vania-janet/multiturn-rag-retrieval-data huggingface dataset:
Scottish Premier League
Season Winner Runner - up Relegated Top scorer Players ' Player of the Year Writers ' Player of the Year 1998 -- 99 Rangers Celtic Dunfermline Athletic Henrik Larsson 29 ( Celtic ) Henrik Larsson ( Celtic ) Henrik Larsson ( Celtic ) 1999 -- 2000 Rangers Celtic No relegation Mark Viduka 25 ( Celtic ) Mark Viduka ( Celtic ) Barry Ferguson ( Rangers ) 2000 -- 01 Celtic Rangers St Mirren Henrik Larsson 35 ( Celtic ) Henrik Larsson ( Celtic ) Henrik Larsson ( Celtic ) 2001 -- 02 Celtic Rangers St Johnstone Henrik Larsson 29 ( Celtic ) Lorenzo Amoruso ( Rangers ) Paul Lambert ( Celtic ) 2002 -- 03 Rangers Celtic No relegation Henrik Larsson 28 ( Celtic ) Barry Ferguson ( Rangers ) Barry Ferguson ( Rangers ) 2003 -- 04 Celtic Rangers Partick Thistle Henrik Larsson 30 ( Celtic ) Chris Sutton ( Celtic ) Jackie McNamara ( Celtic ) 2004 -- 05 Rangers Celtic Dundee John Hartson 25 ( Celtic ) John Hartson ( Celtic ) Fernando Ricksen ( Rangers ) John Hartson ( Celtic ) 2005 -- 06 Celtic Heart of Midlothian Livingston Kris Boyd 32 ( 15 -- Kilmarnock , 17 -- Rangers ) Shaun Maloney ( Celtic ) Craig Gordon ( Hearts ) 2006 -- 07 Celtic Rangers Dunfermline Athletic Kris Boyd 20 ( Rangers ) Shunsuke Nakamura ( Celtic ) Shunsuke Nakamura ( Celtic ) 2007 -- 08 Celtic Rangers Gretna Scott McDonald 25 ( Celtic ) Aiden McGeady ( Celtic ) Carlos Cuéllar ( Rangers ) 2008 -- 09 Rangers Celtic Inverness CT Kris Boyd 27 ( Rangers ) Scott Brown ( Celtic ) Gary Caldwell ( Celtic ) 2009 -- 10 Rangers Celtic Falkirk Kris Boyd 23 ( Rangers ) Steven Davis ( Rangers ) David Weir ( Rangers ) 2010 -- 11 Rangers Celtic Hamilton Academical Kenny Miller 21 ( Rangers ) Emilio Izaguirre ( Celtic ) Emilio Izaguirre ( Celtic ) 2011 -- 12 Celtic Rangers Dunfermline Athletic Gary Hooper 24 ( Celtic ) Charlie Mulgrew ( Celtic ) Charlie Mulgrew ( Celtic ) 2012 -- 13 Celtic Motherwell Dundee Michael Higdon 26 ( Motherwell ) Michael Higdon ( Motherwell ) Leigh Griffiths ( Hibernian )
List of FIFA World Cup penalty shoot-outs
† , 1998 ) 2 - Gianluca Pagliuca ( 1994 † , 1998 ) 2 - Fabien Barthez ( 1998 , 2006 † ) 2 - Iker Casillas ( 2002 × 2 ) 2 - Keylor Navas ( 2014 × 2 ) 2 - Igor Akinfeev ( 2018 × 2 ) 2 - Danijel Subašić ( 2018 × 2 ) Most penalties taken against 10 - Sergio Goycochea 10 - Fabien Barthez 10 - Iker Casillas 10 - Igor Akinfeev 10 - Danijel Subašić Most penalties scored against 8 - Fabien Barthez Most penalties missed against 5 - Sergio Goycochea 5 - Cláudio Taffarel 5 - Danijel Subašić Most penalties saved 4 - Harald Schumacher ( 2 vs France in 1982 and 2 vs Mexico in 1986 ) 4 - Sergio Goycochea ( 2 vs Yugoslavia in 1990 and 2 vs Italy in 1990 ) 4 - Danijel Subašić ( 3 vs Denmark in 2018 and 1 vs Russia in 2018 ) Most penalties saved in one shoot - out 3 - Ricardo ( vs England in 2006 ) 3 - Danijel Subašić ( vs Denmark in 2018 ) Most decider penalties saved 2 - Sergio Goycochea ( 1990 × 2 )
History of the Pittsburgh Pirates
The 1960s would continue with extremely solid defensive play by Bill Mazeroski and the great offensive and defensive abilities of Clemente , baseball 's first Puerto Rican superstar . Clemente was regarded as one of the game 's best all - time hitters , and possessed a tremendous arm in right field . Although not the first black - Hispanic baseball player ( an honor belonging to Minnie Miñoso ) , Clemente 's charisma and leadership in humanitarian causes made him an icon across the continent . During his playing career , Clemente was often overlooked , but today many consider him to have been one of the greatest right fielders in baseball history .
