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, National, 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 Benefice, a team Cristiano and his father followed as a young boy. However he eventually selected 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.
Ronaldo kept getting better and better with each season that passed and so confident was Sir Alex Ferguson in the young Portuguese's abilities that he began to build a team around him, even selling prolific terrace hero Ruud van Nistelrooy. It took a couple of years for the risk to come off but in 2006-07 United started to really reap the rewards; Ronaldo broke the 20-goal barrier for the first time, with 17 coming in the league -- including a majestic solo effort to secure a late victory at Fulham, hailed as one of the key results in the race for the title.
Strengths: Ronaldo will take on any defender with searing pace, and mesmerizing footwork to boot. His ability to beat a player and to find the goal from any angle in open play, and at set-pieces.
Weaknesses: On occasion, he goes to ground far too easily which attracts the ire of supporters and sometimes tries a trick when a simple pass would do.
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