Cristiano Ronaldo's free-kick technique has been revealed: he is so obsessed with learning to put effect on the ball that he even practises it playing table-tennis.
Leonel Pontes, who was youth coach at Ronaldo's former club Sporting Lisbon, recalls: "He'd say, 'look boss, if you hit it this way with the bat, the ball gains this effect. This is how to do it'.
"There was no beating him at table tennis, even when he was 13 or 14. He was the same at football. He was able to say that if you touch the ball in a certain way, it would gain that direction.
"He always wanted to be the best, the strongest, the one who scored the most goals, did the best dribbles. He was terrible for challenges."
According to Pontes, Ronaldo, 23, was disappointed to be named only third best footballer in the world in Fifa's awards, but that will spur him on: "From the moment he was named third, it's a challenge. Ambitious people need challenges. At the age of 11 we saw that he had potential. His own team-mates, when he arrived, noticed the difference. They said that Cristiano played a lot. When he was a youth player the senior players asked if he could train with them.
"He's reached an unbelievable level and it's extraordinary what he's done so far. Most players who have achieved stardom did so later. For example, Luis Figo's performances grew, he reached his best level at the age of 25/26, received the Balon D'or at the age of 28 and was the best in the world at 29."
"There was no beating him at table tennis, even when he was 13 or 14. He was the same at football. He was able to say that if you touch the ball in a certain way, it would gain that direction.
"He always wanted to be the best, the strongest, the one who scored the most goals, did the best dribbles. He was terrible for challenges."
According to Pontes, Ronaldo, 23, was disappointed to be named only third best footballer in the world in Fifa's awards, but that will spur him on: "From the moment he was named third, it's a challenge. Ambitious people need challenges. At the age of 11 we saw that he had potential. His own team-mates, when he arrived, noticed the difference. They said that Cristiano played a lot. When he was a youth player the senior players asked if he could train with them.
"He's reached an unbelievable level and it's extraordinary what he's done so far. Most players who have achieved stardom did so later. For example, Luis Figo's performances grew, he reached his best level at the age of 25/26, received the Balon D'or at the age of 28 and was the best in the world at 29."
* Ferguson tells his players to show referees respect
He said: "I only think about maintaining the consistency of my performances."
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