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The Cristiano Ronaldo Story (Page 2)
Edited by Ronaldo Attack
For Santos, the tears that Cristiano shed after the final of Euro 2004 had a special poignancy. Crying was something of a trait with the boy Ronaldo and Santos had seen a similarly emotional response many times before. He remembers when Andorinha were facing Camacha, then the best team on the island, in the 1993/4 regional youth championship. Andorinha were 2-0 down at the break and Ronaldo was so upset that he sobbed at half-time. After the interval he inspired the side to victory, scoring one and making another in a memorable 3-2 win.
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Ronaldo in tears |
“Even then, he didn’t like to lose,” Santos says. “His will is to win. He’s pure spirit. He always used to cry when he lost. It wasn’t unusual.”
In Spain, the story of Jesus Gil allowing Raul, whose first club was Atletico Madrid, to slip through his fingers and sign for bitter rivals Real because he refused to pay for his bus pass is now legendary. A similar anecdote about Cristiano does the rounds in Madeira.
By 1995, word had spread that Ronaldo was an outstanding talent and the island’s top teams – Maritimo and Nacional – both declared an interest. In theory, Maritimo – the bigger side – should have snapped him up but events took a different course. The Maritimo youth boss at the time allegedly failed to turn up for a crucial meeting with Santos because his board refused to pay for the two sets of kit Andorinha wanted in return for Cristiano, who duly joined Nacional.
Fernao Sousa, Cristiano’s godfather and the man who DeFreitas says “deserves the credit for discovering Ronaldo”, disputes this. Sousa played for Nacional himself and argues that Ronaldo’s move to Nacional was always on the cards because of ‘family ties’. Current Maritimo president, Carlos Pereira, who now advises Cristiano on financial matters but also remembers his unrivalled skill for keeping tin cans in the air with his feet, maintains that the story is true. He reckons his club really did not want to pay for the kit – but stresses that the move worked out in Ronaldo’s best interest anyway.
“If we analyse it today it was a mistake as he was better than the other boys,” says Pereira. “Maritimo would not have let him go to Sporting as early as Nacional did; we hold on to out talent for longer. And from Sporting, he went to Manchester United. If he had stayed, he might not have the same opportunities.
Whatever the case, Cristiano came into his own in his one and only season in the black-and-white stripes of Nacional, captaining the side to the Under-12 regional youth championship for the first time in the club’s history and confirming Fernao’s opinion that Ronaldo was good enough to become a professional footballer.
Cristiano’s father certainly has fond recollections of those days. It was the last year he spent with his son before his boy, who everybody always told him was going to be special, went to Lisbon to begin a new chapter in his life.
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Playing for Nacional da Madeira |
“I watched every single one of his matches at Nacional,” Jose says.
“They are most treasured memories. Each time he played away, I had a place reserved for me on the bus or the plane. When the team lifted the title that year I remember drinking champagne with the directors at the Choupana [Nacional’s Stadium]. It was unforgettable.
“We speak on the phone but because of the way his career has gone, I have not spent so much time with him. But Madeira gave him his childhood, his family and friends. People like Marques de Freitas , his teachers at the school, the coaches at Andorinha and Nacional…”
“From there he has moved on. He cried like the rest of us when Portugal lost the final of the European Championship, but he will play more games with the national team and it was a good experience for him. He was angry to lose something that he shouldn’t have lost. That’s why he cried. It was the shock of it and the end of a dream. But he was still one of the best players on the pitch.”
After the title-winning campaign at Nacional, Fernao contacted De Freitas who arranged a three-day trial at Sporting. The Lisbon club know potential when they see it and agreed to pay off cash-strapped Nacional’s debts in exchange for the younger.
Whereas Cristiano was able to express himself on the pitch at his new club, it was a different matter off it. In an unfamiliar environment, and a long way from his loved ones, he became homesick and struggled to adapt to his new surroundings.
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