RONALDO

Former Barcelona and Real Madrid striker Ronaldo has said that the national team should put a lot of focus into the prospect of winning gold at the Olympics this time around. The London Olympics 2012 will give the Brazilian football team a great opportunity to finally ensure that they get the full complement of medals. Currently, one of the main things lacking within the Brazilian football team has been the Olympics gold medal. Argentina recently claimed the title in the last Olympics and Ronaldo reckons that it is the time of the Brazilians now.

Ronaldo was part of the Brazilian football team that won the Olympic bronze medal back in 1996. He reckons that it was one of the best opportunities for the nation to finally break the hoo doo of not having an Olympic gold medal. However, they managed to lose the match in the final 10 minutes after suffering a serious dip in concentration. Ronaldo has won every major trophy internationally with Brazil including two World Cup titles. He is regarded as one of the best players of the last century. The Olympics will be held in London this time around, with most of focus on Santos sensation Neymar.

“I think that the Olympics are very important throughout the world for all athletes. Football is such a big passion worldwide that the World Cup is always going to be the most wanted trophy but the Olympics is such a good chance for the under-23 players, to promote these talents on the world scene. There is a lot of pressure [on Brazil] – it is the only title the Brazil team have not won so I think they are really motivated to win this and bring the title home,” said Ronaldo on the occasion of the draw for the football competition.

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Brazilian legend Ronaldo is regarded as one of the greatest strikers in the world. The striker recently announced his retirement from the game, and he has been part of the committee looking after the preparations for the 2014 FIFA World Cup back in Brazil.

The London Olympics 2012 will be seeing the Team GB for the first time. A number of high-profile names have been linked with an inclusion into the team under the category whereby three of the over-23 age players can take part in the competition. It is expected that Manchester United winger Ryan Giggs is likely to be part of the Team GB, while former Barcelona striker Ronaldo has called for the inclusion of David Beckham in the squad.

The 35-year-old striker was in London for making the draw for the football competition at the London Olympics 2012. He said that Team GB manager Stuart Pearce should certainly look at the possibility of including David Beckham in the team. The former Manchester United, Real Madrid, and AC Milan midfielder has the current record for the most number of international appearances for England. However, he is yet to win a major trophy with England. Ronaldo reckons that a player of his stature will be of a massive influence for Team GB at the Olympics.

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Former Real Madrid and Barcelona striker Ronaldo has said that the FIFA general secretary Valcke’s comments regarding the poor preparation by Brazil for the 2014 FIFA World Cup are extremely true. Ronaldo is regarded as one of the greatest players for Brazil, and he recently announced his retirement from the game.

However, he has been part of the organising committee for the Brazil 2014 FIFA World Cup due to his legendary status. Brazil were unanimously awarded the rights to host this major tournament and it seems that they are not taking it seriously. Preparations have been going at a snail’s pace, which has prompted a comment from FIFA general secretary Valcke.

The controversial comment has drawn a lot of criticism from Brazil, who decided to abandon FIFA general secretary Valcke’s participation in the 2014 FIFA World Cup. However, following Valcke’s apology recently the Brazilian Football Federation decided to accept it. Now, Ronaldo has created another storm by saying that the comments made by Valcke are extremely true due to the fact that Brazil do need to step up their efforts in order to host a successful World Cup. The Brazilian government have begun construction work on the stadiums only recently, while the public transportation is yet to be developed on a major scale.

“Valcke has already apologised to the Brazilian people. The way he made his criticisms was regrettable, but that is not to say that he wasn’t right. Brazil is late in infrastructure work, there are a lot of things which are behind schedule,” Ronaldo told the Bandeirantes TV in a interview held in Sao Paulo. Even though Brazil have said that they have been pumping close to around £ 8 billion into the project to develop all the major infrastructure at the host cities, work has been progressing extremely slowly.

Former Real Madrid and Barcelona great Ronaldo has said that he is not expecting any changes to be made in the post of the President of the Brazilian football Federation.

The current President of the Brazilian football Federation – Ricardo Teixeira – has been at his post for 23 years now and is widely expected to be replaced by a new man after he has been hit with many corruption charges. Even though the most powerful man in football in Brazil has denied the charges, many expect him to step down from the post. However, Brazilian football icon Ronaldo differs from this opinion, as he believes that Ricardo Teixeira will continue as the president of the Brazilian football Federation.

Ricardo Teixeira is also involved in the organising committee for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. He recently came out with the criticism of the FIFA general secretary, who made ill-advised comments about the Brazilian government and the Brazilian football Federation. Brazil are set to host this World Cup in 2014, but according to FIFA, they are not prepared to do so. Ricardo Teixeira has come out with the statement saying that Brazil are pumping billions and billions of dollars into the development of stadium and transport infrastructure.

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Brazilian striker sensation Neymar has said that former Barcelona and Real Madrid player Ronaldo is his idol. Ronaldo represented the likes of PSV, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Inter Milan, and AC Milan during his illustrious career.

Even though Ronaldo has not won the Champions League with any of the aforementioned clubs, he has lifted every other major trophy there is to win in the world football including many World Cup titles. Now, Brazilian sensation Neymar is regarded as the next big thing to hail from Brazil. The striker, who is currently playing for Brazilian club Santos, is being linked with clubs across Europe for around £ 45 million worth transfer.

It is not surprising to know that Neymar has named Ronaldo as his idol. The Brazilian striker sensation has retired from football, but is continuing to do various other ambassador roles. His most prominent role right now is the best of the upcoming 2014 World Cup to be held in Brazil. Neymar recently turned 20 years of age. He is expected to make his much anticipated move to a big European club in the summer. It is thought that his club Santos would be willing to make negotiations for the player is the bid is around £ 40 million.

“I think that the Neymar matter is closed and locked in a safe. He has decided his future and no one knows where he will go. Unfortunately, he will not come to us. What I can say is that there is a lot of talent in Brazil and it is positive that these young players are staying in their country,” Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas told reporters regarding the future of Santo striker Neymar at the recent Laureus World Sports Awards ceremony. Chelsea are one of the clubs interested in signing the player.

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Former Barcelona and Real Madrid striker Ronaldo has said that Neymar can be much better than Messi in the future. Neymar has been one of the hottest properties in world football after coming through the ranks at Brazilian club Santos.

Brazilian legend Pele has been talking up the youngster a lot in recent seasons. Neymar has been linked with moves to the likes of Real Madrid, Chelsea, and Barcelona. However, he had to face a stark reality recently when he was totally outplayed by the Barcelona team in the Club World Cup final. Lionel Messi easily to the plaudits in the match, which was expected to be the contest between Lionel Messi and Neymar.

Still, former Brazilian striker Ronaldo has said that Neymar has the capability to upstage even the great Lionel Messi, who has just picked up this third Ballon d’Or award. It is expected that Neymar will be making a move to Europe in the summer transfer window to either Real Madrid or Barcelona. Chelsea were the first club to express their interest in signing the Brazilian, but it looks like they will be missing out on the highly rated youngster. Even though he is only 19 years old, Neymar is expected to command a transfer fee of up to £ 45 million.

“Neymar cannot just reach Messi, he can be better. He has too much talent to stay only in Brazil. He is a talent that we have to export and allow him to dominate the world, to own it playing the game that he does. The prestige and competition in European football is massive,” Ronaldo said. Neymar initially favoured Real Madrid, but after playing against Barcelona, his future seems to lie at the Camp Nou, where former Brazilian striker Ronaldo is a massive legend.

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