eusebio-ronaldo-figo

On This Day: Ronaldo conquers Rome with towering header in 2008

A brand new feature in the Portuguese Abroad section sees us celebrate the anniversary of some memorable moments involving Portuguese players and coaches during their travels abroad. We begin appropriately with Seleção captain Cristiano Ronaldo and his goal against Roma in 2008.

Manchester United travelled to the Stadio Olimpico in the Italian capital to meet Roma in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals on April 1st 2008. The Red Devils had gone almost a decade without appearing in the final of the competition and an impressive 2-0 win away from home was a fantastic result on their way to ultimate glory that season.

United played a cagey game, surprising their Serie A opponents with a cautious and patient approach before breaking the deadlock not long before half time through their talisman Cristiano Ronaldo. The 23-year-old met Paul Scholes’ cross with a thunderous header to give United the all-important away goal and set them on the road to victory, confirmed by Wayne Rooney’s second after the interval.

"Ronaldo's goal changed the game for us. It was a fantastic header," said United boss Alex Ferguson after the match. "His spring and courage to go in front of the defender surprised the Roma player. It was a centre forward's header - it reminded me of myself."

The 2007-08 season was a memorable one not just for United, who were crowned champions of Europe after beating Chelsea in the final to add to their Premier League triumph, but also for Ronaldo who truly announced himself as an elite player.

42 goals across the campaign – almost double that of his 23 the previous season – inevitably saw the Portuguese cited by many as the best player in the world, and Ronaldo was duly honoured with his first Ballon d'Or award in December of that year after earning a significant share of the votes.

By Sean Gillen

@SeanGillen9