Ronaldo announces his official retirement

Soccer is a demanding sport. Sure, it doesn’t require the endurance of a cyclist undergoing the 20 day plus Le Tour de France, nor does it has such a demanding schedule as a professional basketball player who has to travel and play 3-4 times a week. And yes, it certainly is not as brutal of a team sport as rugby or American Football. But no other sport can match the expectation, the fan based euphoria placed on teams and players to succeed at all cost.

Under these circumstances even the most athletically gifted bodies have to give into the pressure, and eventually the body just breaks and asks for rest. And that is why Ronaldo, one of the finest strikers the game has seen has officially announced his retirement from professional football.

After 18 years as a professional Ronaldo put an end to a magnificent career in which he not only won two World Cups with the Brazilian national team but also flourished in the most important team in Europe. The 34-year-old striker had deserved many recognitions including the FIFA World Player of the Year prize which he won three times and also, he holds the record for most goals scored on World Cup tournaments at an yet unmatched 15.

Ronaldo began his professional career in Brazil with Cruzeiro when he was just 16 years old. He moved to the PSV Eindhoven in 1993 where he became the Dutch team’s best scorer, which was enough to end him a transfer to Barcelona in 1996.

Once on Spanish ground, Ronaldo became somewhat of an idol for the Catalan club where he scored 34 goals in 37 matches in the Spanish Liga, been a fundamental part of Barcelona winning the Copa del Rey tournament. The following year he would sign a deal with Inter Milan with whom the Brazilian star help Inter clinch the 1998 UEFA Cup.

Ronaldo played for Inter until the 2002 season when he was transferred to Real Madrid, where he was part of the squad that won the Spanish Liga in 2003 and 2007. He then joined AC Milan, but his stay with the Italian team was cut short due to his third knee injury.

With the Brazilian team Ronaldo was part of the team that won the USA 1994 World Cup, although he never played as he was just a teenager. In 2002 in the South Korea- Japan World Cup, Ronaldo was back at its highest level and helped the team win the World Cup after scoring two goals in the final game against Germany. That year he won his third player of the year award, after the ones he received in 1996 and 1997.

Ronaldo helped Brazil win the 1997 and 1999 Copa America as well as the 1997 Confederations Cup. He won a bronze medal with the Brazilian national team in the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. Ronaldo scored 67 goals in 104 games wearing the Brazilian national jersey.

Ronaldo moved to Corinthians in Brazil to finish off his career. A string of injuries during the past two years kept him from performing at a high level and he was not been taken kindly by part of the fans. Regardless of his less then ideal ending, Ronaldo has had an amazing career. His ability to comeback from three near career ending knee injuries is quite a reflection of his combative nature. He will be kindly remembered by many fans around the world.