Former Inter defender Daniele Adani has spoken of fellow former Nerazzurri player Ronaldo and argued that the Brazilian icon was a trendsetter with his level of skill.
Adani represented Inter from 2002 until 2004, joining the club shortly after Ronaldo had departed for Real Madrid, but came up against the striker during his spells at Fiorentina and Brescia.
Appearing as a guest on Giacomo Poretti’s ‘Porecast’ podcast, and as reported by FCInter1908.it, Adani suggested that much of the modern skills and approaches to football seen today were started by Ronaldo, and his ability was unmatched when he was in his prime at Inter.
“Ronaldo was in another category because in his time he showed things that were not there previously. What he did now you see in many footballers, but you didn’t know about them then: he always did new, special things,” Adani claimed.
“He moved his legs, his ankles, made double passes, shot with power, precision: he would put the ball two fingers from the post and it would go there. You couldn’t direct it, if he had space he made do with it: he was too strong.”
Ronaldo joined Inter from Barcelona in 1997 and scored 59 goals in 99 appearances for the Nerazzurri, but his time at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza was blighted by a serious knee injury.
