Cristiano Ronaldo And Why He Is A True Soccer Legend

Pin It Now! Cristiano Ronaldo Dos Santos Aveiro is one of the few players that can be regarded as a legend as far as the game of soccer is concerned. His great achievements speak for him; his personal and team records cannot be waved aside.

To start with, Cristiano Ronaldo is the sportsman with the highest number of facebook fans. As at the time of writing this article, his facebook fans were 34,731,503, which is arguably the highest by any athlete. The likes of Lionel Messi, Samuel Eto’o, Didier Drogba, Wayne Rooney, Nani, Kaka, Andres Iniesta, Tiger Woods, Andy Murray, Rafael Nadal, Usain Bolt, Ashafa Powell, Roger Federer, Maria Sharapova, The Williams sisters, etc do not have fans half his number.

What makes Cristiano Ronaldo Thick?
Born on the 5th of February, 1985, Ronaldo has played for the two biggest and most influential club sides in Europe – Manchester United of England and Real Madrid of Spain, just at the age of 26 years. In 2010-11 seasons, he scored 41 goals in the La Liga, breaking Telmo Zarra’s record which was set in 1951. He ended up scoring a total of 53 goals in all competitions for the season, thereby breaking Ferenc Puskas’ record of 49 goals for a season.

He currently holds the record of the most expensive transfer in soccer history: he was transferred from Manchester United to Real Madrid for the sum of ₤80,000,000 (€94M or $132M), and earns ₤11M per year (for 6 years, from the year his current contract was signed).

In his youth career, Ronaldo played for Andorinha (1993-1995), Nacional (1995-1997) and Sporting CP (1997-2001). In his senior career, he has played for Sporting CP (2001-2003, with 25 appearances and 8 goals), Manchester United (2003-2009, with 196 appearances and 84 goals) and Real Madrid (2009 to date).

His national team records include playing for Portugal’s U-17 (2001-2002) with 9 appearances and 6 goals, U-20 (2003) with 5 appearances and 1 goal, U-21 (2002-2003) with 6 appearances and 3 goals, U-23 (2004) with 3 appearances and 1 goal; and the senior national team (2003 to date) with 78 appearances and 25 goals.

Awards
Cristiano Ronaldo’s awards include: English premier league (with Manchester United) in 2006-07, 2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons; FA Cup (2003-04). Others include League Cup (2005-06, 2008-09), FA Community Shield in 2007. He has also won the UEFA Champions’ League title in 2007-08 and FIFA Club World Cup 2008.

Individual awards
Cristiano Ronaldo Dos Santos Aveiro has won several personal awards in the field of soccer. Some of his awards include: Bravo Award 2004, UEFA Euro 2004 Team of Tournament, FIFPRO special Young Player of the year 2004-05, 2005-06; Portuguese Footballer of the year 2006-07, UEFA Team of the year 2003-04, 2006-07, 2007-08, 2008-09; Sir Matt Busby Player of the year 2003-04, 2006-07, 2007-08; FIFPRO World XI 2006-07, 2007-08, 2008-09; PFA Young player of the year 2006-07, 2007-08; PFA Fans’ Player of the year 2006-07, 2007-08; PFA Premier Team of the year 2005-06, 2006-07, 2007-08; UEFA Champions’ League top scorer 2007-08, 2008-09 and FWA Footballer of the year 2006-07, 2007-08

His other individual awards include Premier League Player of the month Nov. 2006, Dec. 2006, Jan. 2008, March 2008; Premier League Golden Boot 2007-08, Barclays Merit Award 2007-08, European Golden Shoe 2007-08, UEFA Club Forward of the year 2007-08, FIFPRO World Player of the year 2007-08, FIFA Club World Cup Silver Ball 2008, Onze d’or 2006, 2007, 2008, World Footballer of the year 2008, FIFA Perenc Puskas’ Award 2009 and Ballon d’or 2009, making him the first Manchester United player to win it in 40 years.

Some personal attributes that have contributed to Ronaldo’s success on the pitch include his Bullet speed, his dribbling ability and his penchant for learning. He is such a player who is ever hungry for success: after winning several awards he is still zealous of winning more. If he continues with his current form and appetite for success, he might end being the greatest footballer ever.

Most soccer fans want to identify with Ronaldo; this they have demonstrated by flocking to his facebook fans page. He is a player with a sex appeal – he’s got a sexy physique, great height, flat muscular abdomen, a great athletic figure and character. Everyone loves Cristiano Ronaldo.

