In our countdown of the Top 20 Inter players in the last 20 years, we recognise the greatest striker in history Ronaldo in 2nd spot.
Ronaldo was one of a kind, and we will never see another like him. For me, he was the reason I followed Inter and I’m sure many other fans would say the same.
Let’s look a bit further at Ronaldo’s Inter career.
World record fee –
Ronaldo was a Barcelona player and apparently would’ve stayed that way if not for some stupidity from his Spanish employers. There was an issue with the contract amount, so Inter swopped in and paid the buyout clause for Ronaldo.
Breaking the world record transfer fee at the time, Inter broke the bank and it was a decision which was definitely the correct one.
In Ronaldo’s first season with the club, he scored a total of 34 goals in 47 appearances in all competitions. This included 6 goals in his first 7 appearances which was a record for a new Inter player debuting with the club.
In this season, Inter won the UEFA Cup with Ronaldo playing a massive part in this. Especially in the semi-final legs and final as he scored 4 goals in the last 3 games. Ronaldo also went on to win Serie A Footballer of the Year and UEFA Club Footballer of the Year.
A phenomenal debut season and the perfect way to start with his new club.
Greatest ever –
As mentioned earlier, Ronaldo is the greatest striker to ever play the game. Growing up watching football, there was no one more exciting to watch in the world of football, and I’m sure opposing teams would’ve been absolutely terrified seeing Ronaldo on the pitch.
If you were born in the late 80’s or early 90’s and you’re an Inter fan today, then most likely Ronaldo is the reason for that. Those step overs were unlike any other player we had seen before, and all the kids in training would try to emulate these moves.
I’m sure that if Ronaldo didn’t experience any injuries during his career, he would’ve scored more goals than any other player to play football. Unfortunately his Inter career was cut short as he missed close to his last two seasons with the club.
Even with all the time off the field, Ronaldo finished his Serie A career with Inter scoring 49 goals in 68 matches. A goal to match ration unlike any we have ever seen before.
Ronaldo leaves a special legacy at Inter. One we will remember for the rest of our lives. He came to Inter as a young kid, and we can be happy that we saw Ronaldo take his game to the next level while playing at Inter.
In 2018, Ronaldo was inducted into Inter’s Hall of Fame. His legacy goes on as he will be cherished for years to come.
The famous number 9 –
When Ronaldo signed for Inter from Barcelona, he took the vacant number 10. As we know, Zamorano was already wearing the number 9, so Ronaldo didn’t cause any issues at the time.
The following season, Inter would sign Roberto Baggio and this is where the problems began. Baggio wanted the number 10 jersey, and Ronaldo was forced to give this up. Since Ronaldo was the wonderkid for Inter, he needed a number to represent his importance to the team.
Ronaldo took Zamorano’s number 9 and it seemed the Chilean was pretty upset with this happening. Zamorano decided to wear the famous 1+8 and that is the story comes from.
In that season, Ronaldo would miss a fair chunk of the season with niggling injuries. Even with these problems, he would still notch up 14 goals from 19 appearances. Although he would struggle in the Champions League only managing 1 goal from 6 matches as inter bombed out in the quarter finals.
Who’s next?
We will be visiting number 1 next on our countdown. Who would you like to see in that number 1 spot for the Top 20 Inter players in the past 20 years? I can be sure that it’s a player everyone still loves and adores.
As always, Forza Inter!
