C. Ronaldo 'works like an animal' for Madrid – José Mourinho

Cristiano Ronaldo may not be enjoying his best period of form but he is still "working like an animal" for Real Madrid, his coach, José Mourinho, said ahead of Wednesday's Copa del Rey showdown with Barcelona.

Ronaldo has been whistled by some home supporters at the Bernabéu since a poor performance in last month's El Clásico. The former Manchester United player reacted by refusing to celebrate his goal in a 5-1 win against Granada and makes his first appearance in front of Madrid fans since then in Wednesday's quarter-final first leg.

At a news conference on Tuesday, a cantankerous Mourinho said Ronaldo's performance in Saturday's 2-1 win at Real Mallorca had been his best of the campaign despite the fact that he had not added to his 21 league goals.

"He worked like an animal and did exactly what the team needed," Mourinho said. "He doesn't need to score or be man of the match every time. I told him nobody can touch him after the way he worked in the second half. When the team wins everyone is responsible and when they lose everyone is responsible for that too. Simple."

Mourinho has managed only one win over Barça in eight attempts since taking the Madrid job at the end of the 2009-10 season, when Ronaldo nodded an extra-time winner in a 1-0 triumph in last season's cup final. The last time the two teams played each other over two legs in the Spanish cup, in the 1996-97 campaign, the former Internazionale and Chelsea manager was assistant coach at Barça and the Catalan club went through 4-3 on aggregate.

Mourinho refused to give any details about his tactics for Wednesday's game, saying that whatever he decided would no doubt be criticised in the Spanish media.

Angel di María, who has not played since injuring himself in the final training session of 2011, will be included in the squad and a decision will be made on his fitness on Wednesday.

"The league is the priority," Mourinho added. "But tomorrow is also a great match and you want to do the best possible and use all the players if they are available."

source: www.guardian.co.uk

Messi, Ronaldo and Xavi shortlisted for Ballon d'Or

Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Xavi have been shortlisted for the FIFA Ballon d'Or 2011, FIFA and France Football magazine have announced. 


Messi won the inaugural award last year after FIFA's World Player of the Year crown and France Football's Ballon d'Or gong merged.

The Barcelona forward is the favourite once more after another stunning season at the Nou Camp in which he scored 53 goals in all competitions.

Argentinian Messi was Barca's top scorer as Pep Guardiola's men retained the Primera Division title and re-claimed the Champions League trophy with a comprehensive defeat of Manchester United at Wembley.

Xavi was the architect of many of Messi's goals, the Barca veteran maintaining his position as arguably the premier midfielder in world football.

Ronaldo also scored 53 times for Real Madrid as they finished runners-up in Spain and lost out to Barca in the Champions League semi-finals.

Guardiola, Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho and Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson were shortlisted for the 2011 FIFA Coach of the Year award. 

Guardiola's men were again mesmeric in 2011, sweeping all before them with an attractive style of football. Madrid were their closest challengers, narrowly losing out in the domestic league and in Europe. They did, however, gain a degree of revenge by lifting the Copa del Rey with a 1-0 defeat of the Catalans in Valencia.

In addition to guiding United to the Champions League final, Ferguson also led the Red Devils to a record 19th English championship - the 12th under the Scot's stewardship.

United were also represented in the category for the 2011 goal of the year - the FIFA Puskas award - with Wayne Rooney nominated for his stunning overhead kick against Manchester City last season.

 The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony in Zurich on January 9, 2012.

source: www.soccernet.com, www.fifa.com

Cristiano Ronaldo is Real Centurion

CRISTIANO RONALDO scored his 100th goal for Real Madrid as they saw off Lyon in the Champions League.

The £80million man reached the landmark haul on just his 105th appearance for the Spanish giants after leaving Manchester United two years ago.

Ronaldo's brace sealed Madrid's place in the last 16 of the tournament and left boss Jose Mourinho purring over his star player.

The Special One said: "It is an incredible record. To score 100 goals for Real is tremendous, especially scoring two goals here in Lyon where we have a negative record historically. I think it's fantastic."

Portugal superstar Ronaldo opened the scoring in the 24th minute by curling home a free-kick.

And he became a Real centurion on 69 minutes when he converted a penalty after Lyon fullback Mouhamadou Dabo had fouled him.

The win put Madrid top of Group D on 12 points — five clear of second placed Ajax, who thumped Dynamo Zagreb 4-0.

But the night belonged to Ronaldo, who is battling Barcelona's Lionel Messi for the World Player of the Year crown.

Argentine ace Messi hit a hat-trick last night in the 4-0 victory at Viktoria Plzen — taking his tally to an amazing 202 goals in 286 matches for the reigning Spanish and European champions.

source: http://www.thesun.co.uk/

Highlight video: Lyon vs Real Madrid : 0-2

Real Madrid's Ronaldo: Those who like football like watching me play

The Santiago Bernabeu star has shrugged off recent jeers and claims that football enthusiasts enjoy his style of play, even fans of his rival from the Camp Nou outfit.

Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo believes football fans around the globe love watching him in action as he responds to recent criticism.
 

Ronaldo was jeered and hissed in September's 4-0 Euro 2012 qualifying win over Cyprus in which a number of fans shouted the name 'Messi,' referring to Lionel Messi, the Barcelona striker. 

"These things [the Cyprus jeers] are abnormal things. And, I don't care about them," Ronaldo is quoted as saying by AS.com.