Cristiano Ronaldo And Why He Is A True Soccer Legend

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Liverpool Wins, Arsenal Draws and Man U Loses

Pin It Now! The English premier league was full of action during the week with major upsets recorded and the gap at the top of the table narrowed a little following a loss by the leaders Manchester United.

The match of the week was played on Sunday afternoon at Anfield where the leaders Manchester United were disunited by Liverpool FC. The Red Devils lost the match by a whooping 3-1 to remain at 60 points. Dirk Kuy was obviously the man of the match as his hat trick (33rd, 39th and 64th minutes) was all it took to defeat the red devils. Manchester United was only able to pull one back through Javier Hernandez in the 90th minute. Liverpool now occupies the 6th position with 42 points from 29 matches.

In the other match played on Sunday, Wolverhampton Wanderers drew 3-3 against Tottenham Hotspurs at the Molineux stadium. The home side’s three goals were scored by Doyle (brace) and Fletcher; while the visitors scored through Jermain Defoe (brace) and Pavlyuchenko. Tottenham is now in the 5th position with 44points; and Wolverhampton Wanderers now sits in the 19th position with 29points.

In the matches earlier played on Saturday, Manchester City defeated Wigan Athletics by a lone goal courtesy of David Silva’s goal which mistakenly slipped through goal keeper Ali Al Habsi’s hands in the 38th minute. Manchester City now occupies the 3rd position with 53 points while Wigan is at the bottom of the table with 27points.

Bolton Wanderers defeated Aston Villa 3-2 at the Reeboek stadium after the visitors had gone up twice. Bolton scored through Gary Cahill (45th and 74th minutes) and Ivan Klasnic (86th minute); while Villa’s goals were scored by Darren bent in the 15th minute and Marc Albrighton in the 64th minute. Unfortunately, a chance to seal victory for the visitors was wasted when Ashley Young lost a penalty kick in the 70th minute when his side was leading 2-1. This now leaves Bolton in the 7th position with 40 points while Aston Villa is in the 13th position with 35points.

Westbromwich Albion defeated Birmingham City 3-1 away at St. Andrew’s. westbromwich Albion overrode their host through Youssuf Mulumbu (46th minute0, James Morrison (57th minute) and Paul Scharner (72nd minute); while the host got their consolatory goal through Jean Beausejour in the 48th minute.

West Ham United walloped Stoke City 3-0 to keep their hope of playing in the premiership next season alive. West overwhelmed their visitors through goals from Demba ba (21st minute), Manuel Da Costa (29th minute) and Hitzlsperger (82nd minute). This victory now places West ham in the 17th position on the league table with 31 points while Stoke now occupies the 12th position with 34 points.

Fulham defeated Blackburn Rovers 3-2 at the Craven Cottage to remain in the 11th position with 35points. Goals from Damien Duff who got a brace (36th and 58th minutes) and Bobby Zamora (89th minute penalty) were enough to dash the visitors’ dream. Blackburn Rovers were able to pull two back through Grant Hanley ($5th minute) and Junior Hoilett (65th Minute). Blackburn is now in the 14th position with 32 points.

New Castle United was beaten 2-1 at home at St. James’ Park by Everton. The home team’s only goal was scored by Best in the 22nd minute while goals from Leon Osman (31st minute) and Phil Jagielka (35th) helped the visitors to subdue their host team. New Castle now occupies the 9th position with 36 points while Everton sits in the 10th position with same 36 points but New Castle has superior goals difference.

Arsenal FC could only manage a goalless draw against Sunderland at the Emirates to remain in the 2nd position with 57 points from 28 matches; while Sunderland occupies the 8th position with 38 points from 29 matches.

Liverpool Wins, Arsenal Draws and Man U Loses

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Chelsea Slips Again - Draws Against Fulham

Pin It Now! Chelsea FC Monday night slipped further on the premiership table as they played a barren draw against Fulham FC in an away match thereby dimming their hope of winning the league this season.

Having lost their last match against Liverpool FC at Stamford Bridge the previous week, everyone thought the Blues would do everything humanly possible to win this crucial match to avoid further gap in between them and the league leaders Manchester United. This was not to be as they fired blank throughout the 90 minutes of play.

