ronaldo luiz nazario de lima was born on 22 september 1976 in a poor suburb of rio de janeiro. like most of his childhood friends, ronaldo began his soccer career playing barefoot in the streets of his neighborhood. at the age of 14, he joined soccer club and only two years later became the star of cruzeiro belo horizonte scoring a total of 58 goals in 60 matches and earning himself a reputation for his explosive pace and outstanding finishing skills. his goal-scoring record and unusual agility led him to be included in the brazilian world cup winning team the following year. after the world cup, many top european football clubs were trying to sign him. many people, including brazilian football legend pelé, referred to him as the most promising footballer of his generation.
since his transfer to dutch team psv eindhoven, ronaldo s biography is one of success after success. two copa américa s, a uefa cup, a dutch cup, a spanish league cup, and two awards as best player in the world, all in the space of two years, are some of ronaldo s impressive achievements. on arrival to inter-milan in 1997, ronaldo became the idol of the local fans who refer to him as "il venomous."
since the 98 world cup he has suffered two serious knee injuries that have severely limited his appearances. just when people began to wonder whether ronaldo would be able to continue with his football career, he proved to the world that he still could play. in the world cup held in korea and japan, the magical striker won the golden shoe award and tied pele s brazilian record for career world cup goals with 12. he helped brazil capture its fifth world cup championship on june 30 with a 2-0 win over germany. it was the third time that ronaldo has ever played in the world cup.
路易斯-罗纳尔多是在1976年9月22日出生在一个贫穷的郊区里约热内卢。像他的大多数童年朋友，罗纳尔多在街道上赤脚踢球，开始了他的足球生涯。14岁时，他加入了圣克里斯托旺足球俱乐部，仅仅两年后成为克鲁塞罗斯贝洛的明星。在60场比赛总进球58个，他的速度和出色的技巧为他自己赢得了声誉。他的进球纪录和不寻常的能力让他入选巴西国家队参加世界杯。世界杯结束之后的一年，许多欧洲顶级足球俱乐部试图签下他。许多人，包括巴西足球传奇人物贝利，称他是同代人中最有希望的球员。
自从转会到荷兰的埃因霍温队，罗纳尔多是一次次的胜利。两次是在哥斯达黎加，一次欧洲足协联盟杯冠军，一次荷兰杯冠军，西班牙联赛杯，两次获得世界最佳球员奖，在短短两年内，都是罗纳尔多实现了成功。在1997年国际米兰，罗纳尔多被当地球迷称为“奇才”。
98年世界杯之后，他经历了两次严重的膝伤已经严重限制了他的比赛。当人们开始怀疑罗纳尔多将能够继续他的足球生涯中，他向全世界证明他仍然可以发挥。在韩国和日本举行的世界杯上，这位神奇的前锋获得金靴奖，并列贝利创造的12世界杯进球纪录职业生涯。在六月三十日第五届世界杯中，他帮助巴西队以2:0战胜德国成为冠军。这是罗纳尔多第三次参加世界杯。
