not to sound racist, but brazilian players in general have the same mentality, they also have this huge ego - not all of them ofcourse - that couldn't be seen in other stars like zidane, platini, figo, raul, etc.
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Ronnie's Back with a Bang! (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Majed
- Start date
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Goodbye Ronaldo not good riddance
People in the Via Durini
headquarters are crying. At the
Appiano Gentile training ground
hope for a change of heart lasted
until the very last minute. The fans
did not dare attack him, not even with an insulting
banner. It is pointless hiding it, Ronaldo's departure
was a terrible blow.
Despite what they may want you to believe, the
club and the fans are not remotely happy at losing
him. An Inter without II Fenomeno is still strong,
but loses so many aspects, not least the emotional
angle. The cheer `II Fenomeno ce 1'abbiamo noi' -
we've got the Fenomeno - was one of the favourites
amongst fans in the die-hard end of the San Siro. It
was almost a boast, so this is like the Romans losing
the Colosseum. No, nobody is happy at losing
Ronnie and many more didn't realise what a loss this
was before the season kicked off.
Let's remind you of a few facts to understand how
much the Brazilian will be missed. Before his arrival
in 1997, on average 35,000 spectators walked into
the San Siro Stadium. At his presentation alone, a
friendly with Man Utd, 50,000 turned up to cheer
him on. Every home game brought in at least
70,000, a figure beaten only by Milan's golden years.
Ronaldo pulled in people like a magnet. We recall
the Sundays of his second season when his presence
was always in doubt until the last minute. The
speaker announced the line-up and the cheer when
Ronaldo was confirmed was almost deafening. If the
name never came the muttering was audible to all. A
healthy Ivan Zamorano or Nicola Ventola were not
worth even a lame Ronaldo.
Don't forget the friendly game against Nigeria
that was organised for his comeback a year ago.
Milan in mid-August is a deserted city as
everyone flies out for their holidays, but 50,000
still stayed on to attend. We won't see crowds like
that anymore, that's for certain. In the
penultimate match of last season against Piacenza
it felt like there were 300,000 crammed into that
arena. When Ronnie's free-kick drilled into the
back of the net you could swear the stadium was
about to collapse around your ears. Without him
it will never be the same.
I wonder what the sponsors have to say about
all this. Not Pirelli, because the links between
owner Marco Tronchetti-Provera and President
Massimo Moratti are too strong for this to cause
a problem. But Nike only arrived in 1998 to
replace Umbro because of Ronaldo. Now they
may look elsewhere. Juventus have already signed
up the American sportswear giant to make their kit
for next season and Inter are worth a lot less
collectively without their superstar. In Italy
merchandising is an under-developed element of the
sport and we see more fake shirts than real ones, but
still the Nerazzurri increased official sales by 35
percent in Ronaldo's first year.
Everyone talks about Moratti's decision to keep
paying him despite Ronaldo not setting foot on the
field for three years, but perhaps the President knew
there were other economic interests in keeping him
on. And what of the transfer saga itself? Most of the
negotiations were held with Director General
Massimo Moretti, a new arrival at the club who had
never met Ronaldo before. Inter demanded £60m
and eventually pocketed half that figure, yet
continue to maintain this move was a success for
them. Real are rubbing their hands with glee as on
his first day at the club 3,000 shirts were sold.
Multiply that over a month and you have £100,000
in the club coffers. Quite a deal.
It's not just Inter who will miss Ronaldo, his
absence is felt throughout the city. A famous
Brazilian restaurant `Picanhas' stands a few metres
away from the San Siro and Ronaldo's house. He
often went there for dinner and when he walked
through the door - I swear this is true as I witnessed
it myself - other diners would applaud. Now Rivaldo
eats there too, but it's hardly the same thing. It
would have been nice to see them sharing a table.
Now it has become a Milan-only eatery with Dida,
Serginho and Roque Junior.