It was a night the premiership most expensive player Fernando Torres was arguably the worst culprit as he lost chance upon chance for the duration of 70 minutes he was in the match. Several times he had the opportunity to put the visitors ahead but failed to do so.

In the 28th minute, Frank Lampard failed to connect a pull out by Ivanovic from the right flank. He only managed to shoot the ball over the bar. Again in the 31st minute, Florent Malouda shot over the bar. Ivanovic’s volley was parried by the goal keeper in the 32nd minute.

The first yellow card of the night went to Ivanovic for his rough play in the 38th minute.
Steve Sidwell got a yellow card for fouling Michael Essien in the 43rd minute of the first half. The centre referee wasted no time in flashing a yellow in his face because the foul was committed right in his front.

In the 44th minute, Fernando Torres missed an opportunity to put the Blues ahead. He fired blank right in the yard box. At added time of the first half, Torres once again casually pushed the ball into the waiting hands of the Fulham goal keeper. That would have given the visitors a half time goal advantage.

Chelsea clearly dominated in the first half with ball possession at 59% to 41% in their favour. They also led on shots at goal; but they could not convert any of their begging chances.

Second half resumed with more hopes as the visitors piled more pressure on the host by increasing their ball possession to 61%; yet no goal came. The first anxious moment of the second half came when Fernando Torres nodded a cross over the bar right in the 18 yard box.

Torres came close to scoring again in the 51st minute but also shot over the bar in the yard box. He seemed to be jinxed in the match or like he was not really settled. His kicks were unlike those of an experienced and quality striker that he’s known to be.

The home side occasionally went on the counter thereby creating some transient moments of tension on the side of the visitors. In the 64th minute, Salcido’s direct shot was parried and then held by Petr Cech.

Nikolas Anelka got substituted for Salomon Kalou in the 65th minute after an average performance. The coming of Kalou did not change things much as the home side kept defending their territory against invasion by the Blues.

In the 67th minute, Florent Malouda was pushed down in the 18 yard box by Hangeland for what was obviously a penalty offence, but the centre referee waved play-on.

Fulham also effected some changes on their side as they tried to step up their game to prevent the visitors from running away with the three points at stake. In the 74th minute, Simon Davies replaced Andrew Johnson while Gudjonsen also replaced Mousa Dembele in the 84th minute.


Didier Drogba finally replaced Fernando Torres in the 71st minute but he could not turn the table around as everyone seemed to be too heavy to shoot properly at goal. Michael Essien, Ramires, Frank Lampard, etc all got their chances to make the difference but failed to connect.

Petr Cech came to the rescue of the Blues in the 82nd minute as he was there on time to parry Dempsey’s shot that could have done the damage to his side.

In the 3rd minute of injury time Fulham got the golden opportunity to put the match beyond Chelsea as David Luiz fouled Dempsey in the yard box and the home side had a penalty awarded in their favour. However, the penalty kick was taken by Dempsey; but was gallantly blocked by Petr Cech.

Chelsea Slips Again - Draws Against Fulham

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Manchester United Extends Lead On The League Table

Pin It Now! Tuesday night was a night to celebrate for Manchester United and their teeming fans as they came from 2 goals down to beat Blackpool at home, making their host to record two consecutive home losses after they were beaten the previous week by Liverpool FC. This has now catapulted the Red Devils to 51 points.


Blackpool has maintained an unbeaten home record this season; but Liverpool FC made them look ordinary the previous week beating them by 3-0. That may have also given Man U the courage to fight on even when they trailing by 2 goals with 25 minutes to the end of full time.

Craig Cathcart shot the home team into the lead in the early minutes of the first half as his side gave a very good impression of themselves. They kept mounting pressure on the title favorite; this eventually paid off again in the 43rd minute as Dudley Campbell added yet another goal to make it 2 for the host.

At this point it appeared at though Manchester United was to taste her first defeat of this season. The newly promoted side looked set to end the Devils’ unbeaten runs as they attacked and defended as a compact team.

With the coast looking very bleak for United, the referee began to act funny; first it was his failure to sound the whistle for an infringement when Rafael Da Silva brought down Luke Varney in the penalty box.

Alex Fergusson soon replaced Wayne Rooney with Chicharito in the 66th minute. The pressure on the home side increased. Few minutes later, the referee also allowed a controversial goal in favour of the Red Devils as three of their players were clearly offside. Dmitri Berbatov took advantage of the loophole and slotted the ball into the net for his side’s first goal. Barely 2 minutes later, Chicharito equalized for Man U.

