Ronaldo was good from a very young age: "He made me doubt his age"
Ernie Brandts, assistant coach of PSV Eindhoven, Ronaldo's first team in Europe, talked about how he discovered crack in Brazil when he was still a teenager.
In 1993, Ernie Brandts traveled to Brazil to follow the evolution of the young people of the future. Romario had just left for Barcelona and the club wanted to repeat the success of his signing with another fellow countryman.
Thus began Ronaldo Nazario's unforgettable spell in European football. "I discovered Ronaldo for PSV. In 1993, I was in Brazil for a month and I saw Ronaldo training and playing a lot," he said in 'Voetball'.
"They let me be everywhere and I couldn't believe my eyes. Ronaldo was physically strong, aggressive, had incredible acceleration, a strong shot and a huge scoring ability. He was from another planet. I immediately doubted his age. It was impossible for him to be that good at just 16," Brandts explained.
PSV waited a long time to sign 'O Fenómeno' and did not do so until after the World Cup in the United States, where, despite not playing, he was called up.
His presence in the Brazilian team that would end up winning the World Cup made his signing very expensive: "PSV waited too long. Ten months after seeing Ronaldo, Kees Ploegsma told his father, who had been president: 'Dad, that Ronaldo that Ernie talks about is on the Brazilian team in the World Cup'. That's when PSV made up their minds and paid a lot more for him.
In the last days, Rubén Cano also put Atletico Madrid in the fight to sign the future Barça, Inter, Madrid and Milan player, but finally the red-white chose the 'Tren' Valencia, a player much more contrasted, but who failed.