Ex Manchester United coach, Rene Meulensteen has come out to break down how setting goals aided a young Cristiano Ronaldo to get to the next level in his footballing career.
Ronaldo joined United in 2003 at age 18, and immediately became one of the club’s most exciting young talents.
The now Juventus player did not become a hit instantly though as he did not score double-digit league goals until 3 years later.
Rene Meulensteen, who worked under Sir Alex Ferguson has now said the Portuguese improved because he worked closely with him.
His words, “Cristiano Ronaldo was someone I got to spend plenty of time with at the start of the 2007-08 season,”
“A red card in the second game of the season meant he was banned for three games, which gave me the perfect opportunity to work on some things with him.”
“I believed he was one of the best forwards at a very young age, but he wasn’t productive enough. We needed him to score more goals,”
“I knew that was what he wanted too.
“My aim was to bring him from awareness to understanding. To recognise how he could get from where he was to where he wanted to be. That was about a few things off the pitch, but a lot of things on it.
“It was also about the value of setting aims and targets, and explaining to him that people who have a clear goal – and devise a strategy to get there – will be far more successful than those who say ‘I want that’, and then wait and hope for the best.
“He was very receptive to anything that he knew could bring him closer to what he wanted.”
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