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Zidane lauds Brazilian Ronaldo

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IANS Paris

French legend Zinedine Zidane said that Brazilian Ronaldo was "probably the best player" he has ever played with.

"I've always seen Ronaldo as the best after having played and trained with him," Zidane, who was the Ronaldo's team-mate in 2002-2006 and won one La Liga title and an Intercontinental Cup together, was quoted as saying by Goal.com, reports Xinhua.

"He's probably the best player I ever played with. He did what he wanted with the ball and didn't have any weaknesses," he added.

Joining Brazil's Pele, Argentine Diego Maradona, Ferenc Puskas of Hungary and Zidane himself, the twice World Cup winner Ronaldo is the fifth player entering the Hall of Fame, which came after a panel of experts from across Goal's global network chose a shortlist of 15 former stars and readers decided the final five.

 

"Technically, no player has impressed me more than Ronaldo," said the 42-year-old Zidane, who's obtaining a coaching badge after being banned for three months by the Spanish football governing body.

Ronaldo won two World Cups, two Copa Americas and two Ballons d'Or as a player, and Zidane believes the former Barcelona and Inter striker was unplayable at his peak.

"There was no system or tactics that could stop him," he said. "When Ronaldo had the ball, he ran at 2,000 miles per hour. In most cases, you're fast without the ball. He was fast with it."

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First Published: Nov 15 2014 | 11:06 AM IST

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