Who would have been the better signing?
It's the summer of 2003 and we'd just won our eighth Premiership title. David Beckham had left under a cloud and gone to the traveling circus that is Real Madrid and we needed someone to step in and replace him. Cue the departure of Seba Veron, a transfer that has baffled some reds over the years (due to his excellent pre-season form). Combine this with the entrance of Djemba-Djemba, Kleberson and David Bellion, that summers transfer dealings did lead to a few raised eyebrows.
Earlier in the summer we had been piped to the transfer of the "overrated" Ronaldinho by Barcelona, big deal as we smashed them in a pre-season friendly in the states. However, what actually happened in that Lyon hotel. Many reports that I have read creates an arrogant cloud around Manchester United. An arrogance that didn't erupt in past transfers but only for the 23 year old Ronaldinho apparently. Manchester United went in, made a bid (which was accepted) and then tried to negotiate a lower fee, believing that no-one else could match United's offer. As usual in these situations we are made to feel like we have egg on our face and indeed we did. Barcelona got the excellent Brazilian and United where left with the prospect of Kleberson, the man who won the world cup, to carry us forward
Fast forward one month and enter the man himself, Cristiano Ronaldo. I had read many reports about the lad and had seen him play against England in an under-21's match and knew how much talent the lad had. I ignored the quite un-intelligent comparisons with Ronaldo of Brazil and was looking forward to the home game against Bolton (which I had tickets for). Cristiano Ronaldo was immense as he made his debut facing the stretford end wearing that number seven shirt. Steps overs combined with drag backs where all the rage. We where 1-0 up when he came on and won the match 4-0. That was the impact of the lad on his debut. He is the most talented footballer I have ever seen and still believe that today.
Ronaldo has had some tricky moments, especially in a country that promotes good honest hard tackling rather than elegant grace and style on a pitch. The "One trick pony" remark was used nearly every day to describe the boy wonder which to me didn't truly reflect what was going on the pitch. Ronaldo has so much skill it is unbelievable and to combine this with pace, acceleration and confidence he has established himself as one of the worlds best players. All he needs to do now (which he has been brilliant this season) is to make better decisions in the final third, something that let him down in his first three seasons. He would shoot when he should pass, dribble when he should cross and care more about humiliating an opponent than playing for the team.
So who would have been a better signing for us? I believe Cristiano Ronaldo will go on to be one of the greatest players this club has ever seen. I also believe he can surpass the magical Ronaldinho, if he works on his decision making. I was disappointed when we didn't sign Ronaldinho and those three seasons since then he has lit up the Nou Camp, and I’m very sure he would have done the same at Old Trafford.
To conclude the Cristiano Ronaldo vs. Ronaldinho debate I would like to state that both players play the game in the way it is meant to be played. Fun, boisterous and entertaining are some of the characteristics that could be used to describe the two. Ronaldinho would have played a major part that season (2007/08) and maybe could have helped us to challenge Arsenal that year rather than gambling on a young star with bags of potential. But if we look at the bigger picture, Ronaldinho is now 26 and going through a poor nine months, whereas Cristiano Ronaldo is 23 and playing the best football of his career and looks to be getting even better. I can't help but think what our team would have been like if we'd of signed the excellent Ronaldinho, but I wouldn't swap Cristiano Ronaldo for anybody at this moment in time.
Cristiano Ronaldo v.s Ronaldinho Video links
http://mpejal.myminicity.com/
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