Zinedine Zidane
Player ( edit ) Bordeaux UEFA Intertoto Cup : 1995 Juventus Serie A : 1996 -- 97 , 1997 -- 98 Supercoppa Italiana : 1997 UEFA Super Cup : 1996 Intercontinental Cup : 1996 UEFA Intertoto Cup : 1999 Real Madrid La Liga : 2002 -- 03 Supercopa de España : 2001 , 2003 UEFA Champions League : 2001 -- 02 UEFA Super Cup : 2002 Intercontinental Cup : 2002 France FIFA World Cup : 1998 UEFA European Championship : 2000 Individual French Division 1 Young Player of the Year : 1993 -- 94 French Division 1 Player of the Year : 1995 -- 96 Serie A Foreign Footballer of the Year : 1996 -- 97 , 2000 -- 01 Ballon d'Or : Bronze award 1997 FIFA World Player of the Year : Bronze award 1997 , 2002 Onze d'Argent : 1997 , 2002 , 2003 ESM Team of the Year : 1997 -- 98 , 2001 -- 02 , 2002 -- 03 , 2003 -- 04 UEFA Club Midfielder of the Year : 1998 L'Équipe International Champion of Champions : 1998 L'Équipe France Champion of Champions : 1998 FIFA World Cup Final Man of the Match : 1998 FIFA World Cup All - Star Team : 1998 , 2006 World Soccer Awards Player of the Year : 1998 French Player of the Year : 1998 , 2002 Onze d'Or : 1998 , 2000 , 2001 Ballon d'Or : 1998 FIFA World Player of the Year : 1998 , 2000 , 2003 FIFA XI : 1998 El País European Player of the Year : 1998 , 2001 , 2002 , 2003 Onze de Bronze : 1999 World Soccer 's Selection of the 100 Greatest Footballers of the 20th century : 1999 Ballon d'Or : Silver award 2000 UEFA European Championship Player of the Tournament : 2000 UEFA European Championship Team of the Tournament : 2000 , 2004 Serie A top assist provider : 2000 -- 01 Serie A Footballer of the Year : 2000 -- 01 UEFA Team of the Year : 2001 , 2002 , 2003 UEFA Champions League Final Man of the Match : 2002 Don Balón Award : 2001 -- 02 La Liga Best Foreign Player : 2001 -- 02 UEFA Club Footballer of the Year : 2002 FIFA World Cup Dream Team : 2002 FIFA 100 : 2004 UEFA Best European Player of the Past 50 Years : 2004 FIFA FIFPro World XI : 2005 , 2006 IFFHS World 's Best Playmaker :
Cristiano Ronaldo
Ronaldo has established a strong online presence ; the most popular sportsperson on social media , he counted 158 million total followers across Facebook , Twitter and Instagram by June 2015 . As of June 2015 , he has the world 's biggest Facebook fanbase with 103 million followers : he became the first sportsperson to reach 50 million followers in August 2010 , and in October 2014 , he became the first sportsperson , and the second person after Shakira , to reach 100 million followers . By June 2017 , Ronaldo had 277 million followers across social media . His sponsors earned $936 million in media value across his social media accounts between June 2016 to June 2017 . Ronaldo has released two mobile apps : in December 2011 , he launched an iPhone game called Heads Up with Cristiano , created by developer RockLive , and in December 2013 , he launched Viva Ronaldo , a dedicated social networking website and mobile app . Computer security company McAfee produced a 2012 report ranking footballers by the probability of an internet search for their name leading to an unsafe website , with Ronaldo 's name first on the list . The
1998 FIFA World Cup Final
The build - up was dominated by the fitness of Brazil 's star striker , Ronaldo , amid reports that he had suffered a pre-match fit .
