2008: The Year of Cristiano Ronaldo

Report by Victoria Cochrane

Actually given that Cristiano Ronaldo signed for Manchester United in August 2003, the £12million winger has by no means been far from the headlines. Making his debut in the 1st sport of the 2003/04 period, in a comfy four- win above Bolton, Ronaldo came off the bench to change Nicky Butt to turn into the initial at any time Portuguese player to represent the Red Devils. From the raw expertise signed by Sir Alex Ferguson – soon after becoming handed about by the then-Liverpool boss Gerard Houllier and practically becoming bought by Arsene Wenger at Arsenal – Ronaldo has turned into a single of the contemporary day greats who is amid the quite greatest in world football. This claim has been verified by the simple fact that in 2008 Ronaldo received the Ballon d’Or, typically known as the European Footballer of the Year Award though, these days players from any nationality playing in any nation can win the accolade. The earlier 12 months Ronaldo had arrive second to the Brazilian Kaka. Ronaldo became the third Portuguese global (becoming a member of Eusebio and Luis Figo) and the fourth Manchester United player (following Denis Law, Bobby Charlton and George Very best) to win the award. Relatively than go by a player’s performances above the program of a time, the Ballon D’or is awarded to whoever is deemed to have been very best above the course of a calendar 12 months. Ronaldo started off 2008 scoring towards Aston Villa in the FA Cup ahead of scoring his very first actually hat-trick, in the six- demolition of Newcastle. The winger, or floating second striker as he was typically employed, scored 24 ambitions in between New Year and the stop of the 2007/08 period. His objective against the Czech Republic served his national side achieve the quarter ultimate of the 2008 European Championships. An ankle injuries delayed Ronaldo’s return to club football but he managed yet another nine goals just before the stop of the calendar year, such as 4 in four days as he scored match-winning doubles in opposition to West Ham United and Hull Town. Thirty gamers were nominated for the 2008 award, with 96 global journalists voting for their top 5 selections. Ronaldo arrived top with 446 factors, followed by Barcelona’s Lionel Messi with 281 points and Liverpool’s Fernando Torres with 179 factors. Since then, however, Cristiano Ronaldo has been snubbed by his principal rival. When asked to name his dream staff of 2008, Messi neglected to pick Ronaldo as a substitute opting for a midfield of Javier Zanetti, Cesc Fabregas, Xavi and Andres Iniesta. Irregardless, Ronaldo remains very a lot in emphasis as getting one of the world’s finest and every transfer window brings rumours that clubs from across the continent are planning massive bids to pry him absent from Old Trafford.

About the Author

Victoria Cochrane writes for a digital marketing agency. This write-up has been commissioned by a client of mentioned company. This write-up is not created to market, but ought to be considered specialist material.