not everyone who lives there is rich. In fact, Ronaldo grew up in a very poor part of the island. He lived in a small shack that had a tin roof on top. The tiny home did have one saving graceit overlooked the ocean from way up in the hills of the working-class neighborhood of Santo Antnio. The home was only about three miles away from all the lush hotels where the tourists stay, but it might as well have been a world away.

Even when Cristiano is surrounded by defenders, he still finds ways to score goals.

The family lived in the port city of Funchal, a very busy port for cruise ship liners packed with tourists. Ronaldo and his family could never afford to go aboard one of those ships that would set off for other exotic destinations.