The match was clinically over when Berbatov again beat the defense line of Blackpool to score the goal and his second for the night. Sir Alex Fergusson was jubilant as his side eventually survived the scare from Blackpool.

Berbatov has proved unstoppable this season, scoring vital and decisive goals for his side. He has now netted 20 goals this season and still looks set to score more.

Manchester United Extends Lead On The League Table

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Manchester United Maintains Position as Arsenal Overtakes Man. City

Pin It Now! The English Premiership was Saturday full of activities as various club sides tried to overtake one another on the league table. The battle for the league title is actually getting tougher and fiercer as the league is gradually winding to a close.

It was a nice Saturday for Manchester United, Liverpool FC, Arsenal FC, Aston Villa, Fulham and Sunderland as they all won their matches to keep hope alive. It was a fair Saturday for teams that ended their games on a draw note; and a bleak one for the losing teams.

Manchester United arguably had the biggest win by walloping Birmingham City 5-0 to remain comfortably at the top of the table. It was a match that saw Dmitri Berbatov scoring his third hat trick of the season. He hit the back of their opponents’ net in the 2nd, 31st and 52nd minutes respectively in what could best be described as a superlative performance for him. The remaining two goals were scored by Ryan Giggs and Nani in the 45th and 75th minutes respectively.

A visibly defeated Alex Mcleish, the coach of Birmingham said at the end of the game “To lose a goal to a set-piece in the first minute was criminal. We did have a spell after that when we started to get in their final third but to concede again just before half-time was verging on the amateur”.

Liverpool had their first win under Kenny Dalglish, by routing their opponents 3-0 in an away match. Fernando Torres regained his scoring prowess by putting 2 goals past the Wolverhamton Wanderers’ goal keeper in the 36th and 90th minutes respectively to seal up victory for his side. The third goal was scored by Meireles in the 50th minute.

Arsenal FC also had a wonderful outing, beating their visitors Wigan Athletics by 3-0 margin. Robin Van Persie was simply fantastic in that match after he has been away for months due to injury. Alexander Song provided the assist for Van Persie’s first goal in the 21st minute of the match. He added 2 more in the 58th and 85th minutes respectively to give him his first hat trick of the season.

Cecs Fabregas was pulled down in the six yard box by Gary Caldwell in the 69th minute resulting in a penalty kick. The defender also got a red card for his rough play. Unfortunately, Van Persie took and lost the resultant penalty which would have made it 4 goals for him.

Sunderland defeated hard fighting Blackpool 2-1 at Bloomfield Road courtesy of a brace by Kieran Richardson (15th and 35th minutes). Assists were provided by Asamoah Gyan and Steed Malbranque respectively. However, the home side pulled one back through a penalty by Charlie Adam in the 85th minute. The visitors eventually ran away with all three points at stake.

Fulham defeated visiting Stoke City by 2-0 courtesy of a goal by Clint Dempsey in the 33rd minute of play, and another goal through a penalty in the 55th minute.

The match between Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur ended in a 1-1 draw. Coloccini had put the home side ahead in the 58th minute while Aaron Lennon equalized for the visitors in the 90th minute ensuring they ran away with a point.

Everton and West Ham United ended their game 2-2. Jonathan Specter put the visitors ahead in the 27th minute, but Diniyar Bilyaletdinov got an equalizer for the home side in the 76th minute. The visiting team went ahead again in the 84th minute through Frederic Piquionne but he got sent off for over celebrating. However, Marouane Fellaini denied the visitors a win by scoring an equalizer in the 90th minute.

Manchester United Maintains Position as Arsenal Overtakes Man. City

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Man U. Drops Points - Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester City Win

Pin It Now! The English Premiership was alive during the week with lots of exciting matches which saw some of the great teams winning their matches while others dropped points. Manchester United still maintained their unbeaten runs in the league even though they dropped 2 points against Tottenham Hotspur by recording a 0-0 draw on Sunday afternoon to remain at the top of the table.

It was a match lots of soccer pundits had expected the Red Devils to lose considering the current form of Tottenham Hotspur; and especially for the fact that one of United’s players got red-carded in the second half of the game. Spurs failed to capitalize on the deficiency to win the tension-soaked match.

