“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,” once remarked French soccer icon Zinedine Zidane, capturing the sheer tenacity and explosive speed of his former Real Madrid teammate. While many players from that era possessed their own blend of skill and pace, none truly compared to the Brazilian striker. As Zidane himself put it, “there was no system or tactic that could stop him.” But have you ever wondered what El Fenómeno’s secret actually was?

Well, how about we hear from the man himself? Having represented the iconic yet rival clubs across Spain’s FC Barcelona and Real Madrid, as well as Italy’s AC Milan and Inter Milan, even after being a footballer, the Brazilian icon thanks just one off-court practice that helped him turn on his booster jets on the pitch. That was none other than track & field training.

“I started doing track and field training at Inter [Milan],” revealed Ronaldo in an interview compiled by The Footy Section on X. “That always helped me a lot because in the first few meters, I could pull away from anyone. Training with the right equipment always helps you gain seconds. I knew how to take advantage of everything I had, and I always looked to improve my physical condition. A striker needs to gain two meters when taking off.”

Yep, that’s all—no extra sauce needed to understand what truly made Ronaldo a phenomenon during his playing days. Then again, with that kind of blistering speed came challenges that constantly plagued the 2x World Cup winner’s career. Injuries, for starters, were a recurring setback.

Many even believe that if he hadn’t been sidelined so often, Ronaldo would have reached an even greater level than the one fans still celebrate today. Still, it’s fascinating to see how simply adding track-and-field work to his training routine helped elevate his speed. It also sheds light on his incredible return of 59 goals and 11 assists in just 99 games for Inter.

No wonder defenders could barely keep up with him the moment he stepped onto the pitch. And really, who better than his own rivals and teammates to back that up?

Ronaldo was ‘impossible’ to stop back in the days

It’s not us, but his own rivals making such a claim. “Ronaldo is the hardest attacker I’ve ever had to face. He was impossible to stop,” for context, is what Alessandro Nesta said. But why? Well, hear the story of the 1998 UEFA Cup Final in Paris. Playing for Inter Milan at that time, Ronaldo and his teammates managed to pull off an emphatic 3-0 win over Lazio to win the European Cup.

Having scored the winning goal in the 70th minute after teammates Zamorano and Zanetti built the momentum, it wasn’t just the goal that made Ronaldo the moment of the night.

What truly set him apart was a stunning move down the left flank against Alessandro Nesta – a play so remarkable that it even left his then-rival Zinedine Zidane stunned, a memory that remains unforgettable in his mind. In fact, it’s that dribble that Zidane describes as “a little dribble that defines his whole game,” and although a few players, usually Brazilians, might attempt something similar, none could execute it with the kind of speed Ronaldo showed that night.

Even Alessandro Nesta, the man who had to defend him that night, has called it one of the “worst experiences” of his career. He admitted that during the match, it felt like the loss might have been his fault.

But after watching the highlights back, he realized the truth: Inter didn’t fall short because of defensive errors, but because Ronaldo was simply unstoppable. “He is so quick he makes everyone else look as if they are standing still,” Nesta reflected.

Just as Michael Owen once described, Ronaldo’s blistering speed and strength made him almost unreal: “He was just a blur, he’d be that fast.” El Fenómeno truly is one of a kind!