Everyone Stand Up and Take a Bow for the Great ONE

Football journalists are a fickle bunch.

One day they will put you up on a pedestal, the next, you will be likened to a vegetable.

Take the example of Ronaldo Luis Nazario de Lima, a 29-year-old Brazil international who has just scored his 15th World Cup goal - breaking Gerd Muller's record of 14 strikes in football's greatest tournament.

A week ago there were calls for Ronaldo to be dropped from the national team because he was unfit and overweight.

"It is hard to accept but Ronaldo definitely is not in a good condition," former Brazil international Leonardo told BBC Sport.

"Brazil have to be brave now and drop Ronaldo," added Tottenham boss Martin Jol.

Those comments were tame in comparison to those expressed back home.

"Pathetic," cried newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo and "It's a long time since I've seen someone as heavily criticised as Ronaldo," bellowed fellow paper O Globo.

But after his two goals against Japan and his record-breaking strike against Ghana, Ronaldo is back on top of the football tree.

So was the criticism ever really justified?

Coming into this World Cup, the 29-year-old said he had gone "45 days without training". Lumbering performances against Croatia and Australia, where he was substituted on both occasions, only gave hacks more excuses to sharpen their knives.

The 'Galactico' has also been labelled as a liability, having had two operations and several other injuries during his time at Inter Milan and Real Madrid.

His standing among Real fans was also at an all-time low. He scored a relatively meagre 14 goals in 23 appearances last season and revealed he felt unloved by fans.

"They have never accepted me. I'll consider that when looking at my future," he said in February.

And who can forget the newspaper frenzy of 'Ronaldogate' after the 1998 World Cup final, when he played against France after reportedly having a fit prior to kick-off?

His exploits off the pitch have also been the subject of much scrutiny.

Newspapers lapped up his four-year marriage and subsequent break up with Milene Rodrigues, before they turned their attention to model Daniella Cicarelli, who he was engaged to. And now another model, Raica Oliveira, is the subject of his and everybody else's attention.

His love for beautiful women coupled with a reported love for nightclubs is great fodder for the front pages. And many have made the effort of finding a correlation between events in his personal life and those on the pitch.

To say he is not the angel that Pele was, is true. But then Ronaldo has suffered from a greater weight of expectation, lived his life through a lens, and still come away with his reputation both intact and enhanced.
So to have scored three goals and taken Brazil into the quarter-finals is an impressive riposte. If David Beckham shoved it down throats of his critics with his goal against Ecuador then Ronaldo shoved it... well, just fill in the blanks for yourselves.

Ronaldo broke free early, flashed past Ghana's flailing goalkeeper and poked the ball into the net.

With one swift move in the fifth minute Tuesday, the superstar striker overtook German Gerd Mueller as the greatest scorer in World Cup history, spoiled Ghana's scrappy debut and put defending champion Brazil into its fourth straight quarterfinals by scoring his 15th all-time Cup goal.

"I want to continue to increase the record," Ronaldo said, "but without forgetting that the main goal in the World Cup is winning the title."

So, in the words of Brazil's Carlos Alberto Parreira - "Ronaldo is back". But then, when did 'The Phenomenon' ever go away?

"The God that people venerate does not carry a cross ,
Ask the footballing world my god carries a number "9" on his back".

-- Avinash Shetty, Ronaldo Fan for Life

My Knee Is Fixed - 6 months to go before i can start playing again

I had my ACL Knee reconstruction Surgery today and with Gods and Dr Gow's help , i had a successful surgery.

The day started very early for me ..., got up at 6 am watched Spain trash Ukraine (4-0). i was supposed to reach Kaiser hospital around 8:30 am .I left home around 7:45am , the moment after Fernando Torres from spain scored a stunner and the score was 4-0.

Reached Kaiser around 8:10 am and quickly finished all the paperwork and was in the waiting room waiting for the nurse to call my name.

Aditi and Arpitha were there with me and around 9am i heard "Shetty Avinash you are next". Nobody other than me was allowed beyond this point,i told both the girls not to wait and go home and come back around 2 pm ,doono if they did that.

