thumbnail Hello,

Record breaking Brazilian lauded upon retirement

By Fabrizio Ponciroli

Ronaldo is the "best ever" striker according to former Inter boss Luigi Simoni, who coached him at San Siro.

The Brazilian, 34, will announce his retirement on Monday, and Simoni has looked back on his time at Inter, in which 'Il Fenomeno' won the Uefa Cup in 1998 as well as notching up 100 appearances and 59 goals. Italia
spoke with Simoni for his exclusive memories on the time he enjoyed with Ronaldo, who won the World Cup twice with Brazil in 1994 and 2002.

"Ronaldo? Simple... for me he was the best ever. He was without a doubt the best player I have ever coached in my career," Simoni told

"He was a crazy talent. He had an extra gear compared to the rest and he used to do incredible things on the pitch.

"In training he was even stronger than what you could see in games. Sometimes I was left stunned by the things he did. For him this was normal... but only for him."

Simoni insists Ronaldo could have achieved so much more had his script not been hampered by constant injury.

"Unfortunately his career was conditioned by many nasty injuries.

"Maybe... maybe... he could have gone on to play a lot longer."


From the web