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Brand Sportcafe
04/27/2020, 13:47
Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the phenomena of football that has improved countless records. But his exceptional career might not have looked perfect were it not for former Sporting Lisbon mentor Laszlo Boloni, who currently leads Antwerp in Belgium.
It was the Romanian who gave way to Cristiano in the 2001/02 season, when the “lions” won the Portuguese title.
Bologni has released the young player in the final 30 minutes of the decisive Champions League match against Inter. Sporting lost 0-2 and missed the groups of the tournament, but tonight the first minutes registered a young man who would reach the top of the game.
Bologni recalled Cristiano’s first steps in professional football and told Marca:
“I went to see the youth training and immediately impressed this boy. He wanted to be sent to train with the first team. He was fast, very technical and had an enviable physique for his age.”
When I saw him in action, I easily decided that this boy would never train with the young man again, he remained in the first team.
He played and behaved like a man much older than a 17-year-old boy.
He liked to joke around with others in the locker room, but the field was amazing. There were no jokes or distractions. His level in all aspects, both on and off the field, was not uncommon for young men, as if he were looking at a man.
There was no way he knew he would be the best in history, but he knew that if this boy got away with it he would be a real star.
At that time I was asked about him in an interview. I remember saying that this boy would surely be smarter than Eusebio and Luis Figo. The journalists looked at me with a strange and ironic smile.
Comparing a child with these two who are considered gods in Portugal has caused me problems. However, Ronaldo tried to prove that he was right. “
Bologna not only gives way to Cristiano, but also changes his style of play.
He was released in adolescence as a forward, typical # 9. However, I adjusted it to the wing. He was very fast, and I didn’t see at the time how he would handle the big defenders, because he weighed 60 pounds. Dribbling and speed on the wing were much more efficient.
But this transformation was not easy.
Of course, he was not the perfect player we know today. He just wanted to dribble his opponents. I explained that sometimes changing one or two players is important, but five is too much.
He was a smart kid and he learned fast, leaving some bad habits in the past.
I am often asked if Messi or Ronaldo are better. Look, there is no other way to respond, Cristiano is my boy. I am happy that I had the opportunity to put him in the first team. Fans should be happy to see him at the highest level for so many years.
If there are no injuries, I am sure it will last a long time. He is strong, he works constantly and nobody can give him what God has given. “
