Cristiano visited a school for mentally handicapped, spreading joy and enjoying himself
AS.com article: “Handsome, rich, famous - and caring”
- my translation -
San Cristobal de Los Angeles is a humble working class neighbourhood in the south of Madrid.
Near the railroad tracks is the College Navas de Tolosa, where a certain Raúl Gonzalez Blanco went to school until the age of 17.
In a side wing of the school, 52 children and adults with mental handicaps are taken care of.Last Thursday Cristiano Ronaldo appeared in the class room. The teachers didn’t tell anything about the illustrious visit before to prevent emotional disturbances.
Cristiano arrived with a radiant and sincere smile that the kids will not forget.
One of them looked at him puzzled at first, then excited: “My god, it’s Cristiano Ronaldo!”.
Cristiano embraced him without a moment of hesitation.
Then he addressed the others. “How are you? Are you for Madrid?”.
A young man of 22 years, but with the naivety of a child of three, said:
“Cristiano, I am an Atleti fan, but you are the best …”.Cristiano showed his most human and tender side as he was visiting classrooms and work areas of the school.
He got emotional various times and repeated to Jorge Mendes, his friend and manager: “Jorge, this is very hard, but these guys are incredible. They deserve everything they do for them.”
The director showed him the gym, the Sensory Stimulation Room and the Computer Room.
For 45 minutes, Cristiano forgot the daily pressures of football. He recalled his difficult childhood, away from Funchal. And gave something priceless to these kids with disabilities: enthusiasm and a smile.A heart-warming episode:
One of the highlights of the visit occurred when Amador, a young man with a body as big as his heart, addressed the crack:
“See Cristiano, you are the number one, better than Messi. But answer me please: Are we going to win this year at Barça?”.
Cristiano put Amador’s Herculean arm around his right shoulder and replied:
“Keep calm my friend, this year we will win against Barca.”
Amador broke into a burst of joy as if he had attended a Benzema or Higuain goal at the Bernabeu.
He was so happy that he said to his 51 colleagues from the center:
“Now let’s all sing the hymn of Madrid”.
And he did, reciting the verses with admirable precision.
Cristiano was enthusiastic about the dedication and began to sing along.
Jorge Mendes looked at him stunned: “It’s quite a while since I saw Cristiano like this. He is also a big boy and gets emotional about these things.”Sagrario Balmaseda, the head of the center, gave some gifts to the Portuguese, crafted by the students themselves (although they did not know to whom they were addressed).
Another of the lucky ones present during the surprise visit was Dioni, the head of the well-known techno-rumba band Camela. Dioni, a dedicated Madridista, got to know Cristiano and said:
“This is the neighborhood of our dear Raul, but it is an unforgettable luxury that the best footballer in the world came here. Cristiano has won our hearts forever.”
A couple months ago, during pre-season, Real Madrid went to the US for two weeks. Lucky for me, they spent most of their time in my state of California =) I was able to watch them practice, which was pretty awesome, and someone had told me that if you waited outside their hotels before and after their practice, you could get their autographs. So I went a few times and got a few autographs- Casillas, Kaka, Arbeloa, Ozil, Alonso, Sahin, Butragueno, Cristiano, Khedira and Mourinho. Also took lots of pictures of them, will be posting them up asap, well by Friday if I can =)
According to the Castrol Study, Cristiano Ronaldo has evolved since joining the Spanish Primera League. In ‘09-‘10, Ronaldo scored 26 league goals, one every 99 minutes. Consider taking into account his goals from the last 38 games from the ‘10-‘11 season & the first of this campaign, the Portuguese winger has scored 43 goals in 2991 minutes. This equates to a goal every 70 minutes (29” less than the previous year).
Despite this season’s good start, Cristiano continues to exude ambition & want for improvement. “It’s going to be very difficult to overcome last season’s record, but I’m going to try.”
In addition, Ronaldo has improved upon his behavior on the pitch. In his first season with Real Madrid, we saw him collect two red cards & five yellows. In contrast, Ronaldo was only handed 2 yellow cards & no reds throughout the entire ‘10-‘11 season.
(via AS)
Photo credit: Getty Images