Sao Paulo, Jan 29 (EFE) .- Former footballer Ronaldo Nazário, two-time world champion with the Brazilian team, ironically affirmed this Friday that he would give the two little fingers of his hands to have the Copa Libertadores and the Champions League in his record .
“I would give my two little fingers here to have the two competitions,” Ronaldo confessed in an event promoted by Banco Santander on the occasion of the final of the Libertadores, which will face Santos and Palmeiras this Saturday at the Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro.
“I would have liked to win the Libertadores with Cruzeiro or Corinthians; and the Champions League with Real Madrid or Inter (from Milan),” he added.
Despite being considered one of the best scorers in history, ‘O Fenómeno’ never won the Champions League or the Libertadores, top club competitions in Europe and America, respectively.
The two-time Ballon d’Or won the defunct UEFA Cup (now Europa League) with Inter in 1998, but in the Champions League it did not go beyond the semifinals it reached in 2003, when Real Madrid was eliminated by Juventus from Turin.
Nor did he lift the Copa Libertadores with Cruzeiro, whom he left very young to head to Europe, or with Corinthians, in the final stretch of his glorious sports career.
“I participated in both competitions, they are two incredible tournaments. Few players won all the titles. I missed winning the Libertadores and the Champions League,” he lamented.
Ronaldo participated this Friday in an event organized by Banco Santander together with former players Marcos and Leo, on the eve of the final of the Copa Libertadores that Palmeiras and Santos will play, the third in history between Brazilian teams.
Asked about his favorite for the big decision on Saturday, the former Brazilian striker did not want to get wet and stated that “the possibilities are very open and more in the case of a one-game final.”
“I honestly do not risk naming a favorite for the game,” he stressed.
ANECDOTE WITH CARLO ANCELOTTI
Likewise, Ronaldo said that the nerves are “normal” on the eve of the final, but that he always managed to transform that pressure into an energy that served him to enter the game more motivated.
“But the most important thing is to study the game, which I did not do. They always gave CDs, a book with information and I did not see them,” revealed the former player.
It was then that he recalled an anecdote with Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti, when the two met at Milan between 2007 and 2008.
“On the day of the match, at breakfast, he (Ancelotti) asked me if I had seen the opponent’s CD and if I knew who I was going to face. And there, with my forms, I said to him: ‘Look, I didn’t see it, I don’t know who I’m going to face, but they do know who they are going to face, ‘”he said.
“But it is very important that one study the game. It is important to do so because all sectors of the field have their responsibility,” he remarked. EFE
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