Nancy (the nurse) took me to room number 5. i was told to get completely naked and wear the famous surgery gown. It took me 2 min to change and wear the gown ...but i just could not manage to tie the gown from behind ..., nancy told me it was fine and not to worry about that. She started the Glocose drip and said John would drop by and he would be the one who'll shave my leg. Before she left she asked me which leg it was and when i said "Left" she took out a marker from her top pocket and made an X mark on my left knee. i just didnt get this .

John came by a few moments later and started an electronic shaver and shaved off my left leg from my upper thigh to the ankle. John was nice and was cracking a few jokes all along the way. He asked me if he i wanted the TV . I watched "I wanna be a Millionaire" for the next half hour .

Dr Gow (the main surgon) came to visit me , asked me a few questions abt how i was feeling and what steps he was going to follow once the surgery started. He said he just finished 2 ACL reconstructions since morning and i was the third one and the previous two were perfect, if that would help.

Then came the Anasthesia specialist , and asked me for the "nth" time if i or anyone in my family was alergic to anathesia or any kind of drug for which i said NO again. "Ok Then , I'll let you have the magic liquid" and that was it , i do not remember any thing after that and when i woke up , Aditi was there next to me and it was around 2pm .


My entire body was hurting in a funny way , it was not pain but some sensation which was not comfortable.I was slurring a lot now. I then checked out my left leg which was now covered with bandages and a metal brace.

"LULU" was my nurse in the after operation room .She told me if i felt pain , to tell her so she could pump another shot of morphine .

My phone rang and it was Arijit calling from UK. He updated me with the scores which i missed. Germany won 1-0 in the last minute.

It was around 2:30 pm now and i was feeling very thirsty ,Lulu was nice and offered me Apple juice and crackers.I just had the Apple juice .I hate "CRACKERS".

"You can go home any time you feel ok " said Lulu. I rested till 4pm and left for home immediately.


Spoke to mom that evening and told her everything what had happened. Could not sleep the entire night cause i have my entire life slept on my tummy and today i could not. Took 2 pills of Vicodin (Pain Killer) which i was told to, it reduced the pain. Started playing with my Treo 600 and eventually fell asleep fighting the pain.

Finally the day was over and i am happy it went well, now its up to me how i tackle the phisiotheraphy class which i know will be very difficult.

Ronaldo gets off to slow World Cup start

Ronaldo failed to impress in Brazil's World Cup opener, looking slow and even sluggish at times during a 1-0 win over Croatia on Tuesday.

Ronaldo's weight has been the subject of controversy in the days leading up to the tournament, and his play against Croatia is sure to fuel more talk of his being out of shape.

Only three goals shy of becoming the World Cup's all-time leading scorer, Ronaldo barely touched the ball before being substituted for in the 69th minute. Despite the subpar performance, however, he had one legitimate scoring opportunity, sending a hard right-foot shot over the crossbar from 25 yards out in the 56th minute.

"Ronaldo hadn't been playing for two months ... it's natural, in a hot day like today, that he felt the lack of rhythm," Brazil coach Carlos Alberto Parreira said. "Certainly, from now on he will get in form little by little."

This is Ronaldo's fourth World Cup and Monday was his 100th match with Brazil. If Brazil wins a second consecutive title, Ronaldo will equal Brazil great Pele as a three-time champion. The Real Madrid striker is tied with Pele with 12 World Cup goals, one fewer than Just Fontaine of France and two fewer than Gerd Muller of Germany.

But Ronaldo faced plenty of criticism in the days before the tournament, including a query from Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva during a video conference with the team as to whether he was fat.

Ronaldo later compared the speculation about his weight to speculation about the president's consumption of alcohol. Silva then sent a fax to Ronaldo saying his comments about his weight were meant to end speculation, not bring more attention to the subject.

Even Brazil's sports minister, Orlando Silva Junior, visited the team's training camp with message to Ronaldo saying how much the president admired him.

"Ronaldo has said in interviews he's not 100 percent, he's not in ideal form," Brazil midfielder Kaka said. "Let's hope he becomes that Ronaldo we all want to see. A little more movement from his part would have been ideal."

