O'Neill hails great Ronaldo
05 Jan 2007 - 13:30:09
Manchester United forward Cristiano Ronaldo has been hailed as a great player by Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill.
The 21-year-old Portugal international has been in devastating form for the Red Devils this term, netting 12 goals as he begins to live up to the £12.24million fee that United paid Sporting Lisbon in the summer of 2003.
Ahead of the two sides' FA Cup third round clash at Old Trafford, O'Neill is wary of a repeat of the showing that saw Ronaldo score twice in a 3-0 league win at Villa just before Christmas.
He said: "Ronaldo came to Manchester United a couple of season ago with raw talent and people talked about his ability to play the final ball, of him being rather superfluous and not seeing things.
"If his performance against us was anything to go by, he can still do the occasional trick that goes wrong, but he instantly forgets about it and gets on to the next thing.
"He gets on to the next thing. It wouldn't prevent him from doing another little trick but, in essence, Ronaldo is not only a crowd pleaser but a brilliant player.
"They are different things. You can be a crowd pleaser and drive your manager insane. Great players can combine both and that's why he is a great player."