Article by Ben Luddy

Cristiano Ronaldo was born on the 5th February 1985 in Funchal, Madeira, Portugal. From the moment the Portuguese maestro kicked his first football on the patio outside his house at the age of two the future of football looked bright. Cristiano attended a primary school, Escola Sao Joao, teachers there remembered Cristiano as a passionate football fanatic, who just loved time playing football. As Cristiano grew up in the vast farmland terrain of Madeira no one suspected that he would develop into one of the worlds finest footballing talents to grace the 21st century.

Today the Portuguese winger has set football alight with his silky skills and dribbling ability compared to greats such as Diego Maradona. For a man who stands at 6ft 1 he has frighteningly quick agility, his ability to drift round a player with such elegance and flamboyance has made him a revelation in the tough tackling, physical Premier League of today. Johan Cruijf has labelled him a better player than both George Best and Dennis Law, and that is some achievement considering the man is only 24 years old and has his whole career ahead of him. Watching the man play football for the first time you would have bet on him being Brazilian, the amount of flair he implements in his game is a sign of just how confident Cristiano Ronaldo is in his ability to play football. From a young age Cristiano has always preferred the step over’s, flicks and tricks when playing in a game of football, this is what maybe makes him unique from every other winger in the Premier League. You compare Cristiano Ronaldo to a player like Stewart Downing. Both extremely talented footballers, and both play for their national teams. However the difference is evident Downing is a good old fashioned winger, gets up and down the by-line and whips in the crosses, he does the job. Meanwhile Cristiano is unique, yes he does all that, but the difference is he does all of it with style. What he offers you is a potent weapon, manager’s dream of acquiring; he has the ability to unlock defences whether that is through his sheer pace or his pin point through balls Cristiano has his own way of playing football and it clearly works. Now in the game of football today what do you expect from your average winger, well assists is your answer. Yes Stewart Downing will set up a lot of goals but does he score enough himself to warrant a place in Fabio Capello’s England set up? That’s what I always struggle to understand the fact that England in this present day cannot produce a Ronaldo or a Messi, a player that has pace, skill and agility, one who can drift past players with a couple of step over’s and a Maradona turn. Ok, England’s footballing youngsters do not have access to the soft sand stricken beaches of Rio or Buenos Aires where South American youngsters seem to spend their entire childhood playing football, but surely some of these huge footballing academies can eventually produce a player of Ronaldo’s style, if not you have to question the quality and stature of coaching available to these kids. Kids like Cristiano who are not brought into the wealthiest families have more to play for, they know themselves in order to make it to the top they have to work that little bit harder, and that is what makes Cristiano special he had the determination and motivation to reach the top of football even from a very young age. Today Cristiano has shown why he is better than your Messi’s and Kaka’s, this is outlined by the fact Cristiano was able to find the net a staggering 42 times in all competitions during the 2007/08 season. It is clearly evident that Cristiano has the ability to become the best player the world has ever seen; he is already a worldwide phenomenon. There was talk of Cristiano leaving for Real Madrid in the summer and it looks like Madrid will pursue the Portuguese sensation going into the summer of 2009. But one thing is for sure Manchester United is home for Cristiano Ronaldo and if he does eventually leave then I’m not sure Ferguson will be able to replace him in the short term.. For me personally I don’t want to see the man ever leave the Premier League, I feel he adds an extra dimension and makes it all that little bit more special.

About the Author

I am 16 years old and stil studying A Levels, I am however interested in a future career in journalism after university.

Contact: benluddy@hotmail.co.uk. I would be grateful for advice on how to improve my article.