Having said all of this, we cannot avoid the real
questions here. I think Ronaldo had every right to
join Real Madrid. He is a great champion and has
won nothing. At Inter the Scudetto wasn't the issue
as much as playing in a team with nine defenders
and two forwards, three if Alvaro Recoba was on the
field. It's easy to see why he chose Real, and note
that he never said he wanted to leave Inter regardless
of his destination, which is why it is wrong to call
him a traitor.
Here is another side to the story. I've heard that
before the end of last season President Moratti
assured Ronaldo that Hector Cuper would be
sacked. At the same time he told Cuper that
Ronaldo would be disposed of. It's not an unfamiliar
scenario as in 1998 the patron played the same game
when the squad protested at Gigi Simoni's methods.
If this whole set-up is true then Ronaldo was an
absolute gentleman. How would Moratti have
looked if it was confirmed he had promised to fire
Cuper?
But the fans don't want to consider these options,
the traitor theory is all too readily painted as truth.
It's easy to grab the populist vote, just look at the
vilification of referee Byron Moreno in the World
Cup. What irritates is the fake moralising of certain
journalists. If the BBC offers them a contract are
they really going to turn it down out of some
sense of loyalty? They'll go if they consider the
deal favourable and would perhaps create tension
in the current workplace to speed up the process.
Add to this the sudden emergence of stories from
three years ago, witnesses and friends who did not
comment at the time. Up until July you could
not read a single bad word about Ronaldo.
Perhaps Ronnie made his mistake in handing
the negotiations over to his agents, opting not to
compromise himself in front of his adoring fans.
Had he said: `Real are the strongest team in the
world right now, I am the best player, so that is
where I belong,' many more would have accepted
the move. We all know it's one thing to see Raul,
Luis Figo, Roberto Carlos and Zinedine Zidane
passing the ball around and quite another
to witness Andres Guly's cross hit Row Z.
Calcio Italia October 2002 - by Dominique Antognoni
People in the Via Durini
headquarters are crying. At the
Appiano Gentile training ground
hope for a change of heart lasted
until the very last minute. The fans
did not dare attack him, not even with an insulting
banner. It is pointless hiding it, Ronaldo's departure
was a terrible blow.
Despite what they may want you to believe, the
club and the fans are not remotely happy at losing
him. An Inter without II Fenomeno is still strong,
but loses so many aspects, not least the emotional
angle. The cheer `II Fenomeno ce 1'abbiamo noi' -
we've got the Fenomeno - was one of the favourites
amongst fans in the die-hard end of the San Siro. It
was almost a boast, so this is like the Romans losing
the Colosseum. No, nobody is happy at losing
Ronnie and many more didn't realise what a loss this
was before the season kicked off.
Let's remind you of a few facts to understand how
much the Brazilian will be missed. Before his arrival
in 1997, on average 35,000 spectators walked into
the San Siro Stadium. At his presentation alone, a
friendly with Man Utd, 50,000 turned up to cheer
him on. Every home game brought in at least
70,000, a figure beaten only by Milan's golden years.
Ronaldo pulled in people like a magnet. We recall
the Sundays of his second season when his presence
was always in doubt until the last minute. The
speaker announced the line-up and the cheer when
Ronaldo was confirmed was almost deafening. If the
name never came the muttering was audible to all. A
healthy Ivan Zamorano or Nicola Ventola were not
worth even a lame Ronaldo.
Don't forget the friendly game against Nigeria
that was organised for his comeback a year ago.
Milan in mid-August is a deserted city as
everyone flies out for their holidays, but 50,000
still stayed on to attend. We won't see crowds like
that anymore, that's for certain. In the
penultimate match of last season against Piacenza
it felt like there were 300,000 crammed into that
arena. When Ronnie's free-kick drilled into the
back of the net you could swear the stadium was
about to collapse around your ears. Without him
it will never be the same.
