Season 1, episode 20
Ronaldo comes from a family obsessed with football (or soccer), so it is no surprise that he wants to be a famous football star like his “tocayo”, or namesake, Cristiano Ronaldo. But Ronaldo only wants to play front and center, hogging the ball and making all the goals. He needs to learn the importance of each position to truly become a great player.
THE GREAT RONALDO
Ronaldo has a dream: he wants to be a professional soccer player. He loves soccer. He loves the emotion of the game. He loves the technicality of the players. Ronaldo is obsessed with soccer.
Ronaldo’s whole family is obsessed with soccer, especially his mom, Alexandra. Alexandra met her husband, Ronaldo’s dad, at a soccer game. They were playing soccer at college with a group of friends. Alexandra kicked the ball at the same time as a tall, handsome man. The impact hurt her foot.
The tall, handsome man helped Alexandra to a bench in the park where they were playing. Then he looked for ice for her hurt foot. The man sat on the bench with Alexandra and they talked for a long time. The handsome man was named Fabio. Back then, Fabio Cannavaro was Alexandra’s favorite soccer player and she thought that it was “divine intervention” meeting a man named Fabio. Fabio invited Alexandra to eat and the rest is history. Alexandra says that it was “Love at first kick.”
Alexandra and Fabio got married and had three kids. Each kid was named after a famous soccer player: Lionel, for Lionel Messi; Marta, for Marta Vieira da Silva; and Ronaldo, for Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ronaldo has posters of his namesake, Cristiano Ronaldo, in his bedroom. Cristiano Ronaldo is his idol. Ronaldo wants to be a professional soccer player like his namesake. He wants to play the position of forward like his namesake. The forward is in the position of attacking the rival team. The forward typically makes the goals. Goals get all the glory of the game.
There are only two forwards on a team. There are other positions too. There are four midfielders. Being a midfielder isn’t so bad. You have a lot of freedom and you can get goals. Defense is not Ronald’s favorite position because you don’t have the opportunity to get a goal. The four defenders are very important because they protect the goal. There is a goalie on a soccer team. The goalie has a very stressful position. The goalie needs to block the goals. The goalie is also the only position that can use their hands in soccer.
Ronaldo doesn’t want to play in the position of midfielder or defense. He especially doesn’t want the position of goalie. He wants to be a forward. He wants to score goals like his idol.
Ronaldo goes to soccer practice with his team. They have a game on Thursday. In the practice, Ronaldo does very well. He is going to start the game as a forward. Ronaldo is excited. He believes that it is his opportunity to score a lot of goals and show the world that he is a professional soccer player.
In the game, Ronaldo steals the ball in each opportunity. He doesn’t pass the ball to the other forward. He doesn’t pass the ball to the midfielders. Ronaldo wants to control the ball and score goals. But it is impossible. The rival team sees that Ronaldo doesn’t pass the ball. When Ronaldo has the ball, all the midfielders and defenders of the rival team run to Ronaldo to steal the ball.
The rival team wins the game with a score of two to zero. Ronaldo’s team loses the game. Ronaldo didn’t even score one goal. He is very frustrated. But Ronaldo’s team is more than frustrated. They are angry with Ronaldo because he doesn’t play well with the team.
For the next game, the coach moves Ronaldo to the position of defense. Ronaldo is not happy. He doesn’t want to play defense. Defenders don’t score goals. Ronaldo is angry during the game. He is violent with the players on the rival team. In one moment, he pushes one of the forwards on the rival team. The referee sees and gives Ronaldo a yellow card for his bad sportsmanship. Ronaldo is furious and yells at the referee. The referee gives him a red card and Ronaldo leaves the game. He sits on the bench and only watches the rest of the game.
The rival team wins the game with a score of three to one. Ronaldo’s team loses the game. Ronaldo is angry and yells at the goalie. He thinks that the goalie didn’t do a good job because he didn’t block the goals. The coach sees Ronaldo and makes a plan.
The coach decides that Ronaldo can play the position of goalie at practice. Ronaldo thinks that it is not very difficult to be a goalie because you have the 4 defenders to help you. It is more difficult to be a forward and score goals. Ronaldo puts on the gloves and walks to his position in the goal.
After only five minutes as goalie, Ronaldo wants to change positions and teams. When he goes home, he is very angry. Alexandra notices that his son is upset and talks with him.
“What’s wrong, dear?” Alexandra asks.
“It’s just, the coach is putting me in as the goalie. I am not a goalie, I am a forward. I don’t block goals, I score goals.”
“Son, soccer is a game of attack and defense. You need to play attack and defense to have a good team. You need to understand all the positions to be a good player and to be a good teammate. You play very well, but with a good team, you can play better.”
“But I want to be a forward like my namesake, Cristiano Ronaldo.”
“Do you think the great Cristiano Ronaldo always played forward? He had to play as defense and midfielder also. He had to trust his team.”
Ronaldo thinks about his mom’s words. She is right. The great players understand all aspects of the game. They trust their teams. Ronaldo goes to practice with a new attitude. He passes the ball to his companions. He is positive and plays any position.
In the next game, he is a midfielder. He helps with attacks and helps with defense. It is an exciting game with a score of one to one. Ronaldo gets the ball. He runs in the field towards the rival goal. One of the forwards is in the perfect position. Ronaldo kicks the ball. The ball flies through the air. The forward hits the ball with his head and scores a goal! Ronaldo is very happy. He didn’t get the glory of the goal, but he is happy because he helped his team.
The end.
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