Cristiano's Life Story

Ronaldo's story is a classic. He was born on the idyllic island of Madeira that lies hundreds of miles south of Portugal in the North Atlantic Ocean. He was raised in a tin shack in Funchal, the main city on the island. His dad was the equipment coach of the local team Andorinha, and Ronaldo played for the youth team on an artificial pitch. Maritimo, one of the big clubs on the island, offered Andorinha $270 for the lad, but instead he joined the island's biggest team, Nacional, for two years worth of boots and jerseys.

Ronaldo showed so much talent that, at the age of 12, he was brought to Sporting Lisbon in the nation's capital 600 miles away, where he has lived until his move to Manchester. In Lisbon, he attended the same soccer academy that had produced the great Luis Figo. It will be interesting to see how the youngster will do against the likes of Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea and Newcastle. How will he stand up to the bruising tackles of life in the EPL, week in and week out?

As far as his pro career goes, Ronaldo only played in 23 matches in the Portuguese league, scoring three goals. Apparently he caught the attention of the United's scouts at the Toulon under-20 tournament last summer. But the man who put Ronaldo on Ferguson's radar screen was then-assistant coach Carlos Queiroz -- now Real Madrid's coach -- who sold Ferguson on the wonder kid.

Eusebio, who played for Benfica and was the 1965 European "Player of the Year," is raving over the new boy. "English fans love spectacular players like Alan Shearer -- and that is exactly what United have signed in this young guy," Eusebio said. "Cristiano Ronaldo has magic in his boots and I'm delighted he has signed for Manchester United because that is my team in England."

He's the the first Portuguese to join Manchester United and
the most expensive teenager
in the history of British football.

From A Tin Shack...

From being raised in a tin shack on the small island of Madeira, Cristiano Ronaldo has come a long way, playing for arguably the world’s best football team. It’s now been over a month since Ronaldo moved from sunny Portugal to the not-so-sunny, not-so-glamorous city of Manchester. But the one thing that lured him into this city, Manchester United, has turned the 18-year old into national football sensation within weeks.

When Cristiano was handed the shirt with the number 7 and the legendary name Ronaldo on the back, Sir Alex Ferguson obviously rated him at the same level as the likes of David Beckham, Eric Cantona and Bryan Robson – the previous holders of the shirt. Would he be able to live up to the name and number under such immense pressure?

Ronaldo made his debut in front of a sell-out Old Trafford crowd against Bolton and, from the moment he first did his now-trademark stepover, you could see he was set to be a crowd pleaser with chants of ‘There’s Only one Ronaldo’ echoing around The Theatre of Dreams.

As well as exciting everyone with his skills, in just 30 minutes the Portuguese teenager changed the whole shape of the match in United’s favour, earned his team a penalty and crossed a ball onto the head of van Nistelrooy 5 yards from goal.

Cue media frenzy. Headlines relating him to his World Cup winner counterpart were for once truer than the usual tabloid trash. Justifiably. Well for the sport part at most. Stories about ‘the new Posh’ Jordana Jardel – Ronaldo’s supposed girlfriend – discussing what she hoped would happen between her and Cristiano when she goes to Manchester, whether true or not, were sickening. But Ronaldo, helped by Sir Alex, has not got sucked into what the media have to say about things, and this has been reflected on the pitch.

Since becoming Britain’s most expensive teenager, Cristiano Ronaldo has also made an impact on his home country, earning his first senior international cap for Portugal and also using his nifty-footwork effectively in a 2-1 away win for Portugal under-21’s against England, which saw David Platt’s team crash out of the tournament.

A world-class performance against Charlton in the Premiership saw Ronaldo prove that he isn’t a one-hit wonder and show just how serious he is about his United career being a great one.

In his first real test of the season, against Arsenal, he passed with flying colours – leaving Freddie Ljungberg on his backside, crossing as if he thought he was David Beckham and running rings around Ashley Cole, leaving the only option for the Arsenal defender to stop him was to foul him.

What does the future hold for Cristiano? As well as United hoping to defend the Championship, the players are hungry for continental success. They began their Champions League campaign with a 5-0 win over Panathinaikos, and although the wonderkid didn’t play, his experience of playing in the Portuguese league will most certainly benefit him and United in Europe this season.

Concerning his private life, Cristiano has stated that the only women in his life at the moment are his sisters and his mother, marking any reports that Jordana is his girlfriend as false. He is still young and will be looking to enjoy his teenage years rather than get settled too quickly.

For now he should concentrate on getting his career going – even further than it has done already. He definitely looks the part in United’ midfield, providing that little bit of extra flair that the team would otherwise lack.

Even without Becks and Veron, United have a new goal-scoring force – the 3 R’s – Ruud, Ryan and a future legend, Ronaldo. And no-one can stop them. Not even Arsenal with their violent ways. Not even Real Madrid with their dream team. Not even Chelsea with their Russian sugar-daddy. Sir Alex will lead the team to success once again, with the help of that extra special inspiration from that teenage boy, who’s from that small island called Madeira, who was raised in a tin shack...