ronaldo luiz nazario de lima1 wa born on 22 eptember 1976 in a poor uburb of rio de janeiro2。 like mot of hi childhood friend， ronaldo began hi occer career playing barefoot in the treet of hi neighborhood。 at the age of 14， he joined ？o critov？o3 occer club and only two year later became the tar of cruzeiro belo horizonte4 coring a total of 58 goal in 60 matche and earning himelf a reputation for hi exploive5 pace and outtanding finihing kill。 hi goal—coring record and unuual agility6 led him to be included in the brazilian world cup winning team the following year。 after the world cup， many top european football club were trying to ign him。 many people， including brazilian football legend pelé7， referred to him a the mot promiing8 footballer of hi generation。