Ronaldo (1976-…), a Brazilian soccer star, became one of the sport’s greatest and most exciting players. Soccer is called football in Brazil and many other countries. A forward, Ronaldo became internationally famous for his speed and his brilliance as a goal scorer. He was named World Player of the Year in 1996, 1997, and 2002. Ronaldo led Brazil to the World Cup championship in 2002, scoring both goals in his country’s 2-0 victory over Germany in the finals. Ronaldo set a FIFA World Cup record in 2006 when he scored his 15th career goal in the tournament. The record stood until Miroslav Klose scored his 16th career World Cup goal for Germany in 2014.
Ronaldo Luiz Nazario de Lima was born in Bento Ribeiro, Brazil, a poor suburb of Rio de Janeiro, on Sept. 22, 1976. He grew up in Bento Ribeiro and began playing soccer as a child. Ronaldo became a full-time player at the age of about 14. His reputation grew rapidly, and in 1993 he joined Cruzeiro, a first-division club in Belo Horizonte. Ronaldo went on to play with PSV Eindhoven in the Netherlands from 1994 to 1996, FC Barcelona in Spain in 1996 and 1997, and Inter Milan in Italy from 1997 to 2002. He played with Real Madrid in Spain from 2002 to 2007, when he moved to AC Milan in Italy to end the 2006-2007 season. After an injury shortened his 2007-2008 season, Ronaldo returned to his native Brazil to play for Corinthians in the Brazilian A league. Ronaldo retired as a player in 2011.