I wonder what the sponsors have to say about
all this. Not Pirelli, because the links between
owner Marco Tronchetti-Provera and President
Massimo Moratti are too strong for this to cause
a problem. But Nike only arrived in 1998 to
replace Umbro because of Ronaldo. Now they
may look elsewhere. Juventus have already signed
up the American sportswear giant to make their kit
for next season and Inter are worth a lot less
collectively without their superstar. In Italy
merchandising is an under-developed element of the
sport and we see more fake shirts than real ones, but
still the Nerazzurri increased official sales by 35
percent in Ronaldo's first year.
Everyone talks about Moratti's decision to keep
paying him despite Ronaldo not setting foot on the
field for three years, but perhaps the President knew
there were other economic interests in keeping him
on. And what of the transfer saga itself? Most of the
negotiations were held with Director General
Massimo Moretti, a new arrival at the club who had
never met Ronaldo before. Inter demanded £60m
and eventually pocketed half that figure, yet
continue to maintain this move was a success for
them. Real are rubbing their hands with glee as on
his first day at the club 3,000 shirts were sold.
Multiply that over a month and you have £100,000
in the club coffers. Quite a deal.
It's not just Inter who will miss Ronaldo, his
absence is felt throughout the city. A famous
Brazilian restaurant `Picanhas' stands a few metres
away from the San Siro and Ronaldo's house. He
often went there for dinner and when he walked
through the door - I swear this is true as I witnessed
it myself - other diners would applaud. Now Rivaldo
eats there too, but it's hardly the same thing. It
would have been nice to see them sharing a table.
Now it has become a Milan-only eatery with Dida,
Serginho and Roque Junior.
Having said all of this, we cannot avoid the real
questions here. I think Ronaldo had every right to
join Real Madrid. He is a great champion and has
won nothing. At Inter the Scudetto wasn't the issue
as much as playing in a team with nine defenders
and two forwards, three if Alvaro Recoba was on the
field. It's easy to see why he chose Real, and note
that he never said he wanted to leave Inter regardless
of his destination, which is why it is wrong to call
him a traitor.
Here is another side to the story. I've heard that
before the end of last season President Moratti
assured Ronaldo that Hector Cuper would be
sacked. At the same time he told Cuper that
Ronaldo would be disposed of. It's not an unfamiliar
scenario as in 1998 the patron played the same game
when the squad protested at Gigi Simoni's methods.
If this whole set-up is true then Ronaldo was an
absolute gentleman. How would Moratti have
looked if it was confirmed he had promised to fire
Cuper?
But the fans don't want to consider these options,
the traitor theory is all too readily painted as truth.
It's easy to grab the populist vote, just look at the
vilification of referee Byron Moreno in the World
Cup. What irritates is the fake moralising of certain
journalists. If the BBC offers them a contract are
they really going to turn it down out of some
sense of loyalty? They'll go if they consider the
deal favourable and would perhaps create tension
in the current workplace to speed up the process.
Add to this the sudden emergence of stories from
three years ago, witnesses and friends who did not
comment at the time. Up until July you could
not read a single bad word about Ronaldo.
Perhaps Ronnie made his mistake in handing
the negotiations over to his agents, opting not to
compromise himself in front of his adoring fans.
Had he said: `Real are the strongest team in the
world right now, I am the best player, so that is
where I belong,' many more would have accepted
the move. We all know it's one thing to see Raul,
Luis Figo, Roberto Carlos and Zinedine Zidane
passing the ball around and quite another
to witness Andres Guly's cross hit Row Z.
Calcio Italia October 2002 - by Dominique Antognoni
Well it was good to hear that Ronaldo scored 30 secs into his debut and even if I do not approve of the way he left Inter, thats all in the past, but it must have been wonderful for him and the fans to score so early
But its always disappointing to me to read ppl saying they hate this person or that person, its amazing how you can hate someone , you have never met
But its always disappointing to me to read ppl saying they hate this person or that person, its amazing how you can hate someone , you have never met