1998 FIFA World Cup Final
Zinedine Zidane gave France the lead just before the half - hour mark with a header from an in - swinging corner from the right taken by Emmanuel Petit . Only minutes later , Ronaldo was put through on goal by a long ball from Dunga , but he could not get the better of the onrushing Fabien Barthez , who collided with the Brazilian striker . Both needed assistance from the squad medics but quickly recovered . Brazil 's superstar playmakers Leonardo and Rivaldo were kept quiet by Didier Deschamps and Christian Karembeu . As stoppage time began , France had an excellent chance to double their lead when a miscue by Brazil 's two central defenders , Junior Baiano and Aldair , put Stéphane Guivarc'h one on one with Claudio Taffarel , but the French striker hit a weak effort that was saved by Taffarel out for a corner . France doubled their lead a minute later , as Brazil could only clear the first corner out for another corner , this time from the left , Zidane scored another bouncing header that was almost identical to his first , to give the French a two - goal lead .
List of FIFA World Cup penalty shoot-outs
Taker records ( edit ) Most participations in shoot - outs 3 - Roberto Baggio ( 1990 , 1994 † , 1998 ) Most penalties scored 2 - Manuel Amoros ( 1982 , 1986 ) 2 - Andreas Brehme , Lothar Matthäus ( 1986 , 1990 ) 2 - José Serrizuela , Jorge Burruchaga ( 1990 × 2 ) 2 - Gheorghe Hagi , Ioan Lupescu ( 1990 , 1994 ) 2 - Roberto Baggio ( 1990 , 1998 ) 2 - Branco ( 1986 , 1994 † ) , Dunga ( 1994 † , 1998 ) 2 - Fernando Hierro , Rubén Baraja ( 2002 × 2 ) 2 - Celso Borges , Giancarlo González ( 2014 × 2 ) 2 - Arjen Robben , Dirk Kuyt ( 2014 × 2 ) 2 - Luka Modrić , Ivan Rakitić ( 2018 × 2 ) 2 - Sergei Ignashevich ( 2018 × 2 ) Most decider penalties scored 2 - Ivan Rakitić ( 2018 × 2 ) Goalkeeper records ( edit ) Most participations in shoot - outs 2 - Harald Schumacher ( 1982 , 1986 ) 2 - Sergio Goycochea ( 1990 × 2 ) 2 - Cláudio Taffarel ( 1994
List of most expensive association football transfers
Country Player records Record selling Record buying England 14 17 16 Italy 8 14 18 Argentina 5 Brazil 5 0 France Scotland Netherlands 0 Wales 0 0 Portugal 0 0 Spain 5 9 Uruguay 0 Denmark 0 0 Sweden 0 0
England at the FIFA World Cup
In the last 16 stage , a free kick from David Beckham saw England win 1 -- 0 against Ecuador and reach the quarter - finals , where they faced Portugal . The game finished goalless , and England once again were knocked out on penalties and Portuguese goalkeeper Ricardo became the first goalkeeper to save three penalties in a penalty shoot - out . Ricardo saved from Frank Lampard , Steven Gerrard , and Jamie Carragher ; the only England player who successfully converted his penalty was Owen Hargreaves . Portugal won the shoot - out 3 - 1 , despite misses from Petit and Hugo Viana . This game was also Erickson 's final match as England manager .
1998 FIFA World Cup Final
French President Jacques Chirac , International Olympic Committee President Juan Antonio Samaranch , the newly - elected FIFA president Sepp Blatter and his predecessor João Havelange , UEFA president Lennart Johansson , and co-president of local organizing committee Michel Platini were among those present at the stands during the awards ceremony . President Chirac handed the trophy to French captain Didier Deschamps .
