Christiano Ronaldo.. Player Of The Year 2008
The awards were decided by votes from a panel of 100 journalists and pundits who chose their top 10 players of the year, with points awarded to each selection. Details of how each panel member voted can be found here.
Christiano Ronaldo.. Player of the year 2008
Real Madrid and Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo has said 2016 has been his best year. But do his stats and achievements reflect that? We look at how CR7 has performed since he claimed his first Ballon d'Or in 2008.
On arrival at the Bernabeu, he became the first player to score in each of his first four games for Los Blancos, but injuries and some issues settling in Spain meant that he finished 2009 with *just* 30 goals in 49 games across all competitions. And he was *just* second in the year's Ballon d'Or vote behind Messi.
This has also been Ronaldo's best scoring year for Portugal -- as he netted 13 times in 13 games for his country. But across La Liga and the Champions League, this has been his lowest scoring year since 2008. Injury has been a factor in this -- his 38 La Liga and UCL goals have come in just 41 club games -- but perhaps more worrying as he nears 32 years of age is that he is also getting the lowest tally for chances per game (1.4).
Manchester United FC and Portugal winger Cristiano Ronaldo has won the 2008 Ballon d'Or, becoming the third Portuguese player to claim the the coveted prize following the great Eusébio in 1965 and Luís Figo in 2000.
Manchester United FC and Portugal winger Cristiano Ronaldo has won the 2008 Ballon d'Or, the coveted prize awarded by France Football for the European Player of the Year.'Dream'Ronaldo topped the poll of 96 journalists worldwide organised by the French magazine and becomes the third Portuguese player to win the award following Eusébio in 1965 and Luís Figo in 2000. "I dreamt of this when I was younger," the former Sporting Clube de Portugal player said at Sunday's ceremony in Paris. "It's a great day for me and my family. The Ballon d'or has been won by two great Portuguese players and for me to be part of that history is a great feeling. It's incredible considering I only started my career a few years ago. I must thank all the people who voted for me and especially my team-mates who passed the ball to me to allow me to be the best."
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro was born on February 5, 1985, in Madeira, Portugal to Maria Dolores dos Santos Aveiro and José Diniz Aveiro. Cristiano has an elder brother, Hugo and two elder sisters, Elma and Liliana Cátia. His name was inspired by the former US-president, Ronald Reagan, whom his father was influenced by.The island of Madeira was also the place where Cristiano first learned to master his skills as a footballer. He spent his early years playing for his local team, Nacional, and by the time he turned 12 years old, he already made his name for himself as one of Madeira's top footballers . It wasn't long before he started to catch the attention of other big Portuguese clubs. Among Sporting was Benfica, a team Cristiano and his father followed as a young boy. However he eventually chose to play for Sporting which was a team his mother loved and followed as she was growing up, to play with the likes of Figo was the dream for her son.He was then spotted by former Liverpool manager, Gerard Houllier at the age of sixteen but Liverpool had no intentions to sign him at that time because they thought he was too young and he needed more time to develop his skills. However, in the summer of 2003, when Sporting played against Manchester United and defeated them, Cristiano caught the attention of Manchester United manager, Sir Alex Ferguson.Ronaldo became Manchester United's first-ever Portuguese player. Initially, he requested for the number 28 as his jersey number because he didn't feel that he could live up to the pressure of previous players such as George Best and David Beckham who wore the number 7 jersey.The year 2006 to 2008 proved to be a rather controversial year for the star. In the 2006 World Cup, Cristiano faced accusations regarding his sportsmanship. In a quarter-final match against England, he was heavily criticized for sending of his club team mate, Wayne Rooney who was playing for the England team. It wasn't too long until fans started accepting Cristiano again. In 2007, he won PFA Young Player of the Year, PFA Player of the Year, PFA Fans' Player of the Year, Portuguese Footballer of the Year, FWA Footballer of the Year, Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year and Manchester United's Players' Player of the Year. The year 2008 also saw him taking back the PFA Player Of The Year Award for the second time running. That same year, Ronaldo also had to deal with controversies regarding his club transfer to Spanish giants, Real Madrid. He eventually chose to stay with Manchester United and stressed to the public that he had no intentions of leaving the club.Cristiano now lives with his cousin, Nuno and his brother in law Ze. When he is not on the field, he is a very family oriented person. Growing up, when he was about to choose football as his career, he said that it was very difficult for him as that would mean lesser time with his family, especially his mother, whom he says play a major role in his life.During his free time, Cristiano enjoys cooking. He mentioned in an interview that he usually cooks before he leaves for his soccer practice. Because he is constantly training, Cristiano rarely has time to watch TV. If he does get the time to watch, he says he loves watching one of the local Portuguese game show which is mostly about trivia questions. Cristiano is an avid learner and he takes interest in learning new things everyday. Among Cristiano's biggest pet peeves are smoking, people who don't make an effort and dishonesty.When the tsunami hit South East Asia, Cristiano flew to Indonesia to help those in need. He auctioned off a few stuff to help raise funds for charity. He hopes to get involved in more charity projects in the future because he believes his star status will help him reach out to others for help.
