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Ronaldo: The Two Ronnies
Ronaldo is one of the greatest strikers of a generation, but he has been brought to a grinding halt by injury. Dominique Antognoni met Il Fenomeno and saw a defeated champion
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For anyone who knows Ronaldo well, it is really hard to see him in such low spirits. The Brazilian hitman was smiling, but his eyes told a different story – this wasn’t the trademark grin of years gone by. It was the day after Il Fenomeno had limped out of the warm-up against Benfica with a calf injury and the future was again shrouded in uncertainty.
Having just returned to action after three months of pure frustration with a thigh problem, Ronnie was so determined to make his mark on the campaign and the new blow was like a dagger to his heart. With his contract up for renewal in the summer, he had set his heart on winning a new deal with his performances on the pitch rather than his reputation. “I’m going to try and impress this year to win the trust of the club,” he had declared enthusiastically after his first game back against Cagliari. Just 10 days later, he knew that he would be missing games against Juventus and Celtic, as well as the Club World Cup.
There was a certain irony as I greeted Ronaldo at a Nike event to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the marriage between the iconic marksman and the American clothing giant. A glitzy presentation entitled ‘Ronaldo, 10 years of goals – An illustrated autobiography of an obsession with goals’ only seemed to be highlighting the great man’s fall from grace. The lack of regular fitness training has taken its toll on a man biologically prone to putting on weight. He even looks like a different man with his new long hair – which resembles a wig – not a stylistic choice, but one to please President Silvio Berlusconi.
In the company of old friends, awkwardly sipping champagne, Ronnie was his usual polite self, but it was clear that he had been stung by the harsh words of the nation’s Press. The news that, after the summer’s epic injury saga, Ronaldo had been ruled out of action during a warm-up had the sneering hordes of the nation’s unsympathetic media falling over themselves for wisecracks. “He could get injured getting out of his car,” was one of the more favourable gags.
Ronaldo had the look of a scolded child as he began to answer questions from the gathered journalists. As if to add insult to injury, he was forced to comment on the arrival of Alexandre Pato, the young Brazilian starlet touted as his heir. “We need to let him be and not compare him to me at that age,” Ronnie declared with a strained smile. “He is still to make his debut, but in training he can do phenomenal things and he has a bright future ahead.”
The questions continued to focus on his compatriots in the week that saw Kaka awarded the Ballon d’Or. “He truly is an exceptional lad,” he stressed. “Ricky is a golden person who deserves the prize more than anyone else.”
Although nobody was cruel enough to directly make a comparison, the topic moved on to troubled hitman Adriano and Ronaldo’s apparent spat with Inter boss Roberto Mancini as to the best course of action for the wayward star. “He is a friend in trouble who needs support and help,” he replied. “I talk to him a lot and obviously I try to give him advice. I wasn’t arguing with Mancini – I just said that in order to be happy again a player must be playing and not sat on the bench or in the stands.”
The subject returned to Ronnie’s own situation and his stubborn pledge that he will prove his worth to Milan. “I still need to show some patience – I know that the Rossoneri are waiting for me and I am in their debt,” he grimaced. “I have said before and I say again that I want to earn my contract once I am ready physically. Then we will sit at the table. I just know that if everything goes well I will stay at Milan.”
However, it is obviously still too early to consider pulling on the Seleção shirt. “Have I spoken to Carlos Dunga? No, it wouldn’t make sense to – I’m not playing so he can hardly call me up,” the No 99 answered dismissively. “I still want to be useful and maybe I can think about World Cup 2010.” Words of resolve, yet with his head hung dejectedly Ronnie’s body language let him down. There’s a tough road ahead, but any true calcio lover can only hope that the natural-born scorer can bounce back to write another chapter in one of football’s masterpieces.
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| Interviewed: January 2008 |
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