when i first mentioned a few weeks ago that i was going to write a post about manchester united's cristiano ronaldo, the man was playing at a level that nobody had ever been playing at before. and although his form has cooled a bit in the last few games (most notably, against barça in the first leg of the champions league semifinal), i still feel it is completely necessary to say something about the kid's game.and make no mistake, he's definitely still a kid... he turned 23 in february. and since most people don't hit their peak until they're in their late 20's, it's fair to say that he's only going to get better. that is a ridiculously scary statement if you're a supporter of any other team in english football. i mean, how much better could he possibly get?
as of this writing, he has 38 goals this season. THIRTY-EIGHT. he's not a forward, he's an f'ing winger. and it's not like he's scoring these goals in the same way, he's scored in just about every way imaginable: set pieces (some unbelievable ones at that), run of play, on his own, with his head, from corners, and the list goes on. he's scored against 17 of the the 19 premiership teams he's faced this year, as well as 4 of the 5 teams he's met in the champions league.
and those are just his goal stats. i wasn't able to find out how many assists he's had, but i'm guessing more than a few. and though at times he tends to showboat, his dribbling displays this year can be best described as "unbelievable."
now don't get me wrong, my opinions about ronaldo are purely performance and skill related. personally, i think the kid is a dick and needs to grow up some. but if i were half as skilled as he is at that age, i would have enormous attitude too... probably bigger.
with all of the rumors of his leaving manchester for madrid circulating (not to mention real outright stating they would love to sign him), i can't help but salivate over the world's finest player sporting the white shirt of my favorite team. and i have no doubt that he will... at some point. if man u can win the champions league this year or in the next few years, he'll have won everything there is to win in england. i'm guessing we've got about 3-4 years before he makes the switch.
either way, ronaldo is an unbelievable talent. he's defnitely the best player in the world right now (especially with the injury plagued year for kaka and messi). and, i'm praying that man u wins a champions league title here shortly so i can see him playing for my beloved real! if nothing else, i'm just happy i'm getting to see this with my own eyes.
EDIT 5/3/2008: he netted two more today. 40 goals. ridiculous.