List of Liverpool F.C. records and statistics
First capped player : Frank Becton , for England on 29 March 1897 . Most international caps while a Liverpool player : Steven Gerrard , 114 for England . Most international goals while a Liverpool player : Michael Owen , 26 for England . Ian Rush , 26 for Wales . World
Cristiano Ronaldo
During the following campaign , the 2011 -- 12 season , Ronaldo surpassed his previous goalscoring feats to achieve a new personal best of 60 goals across all competitions . His 100th goal for Real Madrid came at Camp Nou in the Supercopa de España , though Barcelona claimed the trophy 5 -- 4 on aggregate . He regained a place on the FIFA Ballon d'Or podium , as runner - up to Messi , after scoring hat - tricks against Real Zaragoza , Rayo Vallecano , Málaga , Osasuna , and Sevilla , the last of which put Madrid on top of the league by the season 's midway point . Despite two goals from Ronaldo , Madrid were subsequently defeated by Barcelona 4 -- 3 on aggregrate in the quarter - finals of the Copa del Rey . He again scored twice , including a penalty , in the Champions League semi-finals against Bayern Munich , resulting in a 3 -- 3 draw , but his penalty kick in the shootout was saved by Manuel Neuer , leading to Madrid 's elimination .
England at the FIFA World Cup
Although English goalkeeper Peter Shilton dived the right way for every penalty , he was unable to save any . German goalkeeper Bodo Illgner , having failed to save any of England 's first three penalties , saved England 's fourth penalty , taken by Stuart Pearce . Olaf Thon then scored for Germany , meaning that England 's Chris Waddle would have to score his fifth penalty and hope that Shilton saved the Germans ' fifth penalty . However , Waddle 's penalty missed completely , going high over the crossbar , thereby resulting in England 's being knocked out of the competition . The third - place playoff between England and Italy saw England lose their only game of the tournament in normal time . Even though this was England 's best finish since the 1966 World Cup , Bobby Robson 's time as England manager had come to an end .
England at the FIFA World Cup
The next round saw a second group stage consisting of three teams , a first time event at the World Cup . England drew with West Germany 0 -- 0 and after the Germans beat Spain 2 -- 1 , England then had to beat Spain with a two - goal difference to progress to the next round . England , however , only managed a 0 -- 0 draw against the Spanish . England remained unbeaten at the end of the tournament . After the World Cup , Ron Greenwood 's time as England manager ended , and he was replaced by Bobby Robson .
Cristiano Ronaldo
In his final seasons at United , Ronaldo played an even more attacking and central role , functioning both as a striker and as a supporting forward , or even as an attacking midfielder on occasion . He developed into a prolific goalscorer , capable of finishing well both inside the penalty area and from distance with an accurate and powerful shot . An accurate penalty kick taker , he also became a set piece specialist , renowned for his powerful , bending free kicks , though his ability in this regard deteriorated later on in his career .
List of Arsenal F.C. records and statistics
Thierry Henry holds the club record for most appearances with 86 , and is the club 's record goalscorer in European competitions with 42 goals .
2018 FIFA World Cup
For the first time since 1938 , Germany ( reigning champions ) did not advance past the first round . For the first time since 1982 , no African team progressed to the second round . For the first time , the fair play criteria came into use , when Japan qualified over Senegal due to having received fewer yellow cards . Only one match , France v Denmark , was goalless . Until then there were a record 36 straight games in which at least one goal was scored .
Cristiano Ronaldo
Ronaldo presenting his third Ballon d'Or to fans at the Santiago Bernabéu in January 2015 Club Sporting CP Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira : 2002 Manchester United Premier League : 2006 -- 07 , 2007 -- 08 , 2008 -- 09 FA Cup : 2003 -- 04 Football League Cup : 2005 -- 06 , 2008 -- 09 FA Community Shield : 2007 UEFA Champions League : 2007 -- 08 FIFA Club World Cup : 2008 Real Madrid La Liga : 2011 -- 12 , 2016 -- 17 Copa del Rey : 2010 -- 11 , 2013 -- 14 Supercopa de España : 2012 , 2017 UEFA Champions League : 2013 -- 14 , 2015 -- 16 , 2016 -- 17 UEFA Super Cup : 2014 , 2017 FIFA Club World Cup : 2014 , 2016 International Portugal UEFA European Championship : 2016 Individual FIFA Ballon d'Or : 2013 , 2014 FIFA World Player of the Year : 2008 FIFPro World Player of the Year : 2008 The Best FIFA Men 's Player : 2016 , 2017 Ballon d'Or : 2008 , 2016 UEFA Best Player in Europe Award : 2014 , 2016 , 2017 World Soccer Player of the Year : 2008 , 2013 , 2014 , 2016 GSA Best Player of the Year : 2011 , 2014 , 2016 Onze d'Or : 2008 , 2016 -- 17 Onze d'Argent : 2007 , 2009 , 2011 -- 12 Onze de Bronze : 2010 -- 11 Bravo Award : 2004 FIFPro Special Young Player of the Year : 2003 -- 04 , 2004 -- 05 CNID Best Portuguese Athlete Abroad : 2007 , 2008 , 2009 , 2011 , 2012 , 2013 , 2015 , 2016 , 2017 PFA Portuguese Player of the Year : 2016 European Golden Shoe : 2007 -- 08 , 2010 -- 11