It was however a sweet weekend for the Blues as Chelsea returned to winning ways by beating highly rated Blackburn Rovers 2-0 to keep their hope of winning the league back-to-back alive. Chelsea’s goals came through Ivanovic and Nicolas Anelka. The win Coach Carlo Ancelotti and the fans of the club something to cheer about.

Arsenal were in their devastating form as they spanked Westham 3-0 in an away game to close gap on league leaders Manchester United. The Gunners had a superlative performance after losing 0-1 to Leeds United in the FA Cup the previous week.

Manchester City maintained their winning streaks by beating Wolves 4-3 in a highly pulsating match. The host came from a goal down to completely overrun their guests and narrow the gap between them and their city rivals Manchester united who are currently on top of the table.

West Bromwich Albion defeated Blackpool 3-2 with Peter Osaze Odewingie scoring the 2 goals for his side to keep their hope of remaining in the premiership alive after series of losses in their previous games.

Liverpool FC was not as lucky by dropping 2 vital points at Anfield, as they ended their match against Everton 2-2. Raul Meireles and Dirk Kuyt scored for the home side in the 29th and 68th minutes respectively: but Sylvian Distin’s 46th minute and Jermaine Beckford’s 52nd minute goals ensured the match ended in a 2-2 draw.

Liverpool has been struggling since the commencement of this current season and has remained inconsistent with their top striker Fernando Torres finding it consistently difficult to score goals. The team captain Stephen Gerrard seems to have lost the flares he is known for. The team has lost her first 2 matches since Kenny Dalglish took over from Roy Hodgson as Head Coach.

The match between Sunderland and Newcastle ended in a 1-1 draw. Kevin Nolan scored for Newcastle in the 52nd minute while Ghana’s 2010 world revelation Asamoah Gyan scored the equalizer for Sunderland in injury time.

Birmingham and Aston Villa also ended their game on a 1-1 draw. Roger Johnson scored for Birmingham; but James Collins made sure they ran away with a point. Villa had a 3-3 draw against defending champions Chelsea at Stamford bridge the previous week and only able to recover a point during the weekend.

The league still remains very open with fierce competition and the struggle for the title now toughest between Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea FC.

Man U. Drops Points - Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester City Win

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Lionel Messi Emerges FIFA World Footballer Again

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Argentine national and FC Barcelona midfielder Lionel Messi has once again been voted FIFA World footballer of the year for the second consecutive year following his exploits in both his club side and national team.

The mercurial attacking midfielder has been instrumental to Barca’s superlative runs in both the La Liga and the UEFA Champions’ league in the past 5 years. His speed, dribbling skills and brilliant passes have no doubt contributed in great measures to the success stories of FC Barcelona.

He assisted the former champions to the semi final stage of the UEFA Champions’ league last season; and also played a significant role in their emergence as the La Liga champions. He also played a significant part in his country getting to the quarter final stage of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

This wonder kid has kept improving since he made his mark at the World Youth Championship in the Netherlands in 2005: he has not looked back ever since. Now he is beginning to rub shoulders with the great names in soccer history – Arantes De Nacimento (Pele), Zinedine Zidane, Louis Nazario DeLima (Ronaldo), Manco Van Basten, Ronaldinho, etc.

When he took the world by surprise in 2005, a lot of people had concluded that his performance then was a flash in the pan; but today he has proved all his critics wrong by adding titles upon titles to his coffers.

Winning the World Footballer award back to back is no mean feat: only few footballers have actually been able to achieve that. Messi has been able to get to this enviable level as a result of his discipline and cool-headedness. He has not allowed pride to come into him; he has not allowed his achievements to go into his head.

This is no doubt a deserved victory. That the world voted overwhelmingly for him in preference to Cristiano Ronaldo shows that his success was truly great and convincing. He proved himself in the field of play; he made an impact as a player and as a team member.

With age on his side, Lionel Messi may go ahead to surpass the records of Pele, Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo, Diego Maradona, Manco Van Basten, etc. He has already surpassed some of the records of these soccer greats by winning the Olympics soccer medal and the FIFA Club World Cup.

The way he is playing this season, he may just end up winning the award for the 3rd consecutive year. He has scored several goals already and provided about 15 assists in the La Liga. He has remained consistent in both the league and the Champions’ league as well.

The world celebrates with you on your achievement as the current World Footballer of the year. We wish you many more years of soccer achievements. More kudos to you, Lionel Messi.

Lionel Messi Emerges FIFA World Footballer Again

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