A "Phenom"enal Era

Tuesday, February 23, 2010 --
There was a time when "Magical" and "Wizardry" were synonymous with the name "Ronaldo". They are as well today however the Cristiano Ronaldo of today is definitely not the Ronaldo we are talking about. We are talking about the real deal, the original Ronaldo, known to the world as Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima. An inevitable announcement that had to come, was expected, but has still hit the footballing world hard, is that the Phenom has decided to call it a day, hang up his boots, whatever you may call it, at the end of his current contract with the Corinthians.
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A great footballing career that began way back in 1993, Ronaldo took the world by storm. Touted to be one of the greats, Ronaldo moved to Europe and PSV Eindhoven in 1994. Scoring 42 league goals in 44 games, the master went on to rattle defenses with FC Barcelona in Spain's top flight.

Ronaldo played just one season with the Blaugrana, scoring 34 goals in the league to smash all opposition away. He moved to Inter Milan in 1997, playing in a more-tactical arena. 49 league goals over 5 injury marred seasons may not seem too great a record, but consider this that he played just 68 games in that time, most of them as a substitute, and this scoring record takes a whole new turn.

He was almost back at his best when he moved to Real Madrid in 2002, becoming one of the important pieces of the Galacticos puzzle. 127 games over 5 seasons were again hampered by injury but that didn't stop him from scoring 83 fantastic goals for the Madrid giants.
An aging Ronaldo left Madrid for another Italian giant, AC Milan. In the twilight of his career, Ronaldo returned to Brazil to play for the Corinthians in 2009. Despite hanging on on a bad knee with aging legs, the Phenom recently signed a 2-year contract extension with the team, in 2009. He has, however, decided to bring an end to his career at Corinthians, at the end of his current deal.

The 33-year old striker has scored 62 times for the national team and has won 2 World Cups, been a runner-up in one and has numerous club, international and individual titles including being named as the FIFA World Player of the Year three times and is the highest scorer in FIFA World Cups with 15 goals against his name.


During a press conference, the Phenom said, "I renewed my contract for another two years and this will be my last. I will play until December 31st 2011 and then I will retire from playing football. I want to give my maximum for Corinthians and to finish my career having won something important with this shirt."

Although his future after football still has some time, there are reports that suggest that the Corinthians might have a directorial position in store for the Phenom when he retires. While that is still some way away, we still have a couple of seasons to enjoy those, now-rare, darting runs and picture perfect finishes from the boots of a magician.