Michael Jordan
With five regular - season MVPs ( tied for second place with Bill Russell -- only Kareem Abdul - Jabbar has won more , with six ) , six Finals MVPs ( NBA record ) , and three All - Star Game MVPs , Jordan is the most decorated player in NBA history . Jordan finished among the top three in regular - season MVP voting 10 times , and was named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History in 1996 . He is one of only seven players in history to win an NCAA championship , an NBA championship , and an Olympic gold medal ( doing so twice with the 1984 and 1992 U.S. men 's basketball teams ) . Since 1976 , the year of the NBA 's merger with the American Basketball Association , Jordan and Pippen are the only two players to win six NBA Finals playing for one team . In the All - Star Game fan ballot , Jordan received the most votes nine times , more than any other player . ``
Cristiano Ronaldo
During the qualification for the 2014 World Cup , Ronaldo scored a total of eight goals . A qualifying match on 17 October 2012 , a 1 -- 1 draw against Northern Ireland , earned him his 100th cap . His first international hat - trick also came against Northern Ireland , when he found the net three times in a 15 - minute spell of a 4 -- 2 qualifying victory on 6 September 2013 . After Portugal failed to qualify during the regular campaign , Ronaldo scored all four of the team 's goals in the play - offs against Sweden , which ensured their place at the tournament . His hat - trick in the second leg took his international tally to 47 goals , equalling Pauleta 's record . Ronaldo subsequently scored twice in a 5 -- 1 friendly win over Cameroon on 5 March 2014 to become his country 's all - time top scorer .
Jim Thorpe
Here and there , there are some people who are supremely endowed . My memory goes back to Jim Thorpe . He never practiced in his life , and he could do anything better than any other football player I ever saw .
Zinedine Zidane
While Zidane 's final season of club football ended without a trophy , he enjoyed success on a personal note by scoring his first hat - trick , against Sevilla , in a 4 -- 2 win in January 2006 . He ended the season for Real Madrid as their second highest goalscorer and assists provider behind teammates Ronaldo and David Beckham respectively , with nine goals and ten assists in 28 games . On 7 May 2006 , Zidane , who had announced his plans to retire after the 2006 World Cup , played his farewell match and scored in a 3 -- 3 draw with Villarreal . The squad wore commemorative shirts with ZIDANE 2001 -- 2006 below the club logo . The 80,000 fans inside the Santiago Bernabéu held up a banner reading , `` Thanks for the magic . ''
Height in sports
For wide and attacking positions , the players are generally relatively shorter . Many of the world class players have been shorter than average and in many cases gained an advantage from their low centre of gravity . Examples include Lorenzo Insigne 1.63 m ( 5 ft 4 in ) , Sebastian Giovinco , Bernard , Ludovic Giuly 1.64 m ( 5 ft 4 ⁄ in ) , Diego Maradona , Marco Verratti , Aaron Lennon 1.65 m ( 5 ft 5 in ) , Shaun Wright - Phillips 1.66 m ( 5 ft 5 ⁄ in ) , Romário , Mathieu Valbuena 1.67 m ( 5 ft 5 ⁄ in ) , Roberto Carlos , Paul Scholes , Claude Makélélé , N'Golo Kanté , Santi Cazorla 1.68 m ( 5 ft 6 in ) , Garrincha , Alexis Sánchez , Pedro 1.69 m ( 5 ft 6 ⁄ in ) , Lionel Messi , Xavi , David Silva , Franck Ribéry , Philipp Lahm 1.70 m ( 5 ft 7 in ) , Andrés Iniesta , Philippe Coutinho 1.71 m ( 5 ft 7 ⁄ in ) , Zico , Luka Modrić , Robinho , Dani Alves 1.72 m ( 5 ft 7 ⁄ in ) , Pelé , Eden Hazard , Sergio Agüero and Michael Owen 1.73 m ( 5 ft 8 in ) . However , height is considered advantageous for forwards who aim to score with their heads . Forwards who are particularly noted for their strength in the air include Lacina Traoré 2.03 m ( 6 ft 8 in ) , Jan Koller , Nikola Žigić 2.02 m ( 6 ft 7 ⁄ in ) , Peter Crouch 2.01 m ( 6 ft 7 in ) , Fernando Llorente and Andy Carroll 1.93 m ( 6 ft 4 in ) .
