In the history of football, there were very few strikers better than Ronaldo Nazario. A two-time Ballon d'Or winner, the Brazilian burst onto the European scene with Dutch side PSV Eindhoven, where he bagged 54 goals in 57 games.
Stats like that don't go unnoticed and before long, he was snapped up by Barcelona for a hefty £20m fee. In Spain, it's fair to say the young striker made a bit of an impact.
After all, he smashed in a whopping 47 goals in 49 games, leading his new side to glory in the Copa del Rey, Supercopa de Espana, and the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. As a result, he would bag the 1997 Ballon d'Or at the end of the season – aged just 21 years old, he is still the youngest to ever win the prize.
Ronaldo would leave a big impression on football during his time with Barcelona. In turn, one coach would leave a big impression on him. That man was Sir Bobby Robson.
Ronaldo Felt Robson Was Crucial to His Success at Barcelona
'He helped me to deal with this pressure'
Sir Bobby Robson with Ronaldo Nazario at Barcelona
Both Robson and Ronaldo would spend just a single season at the Camp Nou. Contract issues would see the striker leave for Inter Milan the next summer, while the English manager was moved upstairs as Barcelona's general manager to make way for Louis van Gaal.
Despite this brief spell working together, the Brazilian held his former coach in the highest esteem. As quoted by BBC Sport in 2003, he insisted that he was among the best coaches in the world:
"As a trainer without doubt he is one of the greatest in the world. The best thing about him is his personality, his character - which is brilliant.
"With him you can talk about anything and everything and he has the ability to put a smile on your face. He is a fantastic man.
"He was like a father to me. Bobby Robson helped me to be consistent and helped me a lot with my career."
He specifically stated the Englishman played a major part in his success at the Nou Camp, helping him handle the pressure. He added: "To be playing for a club like Barcelona at the tender age of 20 is not easy at all. Bobby Robson helped me to deal with this pressure.
"It was a spectacular year. A year where out of four competitions we won three and came second in the league."
For his part, Robson was blown away by Ronaldo. He recalled the 'marvellous' footballer as the best he ever coached: "He had one year with me at Barcelona, I bought him from PSV, and he was out of this world.
He was a god, absolutely fantastic. He had amazing ability, was a great young athlete, a nice character, respected me and it was sad he only played eight months for us there. […] The year he had with us you could see he was going to be phenomenal.
"He was so strong, would go past people, come deep to get the ball, turn and whatever you put in front of him there was a chance he could always go through you. Power and skill.”
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Ronaldo Loved Working With Robson
The feeling was mutual
Speaking after Robson's death in 2009, Ronaldo once again reiterated just how important the iconic English manager had been for him. He highlighted the personal touch used in his coaching style, saying:
“I’m proud to have worked with him. He was an awesome coach and an awesome person. He was like a father to me.
“I have had a lot of managers in football but the difference between all of them and Sir Bobby was his humanity and the relationships he had with the players. He was always like a father to everyone.
Robson was known for his brilliant man-management, and it was undoubtedly key for Ronaldo, who added: “At Barcelona, he spoke to me in Portuguese because, at the time, my English wasn’t good. He was very patient.
“I remember there were a lot of players for Barcelona from different countries at that time and Sir Bobby managed us all and brought us together. It didn’t matter what language you spoke or what colour you were. He was great.”
Stats via Transfermarkt