ESPN plans Ronaldo 50th special, retracing his road to Corinthians | OneFootball

One of the biggest names to ever wear the Corinthians shirt will be honored in a special ESPN program. Ronaldo Nazário, O Fenômeno, turns 50 this month, and the broadcaster has prepared content dedicated to revisiting different chapters of the former striker’s career.

Titled “Ronaldo 50”, the production will be available this Friday (18) for Disney+ Premium subscribers. Later, on September 22, the special will air in full on ESPN, starting at 10 p.m. Brasília time.

Photo: Daniel Augusto Jr

Running for one hour, the program was structured in three parts. Each segment will feature an ESPN member who followed Ronaldo’s journey from different perspectives: Osvaldo Pascoal, Paulo Calçade, and Zé Elias.

Special brings together different perspectives on Ronaldo

The idea is to revisit different moments in O Fenômeno’s career, combining the experiences of professionals who covered his rise as journalists with the perspective of someone who shared the football environment with the former striker.

André Plihal explained how the special was put together and highlighted the different relationships the three participants have with the Brazilian’s journey.

“Three conversations with three people who, in different ways, followed O Fenômeno’s journey on the pitch. Two of them, Pascoal and Paulo Calçade, reporting on the wonders he pulled off. And in the third, with Zé Elias, the perspective of someone who lived alongside Ronaldo both on the pitch and behind the scenes. Especially from the early stage of his career through his breakout at Internazionale in Milan,” he explained.

In addition to the one-hour production, ESPN gathered 50 testimonials from personalities connected to sports to mark Ronaldo’s 50th birthday. The accounts will be part of the tribute and will also be published on the broadcaster’s social media channels.

O Fenômeno ended his career wearing the Corinthians shirt

The journey revisited by the special spans different moments in world football. Ronaldo began his professional career at Cruzeiro before heading to Europe and playing for clubs such as Barcelona, Inter Milan, Real Madrid, and Milan.

With the Brazilian National Team, the striker also built a story marked by two World Cup titles. After a long spell in European football, it was at Corinthians that Ronaldo lived the final chapter of his career as a player.

O Fenômeno arrived at Parque São Jorge at the end of 2008 and made his official debut for the club the following season. His signing drew enormous attention and was quickly followed by decisive moments on the pitch.

In 2009, Ronaldo was part of the Paulista Championship and Copa do Brasil title-winning campaigns. The striker remained with Timão until February 2011, when he announced his retirement from professional football.

In this way, Corinthians also holds a place in the story that will be celebrated by ESPN. After playing for some of the biggest clubs in European football and building an outstanding path with the Brazilian National Team, Ronaldo chose the black-and-white club to bring his career on the pitch to a close.

“Ronaldo 50” arrives on Disney+ this Friday (18) on the Premium plan. The full airing on ESPN is scheduled for next Tuesday (22) at 10 p.m.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.