When he was only 17 years old, Ronaldo was a member of Brazil's squad that won the 1994 World Cup in the United States. He was crucial in Brazil's 2002 campaign, leading all players in the tournament with eight goals.

Ronaldo has said he's not worried about breaking records and only wants to help Brazil win the World Cup.

From the beginning it looked like Ronaldo was going to have a bad game. He seemed always a step behind trying to get to passes, and had difficulties controlling the ball.

He was replaced by Robinho, who many say would be a better option on attack for Brazil as it tries to win an unprecedented sixth world title.

Lets hope Ronnie comes back into form in the next match against Australia and the only way for him to stop the critics talk about his is for him to do what he does best and that's SCORE.

"The God that people venerate does not carry a cross ,
Ask the footballing world my god carries a number "9" on his back".
-- Avinash Shetty, Ronaldo Fan for Life

A BALL DOES THE IMPOSSIBLE -- BONO

England has the talent, but can it go the extra mile?

FIFA world ranking: No. 10.

How they qualified for Germany: Won UEFA Group 6 with an 8-1-1 record.

Previous World Cups and finishes: 11 appearances (1950, '54, '58, '62, '66, '70, '82, '86, '90, '98, 2002). Champions in '66, fourth place in '90, quarterfinals in '54, '62, '70, '86, '02.

Manager: Sven-Göran Eriksson, sixth and final year with team.
Key players

There's a reason England's hopes are being pinned on its attack: Wayne Rooney and Michael Owen are among the world's best strikers. The question is if they'll play. Rooney is recovering from a broken foot, and it's debatable if he'll be back at all. England isn't as dangerous without his strength, determination and ability to create goals from nothing -- especially from long range. Owen, however, looks as if he will be back from a broken foot of his own, and he's the perfect complement to Rooney: positioning, speed and lethal finishing from within the box. Midfielders Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard both boast high goal-scoring records as well as the ability to provide defense-splitting passes, while the crossing talents of captain David Beckham from the right wing are second to none.

Opposing defenders will also have to cope with England's attack-minded left flank, where Ashley Cole's overlapping runs and crosses add to the threat posed by Joe Cole's trickery.
What to watch for

England's starting XI is made up of truly world-class players which, on paper, looks like a potential tournament winner. However, the likelihood is that Rooney, the team's talisman and the player many had predicted to be the star of the World Cup, won't play. Eriksson included him on the roster anyways, hopeful that the 20-year-old may be recovered enough to help England in the latter stages of the tournament, should it advance that far.

With no obvious replacement for Rooney, England may be left somewhat toothless up front. But could being forced into a 4-5-1 formation be a blessing in disguise? In the preferred 4-4-2, the center-midfield partnership of Gerrard and Lampard brings together the two best attack-minded box-to-box midfielders in the English Premier League. But defensively, this sometimes leaves England exposed with neither Joe Cole nor Beckham likely to provide sufficient cover.

Bringing Michael Carrick into the lineup as a holding midfielder will allow Lampard and Gerrard to revert to the attacking style of play they employ in the EPL. Meanwhile, the mercurial Cole, shed of his defensive responsibilities, will be given free rein to exploit his creative genius.

In addition to his starters, Eriksson can call on three players from the bench with the strengths to create or score a late goal: the aerial threat of 6-foot-7 Peter Crouch, the pace and skill of the quick-footed Aaron Lennon and the unproven yet potentially deadly finishing of 17-year-old Theo Walcott.

England's relative fitness and stamina is difficult to discern. If Rooney returns, its chances are that much better. Will the players benefit from being accustomed to the up-tempo EPL? Or will the high number of games in the English domestic season take its toll?

Group: B (Paraguay, Trinidad & Tobago, Sweden).

Key match in group stage: June 20 vs. Sweden. England is expected to win all three of its group games, but historians will point out that it hasn't beaten the Swedes since 1966. The result of this match will likely decide whether England meets host Germany in the second round or in the semifinal. In the more likely latter scenario, England will get a chance to avenge its semifinal defeats in the '90 World Cup and at Euro '96.

Oddsmakers' line: 8-1.