Video: Cristiano Ronaldo on how his footballing journey started when he was 11 years old
Portugal and Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo talks about his early life, the hardships he had to face, and his breakthrough in football.
It seems like Cristiano Ronaldo, the maverick of modern football had always been good at mesmerising the onlookers with his skills. In this video, the Real Madrid star fondly remembers the days when he was about 11-years old and playing for Sporting CP in Lisbon, Portugal.
From a tender age, Ronaldo claims, he could do things with the ball that for others were complicated. His skills were unmatched and unparalleled and all eyes, even those of the coach were glued to him- in the beginning, during the training, and end of the training too.
Ronaldo mentions Madeira at the very beginning in the video. He was born in a neighbourhood of Funchal in Madeira, a Portuguese archipelago in the North Atlantic. His father was a municipal gardener and his mother was a cook. Ronald Reagan is where he derives his name from. Reagan, who was the US President and also an established actor.
The current most popular sporting icon in the world had his stint with poverty when he was a child. The Portuguese star was popular in school but was expelled following an incident when he threw a chair at his teacher. Ronaldo later gave his reasons saying, “He disrespected me.”
By the age of 14 Cristiano had already taken a firm decision that it is professional footballer that he wants to become. He was 8 years of age when he started playing for an amateur club called Andorinha. Aged 10 in 1995 he was playing for local club Nacional. He went for a three day trial with Sporting CP who subsequently signed him up.
While he was with Sporting CP, the Portuguese club faced Manchester United during the inauguration of the Estádio José Alvalade. Sporting CP defeated United 3-1 and Ronaldo was the decisive player of the match. He caught the attention of Manchester United and the young man was called by Sir Alex Ferguson.
The rest, as we all know, is history.
