IT WAS perhaps the worst piece of career advice ever
given out by a school teacher: "Forget the ball, the ball will not
feed you."
The unwilling recipient of that poor piece of fortune telling was
none other than Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro, Manchester
United superstar, now on a reported £125,000 a week, and one of the
world's best footballers.
Ronaldo's own revelation comes in a new book to be launched by the
Reds star next week, entitled "Moments; The Way I Feel."
Not an autobiography, the book gives an insight into the Portuguese
ace's life and inner thoughts - and it sheds light on a remarkable
friendship which the multi-millionaire footballer struck up with a
seven-year-old victim of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.
An extract from the book, published on Ronaldo's agency website,
tells of how he has changed little from his school days on the
island of Madeira, when he got into trouble for being too fond of
his football.
He says of the fifth grade teacher who scolded him for his
attachment to his ball: "Today, I cannot stop myself from smiling
while recalling her concern whenever I came to class, sometimes
late, with the ball in one hand.
"`Ronaldo, forget the ball,' she would say over and over again.
`The ball will not feed you. Do not miss classes. School is what
really matters to you, not the ball, that will not bring you
anything in life.'"
Ronaldo is now one of the Premiership's richest players after
inspiring United to last season's Premiership title and lifting
both main Footballer of the Year awards.
"Life is full of surprises," continues Ronaldo. "At the time I
would listen to her without paying much attention. But today I
understand her and, although she keeps on saying to my mother and
my aunt that she will never make this type of comment again to a
student, I still think she did the right thing and that she must
keep on following her belief.
"As a teacher, she did her job, and it was a good piece of advice,
as we never know what tomorrow brings. But I never paid much
attention."
United teammates have revealed in the past how Ronaldo is rarely
seen without a ball.
Earlier this year Patrice Evra told how Ronaldo is rarely separated
from a ball."He eats with the ball, he watches TV with the ball. He
probably even sleeps with the ball," laughed the Reds defender, who
suggested that the only way to stop the flying winger was "to kill
him."
Ronaldo confesses his obsession: "I cannot help caressing the ball
or enjoying juggling. I used to do it when I played in the street,
I kept on doing it all throughout my training and I still do it
now. And I will keep on doing it.
"This is the real Cristiano Ronaldo. I believe that when people see
me on the pitch playing with the ball before the beginning of the
warm-up, they may be tempted to think that this is nothing but a
charm offensive or showing off.
"If this is what you think then you are wrong, because I do it
naturally. Before the matches, both for the club and the national
football team, I always have the same routine.
"As soon as the coach reveals the team, I immediately go to the
dressing room and start to juggle with the ball.
"We leave to warm-up and while waiting for the physical exercises
to start I keep on practising my skills. I take the ball, I pass it
under one foot, and then the other, I pick it up, bounce it, in
short, I amuse myself with the ball.
"I do it just for pleasure, but there is also another reason - to
put an end to any tension before the match.
"My team-mates, in both the club and the Portuguese national team,
can confirm this, as they know me very well.
"This is the way I have of motivating myself, of relieving the
pressure of the match, of calming down, of preoccupying
myself."
In the book extract, Ronaldo also talks about his visit to the
Indonesian city of Banda Aceh in 2005 six months after it bore the
brunt of the horrific tsunami which claimed the lives of 280,000
people. Still waking up from the pain, the population received me
with a smile and with extraordinary kindness," says Ronaldo."I
thanked God for somehow being able to help them, even though only
for a moment, to forget about the tragedy.
"I laughed with them, encouraged them, comforted them. And they
paid me back with their eyes sparkling with hope for the future and
they were determined to follow me to every location I was going to
visit, be it on foot, bus or motorcycle.
"It was also here that my second meeting took place with Martunis,
a seven-year-old Indonesian boy of great courage, who survived the
tsunami all by himself, for 19 days.
"We spent the day together in Banda Aceh and, once again, I was
touched by his innocent look, his curiosity, surprise, and
admiration, feelings that he was unable to hide.
"I cannot even imagine the suffering he went through during those
19 days when he wandered alone, with no news from his family,
having to rely on his survival instinct."
The United star also reveals how he gave the youngster a gift of a
mobile phone and his telephone number.
"We talked by gestures and with the help of a translator. But he is
so shy he barely said a word.
"He immediately asked for my number and we played with the phones
right there.
"Everything was new to him. I opened my computer and his eyes
opened wide, because it was the first time he had seen something of
that kind.
"He was filled with enthusiasm when I showed him some pictures of
me and some video games. His eyes were glittering with the sight of
so many novelties in such a short time. When the local population
saw that we were together, the delirium was immense. All because of
him.
"He was the real hero and he continues to be so. He really is an
example of courage. Martunis is a little boy that deserves to have
everything good in his life and I am sure he is going to be a very
happy child."
