Rene Meulensteen, who served as Sir Alex Ferguson’s assistant manager at Manchester United, has revealed that he made a special DVD for Cristiano Ronaldo to teach him the importance of teamwork.
Cristiano Ronaldo flourished into one of the best players in soccer during his first spell with Manchester United between 2003 and 2009. In addition to winning three Premier League titles and one Champions League trophy, Ronaldo won the first of his five Ballon d’Or awards during that time.
The Portuguese superstar was the Red Devils’ unabashed star during the end of his first spell at United, but Meulensteen refused to give him any special treatment. After coming on as Ferguson’s assistant in 2007, the Dutchman asked the sharpshooter to score 40 goals a season and showed him a DVD to show how his team helped him become the best.
10 years ago today, Cristiano Ronaldo hit the 𝘚𝘐𝘜𝘜𝘜𝘜𝘜𝘜𝘜𝘜 for the first time.
A celebration you can hear 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/vVgQ0P0U9M
— B/R Football (@brfootball) August 7, 2023
Manchester United coach Meulensteen made special DVD titled “From Good to Great” for Ronaldo
In his soon-to-be-released autobiography “United, Sir Alex, and Me”, Meulensteen wrote (via Daily Star):
“‘I’m going to try to reach your target,’ he said, referring to my opinion that he should get 40 goals.
“I’d made a DVD for him titled From Good to Great. I wanted to get him into a mental state to maintain his incredible form and still look to improve each time he went out.”
Meulensteen added:
“I asked him to watch the DVD three times – the first to just watch. The second to focus on the words and quotes that were said. The third and final time was to analyze the clips and to consider why I’d chosen them.
“The purpose was to sharpen the perspective that he was so important as an individual to make the team achieve what they wanted – but without the team, he was nothing.”
Meulensteen’s DVD seemingly helped Cristiano Ronaldo
Meulensteen’s DVD has seemingly had a tangible impact on Ronaldo’s career. The Portugal icon’s maturity has shone through during his subsequent spells at Real Madrid, Juventus, Manchester United, and Al-Nassr, with him often putting his team ahead of himself. As a result, he has managed to fill his trophy cabinet to his heart’s content, bagging as many as five Champions League trophies and seven domestic titles, amongst other honors.
