Ronaldo luiz nazario de lima1 was born on 22 september 1976 in a poor suburb of
rio de janeiro2. like most of his childhood friends, ronaldo began his soccer
career playing barefoot in the streets of his neighborhood. at the age of 14, he
joined s?o cristov?o3 soccer club and only two years later became the star of
cruzeiro belo horizonte4 scoring a total of 58 goals in 60 matches and earning
himself a reputation for his explosive5 pace and outstanding finishing skills.
his goal-scoring record and unusual agility6 led him to be included in the
brazilian world cup winning team the following year. after the world cup, many
top european football clubs were trying to sign him. many people, including
brazilian football legend pelé7, referred to him as the most promising8
footballer of his generation. 　　Since his transfer to dutch team psv eindhoven9, ronaldo s biography10 is
one of success after success. two copa américa s11, a uefa12 cup, a dutch cup, a
spanish league cup, and two awards as best player in the world, all in the space
of two years, are some of ronaldo s impressive13 achievements. on arrival to
inter-milan in 1997, ronaldo became the idol14 of the local fans who refer to
him as "il fenomeno15." 　　Since the 98 world cup he has suffered two serious knee injuries that
have severely limited his appearances. just when people began to wonder whether
ronaldo would be able to continue with his football career, he proved to the
world that he still could play. in the world cup held in korea and japan, the
magical striker16 won the golden shoe award and tied pele s brazilian record for
career world cup goals with 12. he helped brazil capture17 its fifth world cup
championship on june 30 with a 2-0 win over germany. it was the third time that
ronaldo has ever played in the world cup.