November 21, 1999, Luis Nazario da Lima, or simply Ronaldo, in the match against Inter Lecce completes the defeat of the southerners, scoring the sixth goal of the team. But the events of the match do not end there. After a few minutes, the Brazilian gets a severe knee injury.
Knee problems began at a very young Roni in the Dutch PSV - affected by intense training and an adult game load. After Holland, he spent two more full-fledged seasons in “Barcelona” and “Inter”, despite periodic pain.
The Brazilian cured a serious injury in four months. In April 2000, only having returned to the field, he played only six minutes in the Italian Cup and again went to treatment. The next match of Ronaldo took place on November 4, 2001, again against Lecce. This time, the attacker spent 14 minutes in the game, after which he had to ask for a replacement. The rest of the season went into recovery.
After a successful World Cup in Korea and Japan, Ronaldo moved to Real Madrid. The black and blue half of Milan got hit. The recent idol has turned for most fans of Inter into a traitor. Fans, not without reason, believed that their club, taking care of the Brazilian, could count on the best attitude on his part.
But football, besides the game, is also a business. Inter received good compensation for the leader, who, by the way, has been bringing money to the club with a big name for all five years.
Strong emotions were experienced not only by the fans. For the owner of the Nerazzurri, Massimo Moratti, the young striker was forever one of his sons. During the Madrid adventures of the Brazilian, Moratti’s affection has manifested more than once in the news about the possible ways of returning Roni to Inter.
Therefore, the reaction of Signor Massimo and his club's fans to Ronaldo’s transition to rivals from Milan was predictable. At the same time, everyone seems to have forgotten about Ronaldo himself. Behind the stream of emotions, few noticed the objective reasons for his decision.
Inter has five world-class forwards that are completely healthy and fit perfectly into the game. It would be difficult to compete with them. And about the weakness of the Milan attack after Shevchenko left, kilograms of pages were written. Just type in the form and enter the field.
But that is not all. It would be psychologically hard for Ronaldo to be in Inter. Yes, and the club of large caliber, really needed a Brazilian, was only Milan. Madrid “galacticos” Roni is no longer needed. Believe in yourself - this is what a football player needs right now the most.
The attack of Milan has now become more significant. In every sense of the word. What is surprising is the very low amount of transfer of the Brazilian - 4-5 million pounds. It will be even more interesting to find out if Real did not cheapen in this transaction.
2007 Ronaldo's ideas are completely blurred. Various rumors have been circulating about his poor physical condition for several years. Its performance is steadily declining. In his first professional clubs (Cruzeiro, PSV and Barça), the striker scored an average of 0.9 goals per match! “Inter” and “Real” got significantly less - 0.72 and 0.68, respectively. Will this vector change direction in Milan?
Roni’s transition to the Italian Rossoneri was helped by his soccer record. And this is understandable - after all, a lot of serious exams were passed to them. Even despite the academic holidays due to an unfortunate injury, he is a two-time world champion, three-time best soccer player in the world according to FIFA, the best scorer of world championships in their history. Will he update the list of awards in red and black?
Around the Brazilian’s transition to Milan, question marks of various sizes are still swarming. But one thing is clear. Ronaldo has hard work ahead to make a real comeback to big football. And Luis Nazario is not afraid of her. Otherwise, he would now look for a house somewhere in the United States or Saudi Arabia. At the same time, he agreed to a salary reduction of one million pounds per year. Yes, and “Milan Lab” in case of injury is always there.
Moratti and Ronaldo are still explaining to each other and are likely to find a common language. But the members of the Interva “Kurva Nord” are not able to communicate directly with the former idol. The Milan derby will be held very soon. Therefore, the conversation of fans with their former Phenomenon is likely to happen through speech, gestures and banners. Will they understand Roni’s decision?
Stanislav POPOVICH