The former Manchester United man shrugged shoulders at the whole affair and insisted he was not affected by it. In fact, he feels everyone loves his game - his message coming just days after former Madrid coach Bernd Schuster said Ronaldo is less selfish now.


"I think that all those who like football are happy when Cristiano Ronaldo is playing," he boasted.

It is an issue which had gone quiet in recent weeks, but following Portugal's 5-3 Group H win over Iceland on Friday, Ronaldo has returned to talk about what happened against Cyprus.
 

Ronaldo could be in action when Portugal play Denmark on Tuesday. His side need just a point from their final group game to secure a place at Euro 2012.  

source: www.Goal.com

Cristiano Ronaldo is put to the test

CRISTIANO Ronaldo is to undergo scientific tests in a TV documentary - to discover what makes him a top footballer.

The Real Madrid star, 26, will be monitored in a high-performance lab for Ronaldo: Tested To The Limit on Sky Sports next month.

Meanwhile, it was sensationally claimed last night that Ronaldo copied Michael Jackson and hired a mystery Mexican to be the surrogate mum of his son Cristiano Jr last year.

The lad's ex-nanny alleged he paid one woman for her eggs and another to "incubate" the child. Both were Mexican, just like the egg donor and surrogate mum said to be picked for Jacko's child Blanket.

source: Thesun.co.uk

Cristiano Ronaldo - Most Expensive Player in Football History

Full name: Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro

Birthday: February 5, 1985 (age 24)

Birthplace: Funchal, Madeira, Portugal

Height: 1.84 m

Weight: 75kg

Nickname: Ronnie, CR, Rocket Ronaldo, CR7, C. Ronaldo

Position: Right/Left Winger

Current club: Real Madrid

Ronaldo is the most expensive player in football history after moving Manchester United to Real Madrid in a transfer deal worth £80 million (€94m, US$132m). Besides, his contract with Real Madrid, in which he is to be paid £11 million per year over the following six years, makes him the highest-paid football player in the world.

Early Life

Cristiano Ronaldo was born in Portugal and grew up with a brother and two sisters. His second name (Ronaldo) is relatively rare in Portugal. His parents named him after former US president Ronald Reagan because he was his father's favourite actor, and not for political reasons. 

He began kicking a football when he was three, and when he started primary school at age six, his passion for the sport was obvious.   By 1995, at just ten years of age, Cristiano Ronaldo's reputation was growing in Portugal. Madeira's top two teams, CS Marítimo and CD Nacional were both interested in signing him. Marítimo, the bigger team, missed a crucial meeting with Rui Santos manager of Andorinha, and as a result Ronaldo signed for Nacional. After a title-winning campaign at Nacional, Ronaldo went on a three day trial with Sporting who subsequently signed him for an undisclosed sum.

First Clubs in Portugal

Ronaldo joined Sporting's other youth players who trained at the Alcochete, the club's "football factory," where he received first-class instruction. He also featured for Portugal in the UEFA Under 17 Championships.

His performances at the UEFA Under 17 championship drew him to the attention of the wider football world. He came to the attention of Sir Alex Ferguson in the summer of 2003, when Sporting Clube de Portugal beat Manchester United 3–1 in the inauguration of the Alvalade XXI stadium in Lisbon. After the match, United's players spoke enthusiastically of the young talent that they had just played against, saying they would rather have him in their team than play against him in the future.[citation needed]

Christiano Ronaldo at Manchester United 2003–2006

Ferguson decided that he wanted the youngster for his team, who were in the market for a right-sided midfielder with the departure of David Beckham to Real Madrid; Cristiano was signed for a fee of £12.24 million.

Ronaldo requested the number 28 (his number at Sporting), as he did not want the pressure of living up to the expectation linked to the number 7 shirt, which had previously been worn by players such as George Best, Bryan Robson, Eric Cantona, and David Beckham. "After I joined, the manager asked me what number I'd like. I said 28. But Ferguson said 'No, you're going to have No. 7,' and the famous shirt was an extra source of motivation. I was forced to live up to such an honour.”

2006-2009

The 2006-2007 season proved to be the breakout year for Ronaldo, as he broke the 20 goal barrier for the first time and picked up his first league title with Manchester United.

In November and December 2006, Ronaldo received consecutive Barclays Player of the Month honours, becoming only the third player in Premier League history to do so after Dennis Bergkamp in 1997 and Robbie Fowler in 1996.  He was voted into his second consecutive FIFPro Special Young Player of the Year award at the end of the year.

He finished as the runner-up to Kaká for the 2007 Ballon d'Or and was 3rd in the running for the FIFA World Player of the Year award, behind Kaká and Lionel Messi.

On 11 June, Manchester United accepted an unconditional offer of £80 million from Real Madrid for Ronaldo after it was revealed that he again had expressed his desire to leave the club.  It was confirmed by a representative of the Glazer family that the sale was fully condoned by Ferguson.

Real Madrid

Ronaldo was presented to the world media as a Real Madrid player on 6 July 2009, where he was handed the number 9 jersey. Ronaldo was welcomed by 80,000 fans at his presentation at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, surpassing Diego Maradona's record of 75,000 fans when he was presented in Italy, after he was transferred from Barcelona to Napoli in 1984.

With the departure of Raúl in the summer of 2010, Ronaldo was handed the number 7 jersey.