Ronaldo Nazário

R9 — two World Cups, two Ballon d'Or and the most naturally gifted striker in football history.

Ronaldo Luis Nazário de Lima was born in Bento Ribeiro, Rio de Janeiro in 1976 and grew up in poverty in the favelas. He was identified as a generational talent at 16. His Barcelona season in 1996-97 produced 47 goals — considered one of the finest individual seasons in La Liga history. He won the Ballon d'Or in 1997 and 2002. His World Cup record — 62 international goals including 15 in World Cups — established him as Brazil's all-time leading scorer. The night before the 1998 World Cup Final he suffered a mysterious seizure — his appearance in that final despite the episode is one of football's most discussed medical mysteries, as Brazil lost 3-0 to France. He won the World Cup in 2002 — scoring twice in the final against Germany, including two goals from outside the area and one from the spot — redemption for 1998 and the peak of his career. His combination of raw pace, strength and finishing ability at his peak — before the knee injuries that effectively ended his explosive running in 2001 and slowed him thereafter — was described by contemporaries as genuinely unlike anything they had seen.

• World Cup 2x (1994,2002)
• Ballon d'Or 2x (1997,2002)
• Champions League (1998)
• Copa América 2x