Midfielder Ronaldo is regarded as one of the most exciting talents of the modern game, and the 22-year-old is a permanent fixture in the Portuguese national squad. His incredible ball control and trademark skills have seen him receive countless awards, including both the PFA's 2007 Player and Young Player of the Year awards. As part of the deal, Cristiano Ronaldo will appear on the packaging and point-of-sale materials for Konami's PAL versions of PES 2008, alongside specially selected local talent, details of which will be released at a later date.
The Ronaldo deal comes as Konami gears up for the launch of PES 2008 this Autumn. Due for release for PLAYSTATION3, Xbox 360, PC-DVD, PlayStation2, PSP (PlayStationPortable) and Nintendo DS, the new game boasts the revolutionary Teamvision AI system, a proprietary element that actively monitors the player's onscreen movements and adapts accordingly, forcing the player to consider their own strategic play more carefully. Other new additions include amazing attention to aesthetic detail as faces contort and shirts crease during a match, extensive Edit modes in all Next Generation versions, and closer control than ever before.
"Cristiano Ronaldo is the most exciting talent in modern football," commented Jon Murphy, Pro Evolution Soccer Team Leader for Konami Digital Entertainment GmbH. "It is fitting that a player with his incredible skill and poise is to join forces with a game that can thrill and challenge as much as the real thing. His obvious enthusiasm for PES 2008 will be channeled into the game, and we look forward to working with Cristiano in the coming months."
It was that date 13 years ago that the five-time Ballon d'Or winner took him a different prestigious award in the form of the FIFA World Player of the Year gong, becoming the first Premier League player to ever take home the crown in the process.
Real Madrid signed Alipio as a 16-year-old in 2008 from Portuguese club Rio Ave. The now 28-year-old failed to make a single first-team appearance and currently plays for Brazilian lower league club Uberlandia.
One of the greatest footballers to have ever graced the world of football, Cristiano Ronaldo spent his formative years at Manchester United and became the player he is today under the tutelage of legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson.
In December 2008, Cristiano Ronaldo won the Ballon d'Or and the FIFA World Player of the Year awards for the first time in his career. He had ended on the podium in the previous year along with winner Kaka and Lionel Messi.
Ronaldo began his professional career with Sporting CP at age 17 in 2002, and signed for Manchester United a year later. He won the World Cup in his first season, and then won three back-to-back Premier League titles: in 2006-07, 2007-08, and 2008-09. In 2007-08, Ronaldo, helped United win the UEFA Champions League. In 2008-09, he won his first FIFA Club World Cup in December 2008, and he also won his first Ballon d'Or. At one point Ronaldo was the most expensive professional footballer of all time, after moving from Manchester United to Real Madrid for approximately 80 m in July 2009.
He won his first trophy with Real Madrid in 2011, the 2010-11 Copa del Rey. In the next season, he won his first La Liga title with the club, the 2011-12 La Liga. In the 2012-13 season he won the Supercopa de España. In the next season, the 2013-14 season, he won his second Ballon d'Or. Then he won the Copa del Rey, and he also won his second Champions League with a record 17 goals. The following year, Ronaldo won the Ballon d'Or again, along with his second FIFA Club World Cup in December 2014. In 2016, Ronaldo won his third Champions League, and scored the winning penalty in the final against Atlético Madrid. He won his fourth Ballon d'or the next season, his second La Liga title for the first time in five years, another Champions League, and his second Club World Cup. Ronaldo's last season with Real Madrid was the 2017-18 season, where he won his fifth Ballon d'Or in 2017, and also won his fifth Champions League and scored two goals in the final against Juventus. With his third consecutive Champions League, he became the first player to win the UEFA Champions League five times.[14] He would later go on to transfer to Juventus in July 2018. Ronaldo left the club by holding the record for being the top goal scorer in Real Madrid's history, and remaining as the only player in La Liga's history to score 30 or more goals in six consecutive seasons.[15]