Rapid-fire Q&A: Brazil icon Ronaldo on his best goals, teammates, more

Author:
Grant Wahl
Publish date:
Jan 20, 2015

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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — One of my favorite things to do when interviewing the best players in world soccer is to give them the rapid-fire quiz about their career. We’ve done it with plenty of players now (including Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Luis Suárez and Landon Donovan). Last week the player in the chair was Brazilian great Ronaldo, who’s a new part-owner of the NASL’s Fort Lauderdale Strikers.

SI: Your favorite goal of your career?

Ronaldo: The two goals in the 2002 final were for me the best feeling. It was beautiful.

SI: The best goal you ever scored in your career based on degree of difficulty?

Ronaldo: For Barcelona against Compostela in 1996 [smiles]. That was a very difficult goal. You don’t see goals like that every day.

SI: The most difficult defender you ever faced?

Ronaldo:Paolo Maldini. He was tough, tough, every time we played against each other. And I played against him many times. He’s a very good friend.

SI: Most difficult goalkeeper to score against?

Ronaldo:[Gianluigi] Buffon. He’s so big, he’s everywhere, easily the most difficult goalkeeper I played against.

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SI: Who was your best teammate?

Ronaldo: I have a lot of friends in football, in soccer. In America you call it soccer. I have to memorize this (laughs)! My best teammate was Roberto Carlos. I slept more in the same room with Roberto Carlos in training camps than with all the women I’ve been with in my life! I spent all my life with Roberto Carlos for 20 years: with the national team, with Real Madrid, with Corinthians.

SI: Best manager you’ve had?

Ronaldo:Mario Zagallo. He’s like a father. He’s so kind, so patient. He’s really good to teach you and help you. He’s that way with everyone.

ronaldo-zidane-real-madrid — Christophe Simone/AFP/Getty Images

SI: Best player you ever played against?

Ronaldo:Zinédine Zidane. I had the pleasure to train with him. People saw a lot of things in matches, but I saw him every day in training, in games. Every time it was amazing to watch him.

SI: The player you admired the most during your career?

Ronaldo: Zico was my idol. He was a very good player from Flamengo, and I was a Flamengo supporter from Rio de Janeiro. I was always looking for him and saying I want to be like him. He’s my big hero.

SI: Who’s the best No. 9 in the world today?

Ronaldo: I think it’s Ibrahimovic. He wears No. 10, but he plays like a No. 9. I’ve been last year a couple times to Paris to watch his matches. His movement! He’s very, very good, the best at the moment.

GALLERY: Rare photos of Ronaldo

Rare Photos of Brazil Soccer Great Ronaldo

Ronaldo chose to join PSV after the 1994 World Cup, for which he was selected despite being just 17, but did not play. Ronaldo scored 30 league goals in his first season in the Netherlands.

Ronaldo presents his FC Barcelona jersey to fellow Brazilian Alex Barros at the Montmelo circuit outside Barcelone in 1996. This was only the beginning of Ronaldo's interest in racing. Since 2005, Ronaldo has been the co-owner of A1 Team Brazil, a Brazilian Grand Prix racing team.

Ronaldo of Barcellona is escorted by Italian policemen out of Pisa's airport in 1997. Barcellona played Fiorentina of Florence in a Champion's League semifinal soccer match held in Florence.

Ronaldo cuddles up to former girlfriend Susana Werner in 1997.

1998-0511-Pope-John-Paul-II-Ronaldo-mother-Sonia-Nazario-De-Lima.jpg — Arturo Mari/AP

Ronaldo, accompanied by his mother, Sonia Nazario De Lima, presents Pope John Paul II with a Brazilian national team jersey and an Inter Milan jersey at the Vatican in 1998.

French goalkeeper Fabien Barthez charges into Ronaldo during the 1998 World Cup final between France and Brazil. France won 3-0.

Ronaldo stands dejected after the 1998 World Cup final with his silver medal.

Ronaldo gives the thumbs-up on a tour of the falls at Foz do Iguacu National Park, Brazil, in June 1999. The Brazilian national soccer team was training nearby in preparation for the Copa America tournament.

Rivaldo and Ronaldo lounge by the pool in Buenos Aires. The two played on the Brazil national team from 1994 to 2003 and the tandem scored 96 goals in 171 combined appearances.

Ronald and his then wife, former Brazilian soccer player Milen Domingues, make a toast during their wedding in 1999.

Ronaldo tries his hand at golf during the 2001 Pro-Am at the Brazilian Open in San Paolo.

F1 racer Michael Schumacher of Germany douses Ronaldo with champagne after a friendly match for UNICEF in Rio de Janeiro in 2001.

Ronaldo, sporting his famous triangle haircut, celebrates on the pitch after Brazil beat Germany 2-0 to win its fifth World Cup in 2002.

Ronaldo honors Brazil in the 2004 Olympics by carrying the Olympic Torch through Rio de Janeiro.

Ronaldo celebrates with Real Madrid teammate David Beckham after he scored a goal during their La Liga match against Levante at the Santiago Bernabeu in 2004.

Ronaldo, donning a sleek pinstripe suit, attends the GQ Awards 2004 in Madrid with his then girlfriend Daniela Cicarelli.

Real Madrid's Ronaldo and David Beckham chat during a lunch in 2004.

Brazilian soccer fans will forever remember Ronaldo (pictured here in 2005) for his fun-loving antics, dominant scoring ability, mesmerizing dribbling skills and leadership on two World Cup-winning teams.

Ronaldo joined AC Milan, the sixth of his seven career teams, in February 2007. Here, he poses with AC-Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani.

Ronaldo joined the Corinthians in March 2009. The stint was the last professional team of his soccer career. After the Corinthians were eliminated from the 2011 Copa Libertadores de America, Ronaldo announced his retirement while citing nagging injuries that have stalled his career.

Daniel Augusto Jr/Agencia Corinthians/Getty Images

Ronaldo presents Hugh Jackman with a Corinthians jersey embroidered with the name Wolverine and the number 'X' to promote Jackman's movie 'X-Men Origins: Wolverine.'

In a long standing soccer tradition, Ronaldo exchanges his Corinthian's jersey with Israel's president Shimon Peres' Israel national soccer team jersey.

Ronaldo joins Rogerio Flausino of Jota Quest, a Brazilian rock band, on stage at the Monange Dream Fashion Tour in Rio de Janeiro in April 2010.

Ronaldo leaves Nello's restaurant on the Upper East Side of New York City in 2011.

ChinaFotoPress/ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images

Michael Phelps, Natalis Chan and Ronaldo attend a press conference at the Mission Hills Golf Club in Haikou, China, in 2012.

Europa Press/Europa Press via Getty Images

Ronaldo Nazario de Lima and then girlfriend Paula Morais walk along the streets of Madrid in 2013.

Ronaldo attends the 2013 European Poker Tour in Barcelona.

Ronaldo waves from a float as he takes part in Gavioes da Fiel samba school performance during the second night of carnival parade at the Sambadrome in Sao Paulo, Brazil, in March 2014. Gavioes da Fiel's theme for the carnival was an homage to Ronaldo.