On this day in 1997, Ronaldo scored his first Serie A hat-trick as Inter beat Lecce 5-0.
Words: Emmet Gates
In the summer of 1997, Italy was in the midst of ‘Ronaldomania’. The 20-year-old force of nature had just signed for Inter for a world record fee from Barcelona. Inter had exploited the breakdown in communication between Ronaldo’s agents and Barcelona to swoop in and pay his release fee of £19.5 million.
On this day in 1997, Ronaldo scored his first Serie A hat-trick as Inter beat Lecce 5-0.
Words: Emmet Gates
In the summer of 1997, Italy was in the midst of ‘Ronaldomania’. The 20-year-old force of nature had just signed for Inter for a world record fee from Barcelona. Inter had exploited the breakdown in communication between Ronaldo’s agents and Barcelona to swoop in and pay his release fee of £19.5 million.
The Catalans were helpless as Ronaldo swapped Camp Nou for Guiseppe Meazza. Inter and Ronaldo had flirted several years before, with President Massimo Moratti inviting Ronaldo over for a long weekend in Milan as his guest when he was playing for PSV Eindhoven. “How many times I have rued the day I never put in a bid…what a folly on my part.” Moratti said.
Ronaldo scored his first goal in his second game, against Roby Baggio’s Bologna in a classic encounter. By the time Leece arrived at San Siro in February 1998 Ronaldo had promptly torn the league to shreds.
Striking fear into the hearts of every defender in Serie A with his dazzling array of tricks, feints and truly frightening pace. He’d netted 11 league goals and shot Inter to the top of the table. This was the Brazilian at his absolute best.
First goal
Ronaldo’s first had all the hallmarks of vintage Ronaldo: the comic-book esque turn of pace combined with surprisingly strong upper body strength. He turns and instantly sets off into the heart of the Leece defence, managing to hold off two Leece defenders at the same time. He slides the ball to Diego Simeone and keeps running, Simeone inches a perfectly weighted through ball into Ronaldo’s path. The Brazilian fires off a left foot shot that arrows into the bottom corner of the Leece net. Outrageously clinical.
Second goal
Ronaldo scored five penalties in 1997/98, this was his third of the campaign to give Inter a 4 – 0 lead.
Third goal
He completed his hat trick nine minutes later following some nice work from Benoit Cauet and Nwankwo Kanu. Kanu’s deft flick over the demoralized Leece defence found Cauet, whose strike was parried into the path of Ronaldo, who had the easy task of heading the ball into a empty net to make it 5 – 0. Ronaldo had toyed with the opposition defence all afternoon. He’d scored a brace against the Puglian outfit in their first encounter back in September in a 1-5 win, for a total of 5 goals over the two games. Lecce were well and truly glad to see the back of El Fenomeno. Lecce would go down to Serie B, relegated in 17th position. However, they would bounce straight back and gain promotion in 1998-99.
This was to be Ronaldo’s finest season in black and blue, injuries robbing him for most of the next 3 years. By the time he returned midway through 2001-02, he was a remarkably different player to the one who blitzed through Serie A in 1997-98. Gone was the electric pace and his willingness to drop deep to collect the ball, he replaced those lost attributes with predatory know-how.