Cristiano Ronaldo

Player Information

Full name: Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro
Date of birth: February 05, 1985
Birthplace: Funchal, Madeira, Portugal
Nationality: Portuguese
EU passport: Yes
Height: 184 cms
Weight: 78 kgs

Club: Manchester United
Position: Attacking Midfielder/Striker [C]
Squad Number: 7
Contract expires: June 2012
Previous clubs: CD Nacional > Sporting > (£12m) Manchester United

International debut: August 2003, v Kazakhstan
International Caps: 55
International Goals: 20
World Cups: Germany 2006 (4th)


Awards

UEFA Champions League (2008)

English FA Cup (2004)
English League Cup (2006)
English FA Premier League (2007, 2008)
English FA Community Shield (2007)

U-21 European Footballer of the Year (2004)
English FA Premier League Footballer of the Year (2007, 2008)
English FA Premier League Young Footballer of the Year (2007)
English FA Premier League Top Scorer (2008)
UEFA Champions League Top Scorer (2008)
UEFA Club Footballer of the Year (2008)
FIFPro World Player of the Year (2008)
European Footballer of the Year (2008)


Biography

1985
February 5: Born in Funchal, Madeira, Portugal, to his mother Maria Dolores dos Santos Aveiro and his father Jose Dinis Aveiro. His parents named him after former US president Ronald Reagan because he was his father's favourite actor.
2002
September 29: Made his Portuguese Super Liga debut enetring the field in the 69th minute as a substitute for Marius Niculae in Sporting's 2-4 away loss at Sporting Braga.
October 6: Scored his first two goals in the Portuguese Super Liga in Sporting's 3-0 home defeat of Moreirense. Ronaldo scored in the 34th and 90th minute.
2003
August 6: He came to the attention of Sir Alex Ferguson, when Sporting Lisbon beat Manchester United 3-1 in the inauguration of the Alvalade XXI stadium in Lisbon.
August 20: Made his senior Portuguese National team debut against Kazakhstan.
August 16: He made his debut for Manchester United as a 60th minute substitute against Bolton Wanderers at Old Trafford. United were then 1-0 up but with just minutes on the pitch, Ronaldo won a penalty, which Ruud van Nistelrooy saw saved by Jussi Jaaskel?inen. However, this did not affect the eventual outcome as the match ended in a 4-0 win to Manchester United.
2004
August: Member of the Portuguese team that was eliminated in the first round of the Athens Olympic Games.
2005
October 29: Scored Manchester United's 1000th Premiership goal, in a 4-1 loss at the hands of Middlesbrough.
December: Received a one-match ban imposed by UEFA for a "one-fingered gesture" towards Benfica fans in a UEFA Champions League match.
2006
July: Short-listed for the best young player at the 2006 FIFA World Cup award.. Says he wants to leave Manchester United and move to Spain.
August 20: Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney teamed up for the first time since the World Cup to help Manchester United thrash hapless Fulham 5-1.
August 30: Cristiano Ronaldo claims reports of a bust-up with Manchester United teammate Wayne Rooney after Portugal's World Cup quarter-final win were wide of the mark. "After the game he congratulated me, told me Portugal had an excellent team and he told me to carry on. Everything that was said about that was a lie," he said.
October 12: Included among the 30 nominees for the FIFA World Player of the Year Award.
October 17: Included among the 50 nominees for the European Footballer of the Year Award.
December 31: Named by Portuguese sports daily A Bola as Portugal's Sportsman of the Year for his "important contribution to the expansion of Portuguese football accross the world".
2007
January: Awarded the Barclays Player of the Month Award for the second successive month, becoming the third ever player in the Premiership to do so (after Dennis Bergkamp in 1997 and Robbie Fowler in 1996).
February 6: Named the national team captain for the first time in a friendly match against Brazil.
April 13: Signed a new five-year contract at Manchester United binding himself to the club until summer 2012.
April 22: Named the Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year by the Professional Footballers' Association. He is the first player to win both awards in the same season since Andy Gray in 1977.
May 2: Lost the Champions League semi-final with Manchester United against AC Milan on a 5-3 aggregate score.
May 4: Named Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year, completing an unprecedented clean sweep of England's three major individual honors this season.
May 6: Helped Manchester United won the Premier League for the first time in four years as 10-man Chelsea, needing victory to keep the title race alive, could only draw 1-1 at Arsenal.
May 19: Lost the FA Cup final with Man United to Chelsea following a 0-1 extra time defeat at the New Wembley.
August 5: Helped Manchester United capture the Community Shield with a 3-0 penalty shoot-out win over Chelsea at Wembley.
August 15: Ronaldo was dismissed due to an altercation with Portsmouth Player Richard Hughes, in a Premiership game and was therefore banned for the subsequent 3 games. He felt really disappointed for not playing, and promised to keep his temper in the future.
October 5: Included in the FIFPro Team of the Year.
December 2: Claimed 277 points to finish second after Kaka (444) in the European Footballer of the Year Award.
December 13: Finished third after Kaka and Lio Messi in the World Soccer Player of the Year Award.
2008
January 12: Scored his first hat-trick for Manchester United to send them to the Premier League summit as they destroyed Newcastle 6-0 at Old Trafford.
March 27: Named ambassador for the UEFA EURO 2008 Score for the Red Cross online fundraising campaign.
April 27: Cristiano Ronaldo said "I think I deserve to win" after picking up his award for the Professional Footballers' Association Player of the Year. He beat off competition from Torres, Gerrard, Fabregas, Adebayor and James to claim the title for the second successive season.
May 11: Vital member in the Manchester United squad that retained their Premiership title on the final day of the season to edge Chelsea by two points.
May 21: Scored Manchester United's only goal in normal time in the 2008 UEFA Champions League Final, to bring his season tally to 42 goals. Even though he missed his penalty spotkick in the shootout, Manchester United went on to win 6-5 on penalties to complete the Double (English Premier League and Champions League).
June 5: Ronaldo said he would like to play for Real Madrid. "Yes, I would like to play for Real Madrid, but only if it is true that they are willing to spend with me and with Manchester United the amount they are saying they are. But it's not up to me," he said.
June 11: Cristiano Ronaldo said Portugal had a "good chance" of winning UEFA Euro 2008 after his Carlsberg Man of Match award-winning performance put them in the quarter-finals.
August 28: Collected the UEFA Club Footballer of the Year prize at the awards ceremony in Monaco, he was also selected as the Best Forward.
October 27: Named FIFPro World Player of the Year for the 2007/08 season.
December 2: Becomes the third Portuguese footballer to be named European Footballer of the Year. Ronaldo finished first in the voting on 446 points, ahead of FC Barcelona and Argentina striker Lionel Messi (281 points) and Liverpool FC and Spain forward Fernando Torres (179).

