RONALDO

Ronaldo's first professional club, which went in March 1993, at age 16, was from the city of Cruzeiro Belo Horizonte. He was offered the leadership of the team by a former representative of Brazil - Jairzinho, who also proposed another great team player - São Paulo FC, but their then-coach Tele Santana, has not used the occasion to employ junior. Jairzinho, bought the club, Ronaldo - Sao Christovao, for $ 10,000. In fact, his first club was FC Flamengo, with whom he had gone too far, and he was on the bus tickets. Cruzeiro paid for part of the rights to Ronaldo's $ 50,000. His first official match was played in the senior team May 25, 1993, when the coach Cruzeiro - Pinheiro - saving players from Brazil's Cup semi-final, let him play in an away match against Caldense Poços de Caldas (1-0 win) in the Minas Gerais State Championship.

By September the same year, Ronaldo appeared only in the junior team, or friendlies. Good performances in those games and move away from the team of one of the assailants opened the door to the first team. September 7, 1993 he made his debut in the championship against the Corinthians of Brazil (0-2 in Belo Horizonte), and has been a key player Cruzeiro. That same month, had the chance to fight for his first title seniorskiego - Recopa 1993 in the final against Sao Paulo FC. After two games, finished bezbramkowymi draws, there was a series of penalty kicks. Ronaldo has not used her, and Cruzeiro lost the title.

By the end of the Campeonato Brasileiro games still played 13 games and scored 12 goals in them, which gave him third place in the tournament's top scorers list [1]. Performance brought him fame at home against Bahia (7 November 1993), which Cruzeiro won 6-0, and 17-year-old Ronaldo then scored 5 goals. He became the sixth time player in the history of Campeonato Brasileiro which made the play (a record that was beaten in 1997 by Edmundo - 6 goals).

A few days after he wielded the first vocation was for the national team for the match with Germany, which, however, like a month later with Mexico, did not play. Impact on the appointment of Ronaldo to the team were also performances by the Supercopa 1993, where in four games scored 8 goals. Then gained the nickname "Matador Azul" (Blue Killer, from the color outfits Cruzeiro), and the word "matador", indicating a very effective striker, inscribed on a permanent basis for the vocabulary of Brazilian football commentators.

In 1994, in Minas Gerais State Championship (Campeonato Mineiro), continued its excellent performance. In 18 games in these competitions scored 22 goals, becoming the top scorer, and led by him, Cruzeiro won the championship title. He made the long-awaited debut in the national team, and it happened on March 23 in the match against Argentina, won by Brazil 2-0. Ronaldo then had to act as "Ronaldinho" because the team was already another Ronaldo. In the next match, against Iceland on May 4, scored his first goal as Brazil won 3-0. In the meantime, he took the Cruzeiro (which in April bought for a million dollars the rest of the rights to the player's) participation in the Copa Libertadores 1994, where he played 8 games and scored 2 goals. Cruzeiro knocked out in the eighth finals of Chile Unión Española, but Ronaldo's goal gave to remember Boca Juniors scored when the ball went through nearly half a pitch past the Argentine defense.

Good game at the club led to his appointment to the FIFA World Cup 1994, during which, however, did not play any match. After returning from World Cup Ronaldo starred in yet another game for Cruzeiro (socially v Botafogo, 7 August), in which he scored his last goal for the club. Before the match it was announced that PSV Eindhoven paid for him $ 6,000,000 and Ronaldo goes to Europe. It was the most expensive transfer from Brazilian club abroad.

Ronaldo Cruzeiro played in the colors of 44 meetings, and they scored 44 goals, becoming the top scorer in the tournament Campeonato Mineiro, who won with a team of Cruzeiro and Supercopa Libertadores, and the Viceroy of Campeonato Brasileiro.