One of the world’s great strikers is calling time on his career. Ronaldo – Brazil’s great striker from the mid-1990s through the early 2000s, has cited recurring injuries and match-fitness issues as the reason he’s through at 34.
Although Ronaldo has been playing back home in Brazil and has faded from the world scene in the last few years, it wasn’t long ago he was at the top. He was named FIFA World Player of the year an astounding three times between 1997 and 2002, and his 15 goals rank him #1 scorer in the history of the World Cup competition. In 2010, he was voted Goal.com’s “Player of the Decade.”
This clip, with its cute electro-knockoff of “7 Nation Army,” shows Ronaldo at his best:
A lethal combination of power, skill, and a sweet touch on the ball – you can see why he was once the best player in the world and the most feared goalscorer around.
But the end has been coming for a while. After his success in Barcelona, Inter Milan, Real Madrid, and AC Milan, Ronaldo’s oft-injured knee really started to go. Lately he has been suiting up in the Brazilian league for Corinthians – but not playing well. Unlike Ronaldinho, he was not seriously discussed as a possibility for Brazil’s 2010 World Cup squad. Worse, it looks like the rice & beans, feijoada, and brigadeiro have gotten the better of Il Fenomeno’s waistline. Always solid, he now looks, er, very solid.
Ronaldo in his prime was also known for appearing with the weirdest hairstyle in professional sports history (with due respect to basketball’s Dennis Rodman, hockey’s Mike Ricci, and NFL football’s Troy Polamalu). It’s a testament to Ronaldo’s dominance as a player that kids all over the world, especially in Brazil, began sporting this hideous look when Ronaldo was in his trophy-kissing prime:
the perils of running out of shaving cream
Adeus, Ronaldo.
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