According to coach Laszlo Boloni, 17-year-old Ronaldo is much better than his teammates of the same age.
Cristiano Ronaldo stands as one of the greatest footballers in history, boasting an extraordinary career adorned with 35 titles, including five Champions League trophies and a European Championship with Portugal.
It all began when coach László Bölöni, the visionary who first recognized Ronaldo’s prodigious talent, promoted the 17-year-old to Sporting Lisbon’s first team. Ronaldo’s meteoric rise started on a grand stage when he debuted against Inter Milan in the 2002 Champions League qualifiers.
Ronaldo played a total of 58 minutes in that match. This performance made a strong impression on Boloni. He admitted that Ronaldo was much better than his teammates of the same age. The Romanian strategist admitted that at that time he believed that CR7 could surpass two Portuguese legends, Luis Figo and Eusebio, in the future.
Coach Boloni was the one who promoted Ronaldo to the first team. Photo: IG
“I went to the youth team and asked Ronaldo to play in the first team because he was in good shape, very fast and had great technique,” Mr. Boloni shared with the Spanish media.
“I didn’t have to think twice about this decision. When I saw Ronaldo playing, I decided I couldn’t keep him in the youth team any longer. He plays and handles the game much more maturely than his real age.
In the dressing room, Ronaldo is a cheerful person but when he steps onto the pitch, you can’t joke with him. The maturity in Ronaldo’s playing style is far different from a kid who is only 16 or 17 years old.
At that time, I didn’t know if he could become one of the greatest players. But I knew that if he could avoid injuries, Ronaldo would be very good. In an interview 20 years ago, I said that he would surpass Figo and even the legendary Eusebio.”
Boloni, who will turn 71 this year, is still working as a coach. He is currently in the hot seat of Metz, a team playing in Ligue 1. Although he has not had great achievements as a coach, this strategist is remembered for his support for CR7. Initially, he placed Ronaldo as a striker but later changed to a winger. Thanks to that, Ronaldo was able to develop his full potential and caught the eye of MU in 2003.
“He is still young and weighs only about 60kg. Therefore, Ronaldo has difficulty keeping the ball against central defenders weighing about 100kg. If he plays on the wing, he will be more effective thanks to his speed and dribbling ability. I am happy that I decided to play Ronaldo on the wing even though at first, he had certain difficulties,” Mr. Boloni added.
Ronaldo took a photo with coach Boloni when he won his first Ballon d’Or in 2008. Photo: IG
According to this coach, Ronaldo also had to adjust his playing style a bit to be more successful. “I tried to tell him that dribbling past two people was enough, five people was too much. I explained to him to what extent dribbling was effective. With his intelligence, Ronaldo was on the right track,” he added.
Asked about who is better, Ronaldo or Messi, Mr. Boloni quickly named CR7. “I cannot help but be biased because Ronaldo has always been my favorite student. He accompanied me when we both worked at Sporting.”
After more than two decades of playing professional football, Ronaldo has perfected both physically and technically. At the age of 38, the Portuguese superstar can still play at the top level.
Last year, CR7 was the top scorer with 54 goals in all competitions. Ronaldo is expected to shine at Euro 2024, which could be the last Euro of his career.
