Think about this, how many of you remember 26 December 2004? The entire world was swept off its feet due to the impact it had on humanity. A 19-year-old star footballer signed by Manchester united was watching TV as well. A vivid image struck his mind. He saw a young boy who lost everything in the Tsunami wearing a Portugal Number T-shirt bearing the name of Cristiano. This jersey was probably the only belonging he had at that time. The footballer made sure that he took charge of taking care of the boy, by locating him and supporting him. This is CR7.
What is so special about CR7?
CR7 is a brand. CR7 is known for its huge fan following. CR7 is about being human, a great one at that. CR7 is a legend. CR7 is one of the greatest footballers we’ve ever known. Yes. CR7 – stands for “Cristiano Ronaldo Dos Santos Aver” who popularised the No.7 better than David Beckham or George Best or Captain Cool Mahendra Singh Dhoni of India.
People love to hate celebrities. Media yearns for those TRP-boosting news articles about celebrities – especially when things go bad about them. Be it Gossip, a news item about a bad thing, a flop, or not an acceptable act by the celebrity. CR7 Faced a lot of such issues and addressed them well.
Can you think of a few celebrities who came up from extremes of poverty to humble, genuine, bighearted, philanthropic human being cherished all over the world? I am sure you can name a lot. CR7 is one of them and he is unique.
Cristiano was born to a poor family as a fifth child. He lived in an ambience where cleanliness is next to godliness was difficult to put in place in literal terms. Throughout his childhood, Ronaldo faced struggles. His father was an alcoholic doing odd jobs and his mother was a gardener trying to make the ends meet. He was an average student in studies but was a brilliant player when it came to football. Once he threw a chair in his class towards his teacher. When asked for a reason, he replied – “He was making comments about my status, appearance etc”.
Ronaldo got a lot of sagacious advice from his dad spite being from a poor background and alcoholism. This shaped how he behaved as a mature adult. Ronaldo’s genius was identified early on with the way he showcased his footballing skills – akin to how a number 10 showcased his cricketing skills in the narrow lanes of Mumbai. Once at the club level, Ronaldo underwent bullying from his co-players and opponents. Being a strong person (mentally, and physically) he overcame all these issues easily. He is known as a crybaby by some. Yet he strives for excellence in everything he does and disappointment makes him cry. Any issues with that?
It is a rough road that leads to the heights of greatness. – Lucius SenecaBy 17, he became a brilliant player for Sporting Lisbon, a prominent face for Portugal in 2004 and led the team from the front almost close to a Euro cup. He was then picked up by the great Sir Alex Ferguson for Manchester United where he honed his skills to become what he is today. He has scored well over 400 goals, became the highest goal scorer ever for Portugal, and won all types of coveted awards for footballers there. He is regarded as one of the greatest, if not the greatest of all time. His rivalry with Messi is anything but brilliant. Football fans have been given a big treat via the El-Classico matches in La Liga.
He can have a reach of up to 3.08 M to score a header at 12 M away from a goalpost. He can dribble past 11 players across the field to score a goal. There isn’t anything he can’t do. A new starter wanted to impress the fans and coach of Real Madrid by being 2 hours ahead of a training session, to take the limelight off CR7. When he arrived at the stadium, he was in for a surprise. Ronaldo was already practising for a while.
It is not the footballing skills that make him great but his character off the field that makes him a legend.
Seeing his dad suffer from alcoholism, Ronaldo made a point not to drink or smoke and even won a lawsuit – when a tabloid wrongly posted an article
His stories made me feel goosebumps !!!
I am damn sure that you were also inspired after reading this article
