JAKARTA - Ronaldo Nazario underwent two different successes in La Liga, first with Barcelona and then Real Madrid. Those who played alongside Ronaldo in those years look back on what he gave Spanish football.
Current Celta Vigo coach Oscar Garcia played with the Brazilian in Barcelona under Sir Bobby Robson, he witnessed first-hand some memorable moments from the agile forward.
"I was lucky to be so close to him when he scored a number, I saw how fast he was moving, it was even difficult to catch him to celebrate a goal, he is still at the same pace," Garcia told MARCA.
"Since his first training session we can already see that he is a different player and he will help us a lot.
"You know that he will become a world star, but what caught my attention the most was his humility, he treated everyone the same and always smiled and joked, he gained (the team's) trust very quickly."
Garcia has seen many players come and go through doors at Barcelona over the years, but he values the Brazilian at a very high price.
"Until the arrival of Messi, I had not seen a player controlling the ball at that speed."
Former Barcelona player Oscar Garcia
"I just saw him and Messi do that. I'm lucky to have had so many great teammates, but without a doubt Ronaldo is in the top three."
Meanwhile Abelardo Fernandez, Espanyol's current coach, was in Barcelona when the South American goalscorer arrived in Catalunya. Abelardo indicated how high the hopes of the Los Blaugrana squad were after seeing Ronaldo's development at PSV Eindhoven.
"He is spectacular, the most powerful striker I have played with," said Abelardo.
"I only worked with him for one season at Barcelona, but I think it was his best season, he is only 20 years old."
"His goal against Compostela perfectly illustrates the quality of Ronaldo at that time, he has everything: strength, speed, possession and goal is always in his eye line."
After moving to Inter Milan, Ronaldo returned to La Liga to join Barca's rivals, Real Madrid. One of Ronaldo's most eye-catching appearances for Los Blancos occurred in the 2002/03 Champions League against Manchester United, when he scored a beautiful hat-trick which earned him a standing ovation from the Old Trafford crowd.
Tote was on the bench for the Spanish giants that evening and remembers it as an extraordinary match.
"At Old Trafford I was on the bench, almost sitting with the fans and you notice how much they respect him," added the player's full name Jorge Lopez Marco.
"He scored three goals and they (the Old Trafford crowd) applauded him, you can feel the fear and emptiness in the stadium when he gets the ball, that's only for real great players.
"Ronaldo is very kind to people, even to young people like me."
The English, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and French versions are automatically generated by the AI. So there may still be inaccuracies in translating, please always see Indonesian as our main language. (system supported by DigitalSiber.id)
