Ronaldo: The Obsession for Perfection
Luca Caioli
Language: English
Pages: 288
ISBN: 1906850291
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
When Cristiano Ronaldo transferred to Real Madrid for a world record-shattering £80 million in 2009, it cemented his position as one of the best players of his era.
This is the story of the two-time Ballon d'Or winner, the first Premier League player to be named FIFA World Player of the Year, and winnter of the 2010–2011 Golden Shoe.
Luca Caioli is a renowned Italian sports journalist who crafted his reputation at ITV in Britain and as chief editor of Euronews TV in France. He settled in Spain five years ago where he is a correspondent for SKY Italia.
letting it get you down. Mental focus is paramount when it comes to achieving your goals. And the key is to keep setting those goals.’ ‘My aim, my ambition, is to be the best. Ultimately, if I come within reach of being the best, then great – although what I’d really love is to go down as one of the best players in history. I’m grateful to God that I’ve won the trophy for best player in the world, but I’d like to win it again, this year or next. I’m definitely going to get that Ballon d’Or
because he approaches the box from different angles, he dominates a lot of the play and gets very involved. You have to be extremely focused because he is very quick on his feet and he likes to do tricks with the ball. There’s no way to stop him in a one-on-one unless you have back-up from the fullbacks or a central midfielder. It’s better if he just never gets possession of the ball.’ And naturally, Messi strikes fear in the hearts of the United defence. His speed is a particular concern,
footballing history. The following day he will be front page news everywhere from Portugal (‘Madrid at his feet … Insanity for Ronaldo at the Bernabéu … Cristiano was presented amidst the delirium of 80,000 fans’ Record) to England (‘Cristiano was presented as Real Madrid’s new player amidst hysteria at the Bernabéu’ Daily Telegraph), from France (‘Eighty thousand for C. Ronaldo … He will wear the number “9” shirt at his new club’ L’Équipe) to Italy (‘Ronaldo beats Kaká with 80,000 fans at the
seen a team as good as this Madrid team. In four or five seconds the ball can go from Casillas to the opponent’s goal. They are better and stronger than they were the last time we met, they shoot more, they pass more, and in the second half of the year they have spent more time playing as a team. They use a diverse range of tactics which makes them more difficult to control.’ And with regard to the coach he adds: ‘Mourinho is very powerful. He knows how to play a wide range of styles. We should
times. First, in the Portuguese Primeira Liga, where Mourinho wins two league titles and one Champions League with FC Porto. Meanwhile, Ronaldo is just breaking into Sporting’s first team. Next it’s on to the English Premier League, with Mourinho in the Chelsea dugout and Cristiano wearing number 7 for Man United. Cristiano comes to England in 2003 and within two years he has made a name for himself. In June 2004 Mourinho arrives at Stamford Bridge and wins two successive league titles. The