Cristiano Ronaldo: A promise to keep

New Delhi: Portugal will be hoping to do a lot better than their fitrst round exit from the 2002 FIFA World Cup.

And leading their charge at Germany 2006 will be a 21-year-old striker called Cristiano Ronaldo.

Just like his more famous namesake from Brazil, Cristiano Ronaldo is a player who can score goals against any defence.

Sir Alex Fergusson was mesmerised by Ronaldo's attacking skills when the striker was at Sporting Lisbon and played a major role in the 3-1 defeat of Manchester United in the inauguration of the Alvalade XXI stadium.

After the match, United's players spoke enthusiastically of the young talent that they had just played against, saying they would rather have him in their team than play against him in the future.

That was enough for Ferguson to decide that he wanted the youngster for his team, who were in the market for a right-sided midfielder.

Ronaldo was signed for £12.24 million.

However, his move to Manchester United has not been without criticism as many find his style of play too flashy. He has played primarily as a winger for United and his ability to play on either wing makes him pretty versatile.

He made his international debut against Kazakhstan in August 2003. However, in Euro 2004 Ronaldo failed to live up to his potential as Portugal lost the final againt Greece.

But, for all his skill and pace, Ronaldo has proved far too inconsistent and the question still remains unanswered whether he is a capable successor to David Beckham and the famous No 7 shirt once worn by Old Trafford legends, Eric Cantona, George Best and Bobby Charlton.

Upon his arrival in Manchester, Ronaldo supposedly did not want the pressure of living up to expectations with this famed number, and so asked for the number he occupied at his his former club, the number 28. His request was turned down.

There is continual debate and critical scrutiny as to Cristiano Ronaldo's style of play.

Often described as 'individualistic', his style of play has been questioned by the media, commentators and team-mates.

It is easy to critiscise Ronaldo's play as he prefers to play a more free role, complete with a wide variety of tricks such as step-overs, than usually expected from a winger.

As such, a row between him and Ruud van Nistelrooy at the Carrington Road training ground recently has indeed intensified speculation about Ronaldo's future at the Manchester club.

Ronaldo's form has been improving lately both for his club and national team as he scored two goals in Portugal's 3-0 win over Saudi Arabia in a friendly match on March 1, 2006 and was also named the OPTA player of the month of February.

He has been rewarded for his excellent form in the second half of the season by being nominated for PFA Young Player of the Year.

Ronaldo will now be hoping to play a key part in Portugal's World Cup this summer, where he will link up with legends such as Figo, and other bright stars such as Joao Moutinho and Manuel Fernandes.