FIFA World Cup™ Germany 2006 player's profile

Cristiano Ronaldo Santos Aveiro is undoubtedly one of the hottest young talents in world football. With his surging runs and dazzling skills performed at blistering pace, comparisons with his Brazilian namesake have been inevitable. This Ronaldo is a star in his own right, however.
Born on the island of Madeira on 5 February 1985, he began his footballing formation with Nacional before a 2002 transfer to Lisbon giants Sporting, at the age of 17. The winger’s rise to stardom since then has been nothing short of meteoric. During his first and only season with the Lions in 2002/03, he played in 25 games and scored three goals.

Arguably the key moment of Cristiano Ronaldo’s career was a pre-season friendly in 2003 between Sporting and Manchester United. Scouts at the English club had been monitoring the young forward’s progress for some time, but it was only after he starred in Sporting’s 3-1 friendly win that United manager Sir Alex Ferguson decided to make his move and sign him.

Ferguson later revealed that in the dressing room after the game his players talked constantly about the young Ronaldo. Even on the plane journey back to Manchester, the United players pleaded with their boss to sign the young star. Other big teams such as Milan and Juventus made enquiries with the Lisbon club over a possible move, but Manchester United were quickest to act, and within a week had officially announced the signing of Portugal’s latest teenage sensation.

