I could easily have posted this thread on xtratime and seen it flood with a dozen of trolls, Ronaldo die hard fans or otherwise, contesting each other's life important claims. Instead I thought I would post it here, hoping to get outsider views and more objective [hopefully 
] opinions.
To me, Ronaldo has always been the less favorite player. I have been looking for reasons to discredit him for years and it all goes back to ~97 when most of Serie A would take a stand on the DP vs Ronaldo issue. As many Juventini at the time, I of course proclaimed DP was the better player. Be that as it may, I have run out of reasons to discredit Ronaldo any longer.
One of the beliefs that I held earlier was that Ronaldo wasn't such a big deal because he wasn't all that unique. As I witness him flourish at Barcelona, I thought there would be a Ronaldo every 5 years, it was to me a natural point of view at the time. But it was also quite a fallacy. There haven't been a lot of Ronaldo's since that time, not even one.
As I imagine, the most difficult achievement at the highest level is consistency. It's "easy" to be great for a season, or for a couple of seasons. But Ronaldo has been that phenomenon for his entire career. He virtually put the records of Romario and Bebeto at Barcelona to shame, and both of those players finished top scorers in earlier seasons (each scoring 30+ goals, I believe). Now that is not an everyday occurrence, this guy is special. Inter wanted him bad and in Serie A, he adapted very quickly. Upon leaving Inter, he left a heritage of one of the highest goals-per-game ratios in recent league history.
There's nothing that speaks louder to me than substance and Ronaldo is substance alright. Put his skills aside and he delivers, he really does. Everyone knows that he sustained a crippling injury and it kept him out for a really long time but boy has he recuperated. I really didn't believe that a "washed up" Ronaldo with a brief World Cup reneissance could make a difference to Real Madrid. He did, big time. He does. It's not about the World Cup anymore, as I don't see that as the yardstick for greatness anymore. But at club level there are few to match his level. Last year he had 26 goals and sealed many important victories.
Then, of course, his skills. Much of his success is to be attributed to his pace, but even without that he's incredibly complete. His exquisite balance is a cornerstone of his repertoire. He has a lot of moves, only he makes them quicker than everyone else. His ball control is flawless, his awareness is matches only by the best in the business.
Is he one of the greatest players of our era? Is he one of the all time greats?
] opinions.To me, Ronaldo has always been the less favorite player. I have been looking for reasons to discredit him for years and it all goes back to ~97 when most of Serie A would take a stand on the DP vs Ronaldo issue. As many Juventini at the time, I of course proclaimed DP was the better player. Be that as it may, I have run out of reasons to discredit Ronaldo any longer.
One of the beliefs that I held earlier was that Ronaldo wasn't such a big deal because he wasn't all that unique. As I witness him flourish at Barcelona, I thought there would be a Ronaldo every 5 years, it was to me a natural point of view at the time. But it was also quite a fallacy. There haven't been a lot of Ronaldo's since that time, not even one.
As I imagine, the most difficult achievement at the highest level is consistency. It's "easy" to be great for a season, or for a couple of seasons. But Ronaldo has been that phenomenon for his entire career. He virtually put the records of Romario and Bebeto at Barcelona to shame, and both of those players finished top scorers in earlier seasons (each scoring 30+ goals, I believe). Now that is not an everyday occurrence, this guy is special. Inter wanted him bad and in Serie A, he adapted very quickly. Upon leaving Inter, he left a heritage of one of the highest goals-per-game ratios in recent league history.
There's nothing that speaks louder to me than substance and Ronaldo is substance alright. Put his skills aside and he delivers, he really does. Everyone knows that he sustained a crippling injury and it kept him out for a really long time but boy has he recuperated. I really didn't believe that a "washed up" Ronaldo with a brief World Cup reneissance could make a difference to Real Madrid. He did, big time. He does. It's not about the World Cup anymore, as I don't see that as the yardstick for greatness anymore. But at club level there are few to match his level. Last year he had 26 goals and sealed many important victories.
Then, of course, his skills. Much of his success is to be attributed to his pace, but even without that he's incredibly complete. His exquisite balance is a cornerstone of his repertoire. He has a lot of moves, only he makes them quicker than everyone else. His ball control is flawless, his awareness is matches only by the best in the business.
Is he one of the greatest players of our era? Is he one of the all time greats?
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