Adeus El Fenomeno: the proper Ronaldo retires.

Sean Lightbown looks back with fondness on the phenomenal career of Brazil's best number nine.


He was the idol of schoolboys the world over. Countless school dinners were spent - never, ever wasted - trying to emulate his staggering natural talent. For roughly a decade he was the man who gave defenders sleepless nights. Many strikers have had great skill, ferocious pace and iron-like strength, but only on very few occasions have these attributes been in a single player's repertoire. With these tools, this striker was able to get closer than another other player has previously to perfecting the art of goalscoring. This man is of course Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima, better known as Ronaldo, who retired from the game earlier this week.

Boy's a bit special: Ronaldo was almost unplayable in his heyday with Barcelona.

Born in Rio De Janeiro, Ronnie made a name for himself in various youth teams before being spotted by a certain Jair Venturo Filho, a.k.a Brazilian World Cup winner Jairzinho. Thanks to him, Ronaldo ended up with Cruizero in 1993. The following season, the precocious 17-year-old had netted 12 times in a mere 14 appearances, earning himself a place in the 1994 World Cup squad.

Inevitably it wasn't long before Europe's elite became interested. PSV Eindhoven won the race to sign him and in his first full season was the Eredivisie's top scorer with 30 goals. His second year at the Dutch club was marred by a knee injury, but he still managed to chip in with 12 goals from only 13 appearances.

He left The Netherlands after two seasons, leaving for the sunnier climes of Barcelona in a £17m deal. Despite only spending one season at the Catalan club his impact was felt worldwide. The Brazilian magician racked up a stunning 47 goals in 49 appearances, and often defied belief with some of his strikes. For instance, his slalom-like run and finish against Compostela showed his natural strength - at points fending off defenders who were almost trying to wrestle him - and amazing acceleration with the ball at his feet. It's a similar case with this goal against Valencia (how did he get through that gap?), as well as this one against Deportivo (from lying on his backside 30-plus yards out to scoring in four seconds). The reaction of the Barcelona manager, the late Sir Bobby Robson, in each of those videos tells its own story.

With his first of three Fifa World Player of the Year awards in the bag, Ronaldo transferred to Inter Milan for a record £19m fee. With the Brazilian's help, the Nerazzurri secured the UEFA Cup while Ronaldo yet again won player of the year. A year later, he won player of the tournament at the 1998 World Cup, despite his non-existent if not controversial showing in the final; it was claimed after the match that he had a seizure on the eve of the game against France.

Like at Eindhoven, a knee injury in his second season with Inter curtailed his playing time. However, the after effects of this one made many people doubt whether Ronaldo, still only 23 at the time, would rediscover his prime form. His comeback game in the 2000 Coppa Italia final lasted merely six minutes, the left knee buckling under him and forcing the great man to limp off. He ended up needing a further two operations to repair tendons in his knee, on top of months and months of rehabilitation.

"His performance away against Manchester United was at such a level that even the home fans applauded when he was substituted."

The extent of this injury only makes it more remarkable that he would come back to the world stage in 2002 to lead Brazil to their fifth World Cup. With eight goals in the tournament, scoring in all but one of Brazil's matches, Ronaldo cemented his third and final Fifa Player of the Year award, as well as a transfer to Real Madrid worth €39m.

Despite missing the pace of his earlier days, Ronaldo continued to confound critics who saw him as past it. He hit 23 goals in his first season despite being injured for the first two months, and won the La Liga title which had eluded him at Barca. His performance in the semi-final second leg of the Champions League away at Manchester United, in which he scored a hat-trick, was at such a level that even the home fans applauded when he was substituted. He had shown once again that despite injury and weight problems, he was as deadly a finisher as ever; whether from six yards, 18 yards or 30.

However, with the acquisition of Ruud van Nistelrooy and continuing injury problems, Ronaldo saw himself out of Fabio Capello's first team plans in the next few years. A transfer to AC Milan followed, but never again did we see him hit the heights he had reached previously, even though he became the World Cup's all time top scorer in 2006 by taking his tally to 15. A two year spell back in Brazil with Corinthians book-ended his career, with their exit from the Copa Libertadores signalling the end. "Mentally I wanted to continue but I have to acknowledge I lost to my body," he said.

It is odd to think of Ronaldo as a wasted talent, considering his numerous trophies and awards and his frankly startling goal statistics: 352 club goals in 517 appearances, and 62 in 97 for Brazil. Despite this, injury and lack of fitness saw him miss many games from 2004 onwards, and even when he did play it was clear that this was a shadow of the teenager that lit up the world stage a decade earlier. Still, I will always remember Big Ronnie fondly as the childlike striker with the Cheshire cat grin; a man that was born to score goals and someone who, barring injury, may well have been mentioned in the same breath as Maradona or Pele. He has inspired budding schoolboy strikers around the world, but none will ever be as good.