Caricature by portuguese cartunist, Rui Duarte. Clik here to see more of his work.

Ronaldo was born in the poor suburbs of the football Mecca Rio de Janeiro under the name Luis Nazario de Lima. Driven by his childhood hero Zico, the youngster enters football early in his life. By his 12th birthday he is playing in an organized youth club called Tennis Club Valqueire. With them, he played "futebol de salão" or small-sided football with a miniature ball. This is considered an important step in Ronaldo's development because playing with a smaller ball has been proven to rapidly increase foot skills. In the following few years, he takes part in various youth tournaments and begins attracting attention. Not much later, Cruzeiro di Belo Horizonte snatch up the youngster on a $50,000 transfer.
Young Luis Nazario gets his big break at the age of 17 when he is called up by Brazil's senior national team. He performs well and is selected for his country's World Cup squad. Because of his tender age, the young Fenomeno is kept as a substitute and watches the entire 1994 World Cup from the bench, as his team wins the gold.

Read more about Ronaldo here: http://www.expertfootball.com/players/ronaldo/