Corinthians head coach Mano Menezes Saturday compared his star forward Ronaldo to one of the greatest basketball players to ever play the game - Michael Jordan.
Words often repeated by Menezes in Saturday's post-training press conference were hard work, sacrifice and responsibility.
In Ronaldo's second day of training with Corinthians teammates, the team looks at him as an idol rather than a fellow player.
Due to this large amount of admiration for the player, Menezes used the relationship of the Chicago Bulls coach Phil Jackson with Michael Jordan during their decade of dominance in the 1990's
"Great players do not want privileges, they want responsibility. This is true for Ronaldo as well, " said Menezes.
"In his book entitled Sacred Hoops, Phil Jackson told how some players of the Bulls team simply stood by and watched in awe rather than actually playing. With Ronaldo, I hope that things will become normalized sooner than later. Once everyone plays together, then we will achieve the results we are after," said Menezes.
"We need some good old sacrifice, lots of hard work and dedication from Ronaldo as well as the rest of the team and coaching staff," he said. "Everyone needs to be patient, especially Ronaldo, who is returning to the sport after nearly one year. I know he is anxious to return as soon as possible, but we will have to control his anxiety in order to avoid any further injuries."
Ronaldo was one of the few players that did not participate in the field activities in Saturday's training. He spent most of the time working out and continuing with his physical therapy. He is now in his final stages of recuperation after tearing a tendon in his left knee in February of this year. After the training, he admitted that he is about four or five kilos over weight.
(Xinhua News Agency December 29, 2008)
