| Subject: Editorial: Ronie - Back To His Best? |
Author:
Son
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Date Posted: 12:02:17 03/07/03 Fri
Love him or hate him, and if you are an Inter fan you certainly don't love him, Ronaldo is back. Ronaldo's comeback from two serious knee injuries to lead Brazil to their 5th World Cup title last summer was a wonderful story. Ronaldo scored 8 goals and finished with the Golden Boot, however his performances left room for improvement and many critics stated that yes the Brazilian could score goals, but he would never be the player he was before the injuries. 'Il Phenomeno's' performances as of late may lead to those same critics eating their words.
After a much publicized and at times ugly transfer from Inter, Ronaldo finally made his Real Madrid debut early last October against Alaves. And what a debut it was. He came on for Javier Portillo in the 64th minute and only a minute later sent the whole Bernabeu into delirium by finishing expertly after latching on to compatriot Roberto Carlos' cross. Ronaldo added another strike in the last twenty minutes completing a dream debut as Real strolled to a 5-2 victory. The weeks that followed though were far from the Utopia of his October debut. 'Ronnie' was having trouble scoring and he was out-of-form, the long injury lay-off finally showing its effects on the Brazilian superstar.
Instead of making excuses though, Ronaldo continued to work and the same belief that saw him battle back from a career threatening knee injury also helped him regain his scoring touch. As of late, Ronaldo has been in sparkling form. He played a great match against Borussia Dortmund in Champions' League play and was outstanding in Real's 5-1 win over Alaves where he scored a hat-trick - his first since joining the club. Slowly but surely the reigning FIFA World Player of the Year is back to his old self and his 13 goals for the club this season ranks only behind the prolific Raul for the team lead.
Ronaldo's game has changed a bit. Beginning at the World Cup one could clearly see that Ronaldo didn't have that explosiveness to go past three and four men as he did so many times in his days at Barcelona. What we see now is shorter bursts of speed past one defender, however match by match we see him regaining that ability to elude defenders by both speed and trickery. For right now he has become more of a penalty-box player, however to say that the Brazilian's skills have diminished would be wrong. His wonderful ball control and tricky feet, especially his unbelievable step-over, still make him more than a handful even if some of his mobility has diminished because of the injuries. Honestly, things have been a lot easier at Real than they would have been at any other club. Ronaldo has a great supporting cast and it certainly doesn't hurt receiving service from the likes of Zidane, Roberto Carlos, of Figo.
Many have asked if Ronaldo can become the world's most dominant player yet again. His recent performances suggest he can, but it won't happen over night. It takes time to fully recuperate from such a serious injury and it can be a year or two before a player is back to their pre-injury standard of play. Having said that, 13 goals thus far in limited action (he has missed a few games due to a couple niggling injuries) is not too shabby.
For all his talents a Champions' League trophy has eluded Ronaldo, he has also never won a league title in any country. With Real he has a better than average shot to win both. Because of the strength of Real, we can only really talk about Ronaldo as being the best in the world again when he leads the club to glory in both domestic and continental competitions. He has only ever won the UEFA Cup with Inter and a Spanish Cup with Barcelona in Europe, in order to be considered 'the best' once again, Ronaldo must lead Real to places he himself has never been.
Ronaldo is well on his way to becoming the world's best player once again. He is not there yet, but even so still remains a dangerous striker. He has been heavily criticized for his desire to leave Inter after all they did for him and rightly so. He mistreated Moratti and the Inter fans after the support both had given him throughout his injury spell.
Ronaldo should be praised though for his desire to come back and play the game he loves. The player showed some heart when he came back from not one but two devastating knee injuries, which took their toll on the Brazilian physically and psychologically. So whether you love him or hate him, in strictly football terms Ronaldo is back and it is a pleasure to see him dazzle and conjure up magic with the round ball once again.
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