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Cristiano Ronaldo’s Momentsallows you a glimpse of what goes on in the minds of one of the world’s greatest footballers, if not the greatest.

This book was not meant to be an autobiography, and it should not be since Ronaldo is only 23 years old, a tad too young for writing autobiography. It however detailed Ronaldo’s rise to success, the kind of routines he adopted that made him such a special player, how he bounced back from World Cup 2006 and finally about his relationships with his family.

Ronaldo’s Routines

All great athletes have a set of routines. Tiger Woods’ routines before a game, will include spending hours going through videotapes of his past games, studying how to approach every single hole. Michael Jordan’s routines before a game would always see him wear his University of North Carolina shorts and do shoot around before the game. He said this allowed him to clear out his thoughts and he would often visualize how he would play once the game starts.

Ronaldo’s rise to success was not coincidence; he engineered it. In Moments, he reveals his set of routines that has enabled him to achieve success in his young footballing career. For example, he likes to arrive early at training, and he loves to play with the ball especially just before a game. Many would think he loves to show off his dribbling, but it is actually his routine for staying calm and focused by playing the ball. To say anything more would be risking copyright infringements, I strongly urged you to get Moments and find out more about how his routines enabled him to rise to success.

World Cup 2006 Aftermath

We have often come to realized that its not the events that made people. It is always the response. After World Cup 2006, Cristiano Ronaldo was painted a villain by the English media. It is not hard to fathom why when his infamous wink after Rooney’s sending off was replayed over and over again on Youtube and other famous media channels.

Ronaldo initial response was to quit Manchester United. Upon the coaxing of Sir Alex, he stayed and proved himself. Everyday he dedicated himself to playing better, and better. And without him knowing, he had suddenly transformed from a player known for diving and ball trickery, to a world class player capable of dribbling while sprinting and scoring. He also worked on his freekicks, and need we say more about his famous “The Rocket” freekicks?

Sometimes being focused can make you so good that you do not even notice it.

Cristiano Ronaldo loves his family

What is perhaps most touching to me when I read the book was that Cristiano Ronaldo is really a down to earth man who loves his family.

Cristiano Ronaldo spoke of his mother fondly, and how she was the one who kept him grounded. He is probably one of the few footballers who showed he is still very close to his mother. Many do not reveal this, probably because they value their privacy or they are not on good terms with their mums.

Passing of Ronaldo senior

Let’s just say that reading this section makes me tear. Without giving too much away, here’s an extraction of what you can find in Moments.

Ronaldo Senior was always his precocious son’s number 1 fan. Whenever his son played well, he would proudly tell all his colleagues about it. However when Ronaldo did not play well, he would defiantly defend his son. It almost seems as if whatever comments were directed at him. He knows soccer is his son’s no.1 passion, and he is his number 1 fan.

The most heartbreaking moment of Cristiano Ronaldo’s life happened during while he was on international duty with Portugal. He was told the news before the match, and Ronaldo had to make a decision on playing or to go back to his country. If you want to know what he did, go read Moments.

Conclusion

Moments is a surprisingly refreshing read, and I would say very candidly written. You could almost feel it was Cristiano Ronaldo speaking to you.

After reading the book, I know this young man from Madeira is man with dreams. Yet he is also a man that is grounded and stays to his passion, unlike many of the famous footballers. Perhaps it’s still too early to make that claim, but we shall live to see his progress.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s Moments