Star profile: Ronaldo (Samod Niobaku writes)

Ronaldo (posted by Samod Biobaku)

Star profile: Ronaldo

Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima popularly known as Ronaldo was born on September 18, 1976. He is a retired Brazilian footballer who last played for Corinthians.

Ronaldo is widely considered to be the greatest 'pure' striker in the history of the modern game, and by some accounts, in the history of football. Ronaldo was one of the most prolific scorers in the world in the late 1990s and the early 2000s.

He won his first Ballon d'Or as the European Footballer of the Year in 1997 (aged only 21) and again won the award in 2002 (26 years old).

Additionally, he is one of only two men to have won the FIFA Player of the Year award three times, along with French footballer Zinedine Zidane.

In 2007, he was named as one of the best starting eleven of all-time by France Football and was named to the FIFA 100, a list of the greatest footballers compiled by fellow countryman Pelé.

In 2010, he was voted Goal.com's "Player of the Decade" in an online poll, gathering 43.63 percent of all votes and was also included as centre forward in the "Team of the Decade."

On 23 February 2010, Ronaldo announced that he will retire after the 2011 season, signing a two-year contract extension with the Corinthians at the same time.

He is widely considered by experts and fans as one of the greatest players of all time.

Ronaldo has played for Brazil in 97 international matches, amassing 62 goals. He was a part of the Brazilian squad that won the 1994 and 2002 World Cups.

During the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Ronaldo became the highest goal scorer in the history of the World Cup with his fifteenth goal, surpassing Gerd Müller's previous record of 14. Having suffered a string of serious injuries throughout his career, Ronaldo retired on 14 February 2011, citing pain and hypothyroidism as the reasons for his premature retirement.

Culled from Wikipedia