"He isn't born a champion, he becomes one" - Former PL coach reveals why he draws inspiration from Cristiano Ronaldo's mentality

Former Brighton & Hove Albion coach Roberto Di Zerbi has taken a leaf out of Cristiano Ronaldo's champion mentality. The 40-year-old Ronaldo is still going strong despite making his professional debut more than two decades ago.

An elite scorer - in fact the game's most prolific scorer with nearly 940 strikes for club and country - the five-time Ballon d'Or winner is also famed for his elite mentality and hard work.

De Zerbi - who now manages Ligue 1 side Olympique Marseille - said about the Portuguese legend's mentality, telling L'Equipe (via Foot Africa)

"I was never a champion myself, but I tried to adopt that mentality, the same mentality as Cristiano Ronaldo. He isn't born a champion. He becomes one. A player who is born a champion owes it to God, to his parents. But when you become a champion, it's down to hard work, effort, ambition and sacrifice."

He added:

"After a great victory, a defeat is never far away. In fact, after Lyon we lost to Strasbourg (0-1). I grew up in AC Milan's youth academy, surrounded by Baresi, Maldini, Tassotti — a team of immense champions.

"I spent two and a half years living at Milanello. I watched them win the Scudetto on Sunday, and then return to training on Tuesday morning as if nothing had happened."

Having managed Brighton for two seasons, De Zerbi arrived at Marseille last summer. Meanwhile, Ronaldo is going strong at his current side, Al-Nassr, whom he joined in December 2022 as a free agent.

How did Cristiano Ronaldo fare last season?

Cristiano Ronaldo is coming off a fairly decent 2024-25 campaign with Al-Nassr, registering 35 goals and four assists in 41 games across competitions, slightly down from his 44-goal 2023-24 campaign where he had struck a league-record 36 goals.

Coming back to the last season, Ronaldo netted 25 league goals and provided three assists in 30 games as Al-Nassr finished behind champions Al-Ittihad and the previous season's winners Al-Hilal.

The Portugal captain, who won the UEFA Nations League with his country this summer for the second time, also scored eight times in as many AFC Champions League Elite outings, with the Knights of Najd losing in the semi-finals to Kawasaki Frontale.

About the author

Bhargav is a veteran sports journalist and editor at Sportskeeda, with a rich professional experience of 17 years, working for the likes of Siemens and Bombay Dyeing. An avid football and tennis follower for over three decades, Bhargav uses his vast knowledge and experience, attention to detail, an unbiased yet interesting writing style, and thorough research to craft insightful articles, which have raked in over 20 million reads so far.

Bhargav supports Italy at national level, a team steeped in tradition and history according to him. He still harbors the heartbreak from the Azzurri’s 1994 FIFA World Cup final defeat against Brazil, and protagonist-turned-antagonist from the game, ‘Divine Ponytail’ Roberto Baggio is his all-time favorite player. His favorite manager is Marcelo Lippi, who ended Italy’s 24-year wait for the World Cup trophy, winning it in 2006.

Outside Europe’s top five leagues, he follows the MLS following Lionel Messi’s move in 2023 but favors Cristiano Ronaldo in the G.O.A.T. debate. During his free time, Bhargav enjoys driving off to new places and singing.

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Edited by Bhargav