Football records in England
Most seasons in top flight overall : 114 seasons , Everton Most consecutive seasons in top flight : 90 seasons , Arsenal ( 1919 -- present , though no League football was played due to World War II between 1939 and 1945 -- 46 ) Fewest seasons in top flight overall : 1 season , joint record , Glossop , Leyton Orient , Northampton Town , Carlisle United , Swindon Town , and Barnsley have completed only one season in top flight in their history .
FIFA World Cup
Currently , all members ( players , coaches , and managers ) of the top three teams receive medals with an insignia of the World Cup Trophy ; winners ' ( gold ) , runners - up ' ( silver ) , and third - place ( bronze ) . In the 2002 edition , fourth - place medals were awarded to hosts South Korea . Before the 1978 tournament , medals were only awarded to the eleven players on the pitch at the end of the final and the third - place match . In November 2007 , FIFA announced that all members of World Cup - winning squads between 1930 and 1974 were to be retroactively awarded winners ' medals .
England at the FIFA World Cup
The game finished 2 - 2 , and , as neither team were able to find a winner in extra time , penalties were needed to decide the team that qualified to the next round . While David Seaman did save one penalty , Argentine goalkeeper Carlos Roa managed to save two , including the vital one from David Batty , thereby knocking England out of the World Cup . Beckham subsequently received death threats and was sent bullets in the post .
Cristiano Ronaldo
Following the Euro 2016 success , Ronaldo scored four goals against Andorra in the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers on 8 October 2016 . His four goals against a nine - man team marked the highest amount of goals he has scored in an international match . On 13 November , Ronaldo scored two goals ( while also missing a penalty ) in another qualifier against Latvia , which ended in a 4 -- 1 home victory ; these goals brought his international tally to 68 goals , putting level with Gerd Müller and Robbie Keane as the fourth - highest European international goalscorer of all - time . He played his first professional match on his home island of Madeira on 28 March 2017 at the age of 32 , opening a 2 -- 3 friendly defeat to Sweden at the Estádio dos Barreiros ; with the goal , he tied with Miroslav Klose on 71 goals as the third - highest scoring European in international football . ``
History of Arsenal F.C. (1966–present)
Despite the signing of Freddie Ljungberg in 1998 and Thierry Henry a year later , a more barren period followed for Arsenal over the next few years , though they came close several times . Arsenal led the League for much of 1998 -- 99 , until a 1 -- 0 loss to Leeds United allowed Manchester United to overtake them ; Arsenal beat Aston Villa on the last day of the season but United 's victory over Spurs meant they took the title . To rub it in further , Arsenal also lost the last ever FA Cup semi-final replay to Manchester United ; Dennis Bergkamp had missed a penalty in normal time , and Ryan Giggs scored the winner in extra time after a mazy solo run through the Arsenal defence . Arsenal 's return to the Champions League for the first time in seven years was also unsuccessful , as they failed to get past the group stage .
Cristiano Ronaldo
As Ronaldo matured , he underwent a major physical transformation , developing a muscular body type that allows him to retain possession of the ball . His strength , combined with his elevation and height of 1.85 m ( 6 ft 1 in ) , awarded him an edge in winning aerial challenges for balls ; consequently , many of his goals have been headers . Concurrently with his increased stamina and work - rate , his goalscoring ability improved drastically on the left wing , where he was given the positional freedom to move into the centre to finish attacks . He also increasingly played a creative role for his team , participating in build - up plays courtesy of his good vision and passing ability . Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo
Ronaldo came to the attention of Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson in August 2003 , when Sporting defeated United 3 -- 1 at the inauguration of the Estádio José Alvalade in Lisbon . His performance impressed the Manchester United players , who urged Ferguson to sign him . Ferguson himself considered the 18 - year - old `` one of the most exciting young players '' he had ever seen . A decade after his departure from the club , in April 2013 , Sporting honoured Ronaldo by selecting him to become their 100,000 th member .