How Does It Feel To Be On Top Of The World?

By GREG BURKE /MILAN

onaldo Luiz Nazario da Lima, better known as Ronaldo, is the greatest player in the world at the moment. Only 21, he has twice been named FIFA's Player of the Year. He left Brazil for the Netherlands in 1994, aged 17, and scored 42 goals in 45 games with P.S.V. Eindhoven. The following season, at Spanish powerhouse F.C. Barcelona, he nailed 34 goals in 37 games. After he moved to Inter Milan last year, he scored 25 goals in 34 games. He's known as the Phenomenon, but off the field he's simply a nice guy who happens to play football extraordinarily well.

"I'm not a phenomenon," offers Ronnie. "I try to do my best, play well. I'm happy with what I'm doing." So was Inter this year, as Ronaldo led the squad to the 3-0 UEFA Cup victory over Lazio. Inter's season-ticket sales jumped from 35,000 to 48,000 after the arrival of the smiling Brazilian. Ronaldo earns about $5 million a year from Inter and a little less than that from Nike. "Not a problem," Ronaldo says of his seven-digit earnings. "I work hard and I do my best to earn my salary. I think it's right that they pay me for what I do."

Defenders get a little nervous when Ronaldo has the ball near the penalty area. Take Mark Iuliano of Juventus, for example. In a tight match in April, he didn't even look at the ball and went straight for the body, knocking Ronaldo flat. That, apparently, is how to stop the Phenomenon. Much to the delight of the mere mortals on the field, however, he does occasionally make mistakes. It happened in March, when Inter played Parma. The Phenomenon was trying out his new shoes, Nike Mercurials, and was awarded a penalty. He put his head down, aimed and fired, but it was the wrong day for Nike's debut. Parma keeper Gigi Buffon guessed right by diving left, blocking the shot, which was hard and low. Even Ronaldo can be less than phenomenal at times.

But for Gigi Simoni, the Inter Milan coach, he's a "wonderful boy." In addition, Simoni suggests, "He's only at about 60% of his potential," triggering wild dreams of what Ronaldo would look like at 100%. It seems like a joke, but Simoni is serious. "Because he's still young, he still has a lot to learn, and needs a lot more experience." Simoni believes Ronaldo lacks equilibrium. "He's very intuitive and lively," says Simoni, pointing out what the world's best defenders have learned the hard way. "He's got a good head on his shoulders, but it's not used at its best right now because right now he's the best player in the world and it's very easy for him. But I think he could become the best player of all time." The man who brought him to Milan, Massimo Moratti, has run out of words for the Phenomenon. "You find the adjectives," shrugs Moratti. "I don't have any left."