Tricks of the trade
Undaunted by his star billing, Ronaldo showed off his full range of trickery on his Manchester United debut against Bolton Wanderers in August 2003, making an immediate impression on the Old Trafford fans. In his first campaign in England, he scored eight goals in 39 games, including the opener in United’s FA Cup final win over Millwall. His string of fine displays culminated in him receiving the club’s player of the year award.

Ronaldo has been equally impressive at international level, and is highly regarded by national team boss Luiz Felipe Scolari. Scolari’s belief in the youngster was rewarded with Ronaldo’s excellent performances in UEFA EURO 2004, despite the team’s eventual defeat in the final against surprise champions Greece. During the tournament, Ronaldo became an established first-team regular as well as the star performer in a team that would go on to qualify for the 2006 FIFA World Cup™ with the minimum amount of fuss.

Portugal’s manager has high hopes for his young charge. “Cristiano has everything needed to be one of the stars of the World Cup," said Scolari. "He’s got so much quality about him, a good turn of pace and a decent shot among other things. If all goes well, he’ll probably be one of the big names of the tournament. I gave him his chance in only our second match of the European Championship and he showed what a decisive player he can be. He’s rewarded my faith in him and has really grown in stature,” the coach said.

The Portuguese wing wizard’s game goes from strength to strength with every passing season as he adapts to the English game and impresses Manchester United and Portugal fans alike. His repertoire of tricks and array of skills continue to leave opposition defenders mesmerised, and could prove to be a key factor in his country’s bid for success in Germany this summer.

© 2001-2006 FIFA, All Rights Reserved

UEFA Champions League 2005-06 player's profile

Pace, power and a box of tricks to strike fear into the most talented of defenders, Cristiano Ronaldo underlined his status as one of Europe's rising stars with a series of scintillating dispays at the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

Club
Born in Madeira, Ronaldo joined Sporting Clube de Portugal from CD Nacional in 1997. Made his debut against FC Internazionale Milano in the 2002/03 UEFA Champions League third qualifying round and after a whirlwind season joined United on 13 August 2003 for €17.5m, a world-record fee for a teenager. Having been handed the No7 shirt vacated by David Beckham, he struggled before dazzling, and scoring, in the 2004 FA Cup final. He lifted the trophy again the following season and the League Cup in 2006.

National team
A youth international at all levels, Ronaldo made his full debut in August 2003 against Kazakhstan and went on to establish himself as a regular before UEFA EURO 2004™, where his displays, and two goals, earned the winger a place in the All-Star Squad and Portugal a spot in the final, where the hosts lost to Greece. Subsequently competed at the Athens Olympics and the World Cup, where further disappointment followed in the semi-finals against France.

Did you know?
Ronaldo was named after the late American president Ronald Reagan.

©uefa.com 1998-2006. All rights reserved.

UEFA EURO 2004™ player's profile

Greatly admired by Sir Alex Ferguson, the Manchester United FC manager had no hesitation in handing this tricky and unpredictable winger the No7 shirt vacated by David Beckham in summer 2003.

National team
An Under-18 and Under-21 international with Portugal, Cristiano Ronaldo made his full debut in August 2003 when coming on in the second half of a 1-0 victory against Kazakhstan and was a regular as UEFA EURO 2004™ approached.

Club
Born in Madeira in August 1985, Ronaldo joined Sporting Clube de Portugal from CD Nacional in 1997. Made his debut for the Lisbon club against Internazionale FC in the 2002/03 UEFA Champions League third qualifying round, and went on make 25 appearances - starting eleven of them - in his only season at Sporting. Joined United on 13 August 2003 - the same day as Kleberson - for €17.5m, a world-record fee for a teenager.

2003/04: Took a while to adapt to English football but overall enjoyed a promising debut season in the Premiership, making 29 appearances. Ronaldo capped his season by dazzling in the FA Cup final, opening the scoring in the victory against Millwall FC.

Did you know?
Ronaldo was named after the former United States president Ronald Reagan.

©uefa.com 1998-2006. All rights reserved.