First glimpse of the Bernabeu

Cristiano Ronaldo visited the stadium offices hours before his presentation

www.realmadrid.com

Cristiano Ronaldo is now familiar with the Santiago Bernabeu. The player arrived shortly after 14:00 and had a quick tour of the inner confines including a stop at the Presidential Balcony.

After being given the green light at Sanitas La Moraleja Hospital, Cristiano Ronaldo was driven to the Santiago Bernabeu where he was welcomed by Jorge Valdano.

The Director General and Presidential Aide gave the player a bried tour of the stadium and took several minutes to overlook his new pitch from the Presidential Balcony. The two later made their way to Puerta 57 restaurant, where Ronaldo could look out the window to see the sight of where he hopes to have many magical nights of football.

As many as 80,000 fans may attend Cristiano Ronaldo's presentation Possible new record

www.realmadrid.com / Translation by Michael J. O'Donnell

Maradona, Kaka, Ronaldinho and Beckham are some of the players who were greeted by thousands of fans when they arrived to new teams. More than 55,000 people attended Kaka's presentation at the Bernabeu last week and all eyes are now on Cristiano Ronaldo, whose unveiling could break every existing record with the attendance of 80,000 supporters. It would be the most popular presentation since Maradona's at Napoli.

Diego Armando Maradona signed for Napoli in 1984 after a stint at Barcelona. His arrival in the Italian city was highly anticipated and 75,000 fans greeted him at the stadium despite having to pay for tickets to attend the presentation. There were more than 300 accredited journalisrs and RAI televised the event after paying $30,000 for the rights.

Cristiano Ronaldo's presentation could prove even more popular. More than 55,000 supporters greeted Kaka at the Bernabeu last week; his presentation being more popular than Ronaldinho's at Barcelona (20,000 fans) and Milan (40,000).

Thirty thousand Barcelona supporters gathered at Camp Nou for the presentation of Henry, and David Beckham's arrival at LA Galaxy met with the fervent support of 8,000 fans; quite a record in a country in which football is yet to become a popular sport -there were more accredited journalists there than at the Superbowl-.

Madridistas will start taking the Bernabeu this evening at 19:00 CET to greet their new idol and may well pack the stadium. Cristiano Ronaldo's presentation could make history by breaking every existing record.

The perfect strike

www.realmadrid.com analyzes Cristiano Ronaldo's method of taking free kicks

Carlos Cristobal / Translation by realmadrid.com

Cristiano Ronaldo has a multitude of strong suits on the field of play, and one of them is without a doubt his ability to take free kicks. Ronaldo has mastered the art of the set piece and has scored many important goals. Realmadrid.com has decided to analzye the steps taken by the Portuguese as he prepares for a laser-guided free kick.

STEP 1: PRIOR TO SHOOTING
Cristiano always follows the same routine before winding up for a shot. First, he meticulously places the ball on the turf with the air in the exact spot where he will strike it with his foot. This provides more power and makes it easier to put any curving effect on the ball. Once satisfied with the placement, Cristiano prepares the run-up to the ball. He measures between four and six long steps and takes a stance with legs wide apart. Always slightly left of the ball, the new Madridista concentrates on the shot.

STEP 2: RUN-UP & STRIKE
The first few steps taken by Ronaldo are short strides on the tips of his toes, much in the same way Roberto Carlos takes free kicks. What differentiates the two however is that once the Portuguese is in full stride, the actual run-up is shorter and at a curve towards the right rather than straight like the Brazilian.

Cristiano's last stride is the longest. His left support foot will be several centimeters behind the ball. At that very moment, his entire body is angled back with his support leg fully extended and the right beginning to pull the trigger. During the follow through, Ronaldo's body moves forward to keep the ball from sailing too high. His maintains his balance with his left arm, while the right moves to add power to the shot. The right foot strikes the ball on the lower left section of the ball. He doesn't make contact with either the exterior or interior of his boot. It's a clean strike with the instep, which puts even more power beihnd the ball.

STEP 3: BALL TRAJECTORY
The run-up to the right and the strike with the left foot on the left side of the ball. The result is a parabola that is hard to describe with words. While the ball rises, it first tends to carry left. But all of a sudden its trajectory changes. The lateral movement ends and the ball moves away from the goalkeepe and sinks, making it virtually impossible of saving.