All Hail The Entertainer
Within days of Cristiano Ronaldo´s scintillating debut against Bolton last August, amateur games were saturated with players trying, and invariably failing, to replicate the winger´s rapid-fire stepovers.
Opposition shins were bruised by over-excited flailings, while perpetrators´ pride was left deflated time and again as they simply left the ball behind or accidentally hoofed it into a passing dog.
Ronaldo had made his mark, and was instantly recognisable as one of those rare players who captures the imagination - who plays not just to win, but to entertain in doing so.
Amid the celebrity status afforded modern players, it is often forgotten that football is a form of entertainment. And this season, the 19-year-old from Madeira has torn up the script and stolen the spotlight for himself.
It wasn´t all plain sailing for Ronaldo, however, as the tabloids were quick to portray the youngster as a one-trick pony who would meander down blind alleys before losing the ball or crumpling under the slightest challenge.
In truth, the teenager was burdened with grossly unfair expectations after instantly catapulting himself into the media eye, and had a number of difficult obstacles to overcome.
Aside from his huge £12million price tag and the difficult tasks of leaving his family, adapting to Mancunian culture and learning a new language, Ronaldo also had to cope with filling the gap left by the departed David Beckham and the injured Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Sir Alex´s plan to dip the Portguese playmaker into first-team action sporadically was hamstrung by Solskjaer´s absence, and Ronaldo saw far more action before Christmas than his manager would have liked.
After a well-earned New Year break back in Madeira, the winger returned to Manchester completely rejuvenated, and his development as a United player ever since has been nothing short of breathtaking.
" He is one of the most exciting young players I have ever seen," said Sir Alex when United signed Ronaldo. High praise indeed, and it is now near-impossible to disagree with the Scot.
The player´s raw talent has been harnessed and directed, while the inclination to perform too many tricks has been curbed and replaced with a driven purpose, so the epitaph to a weaving tale of tricks and turns is now an incisive cross or, as has increasingly become the case, a goal.
Comparisons to United legends of the past are inevitable and unfair, but in truth the winding runs and close control smack of Giggs, the crosses can be Beckham-esque and the cheeky tricks resemble Best at his most impertinent.
All and sundry are beginning to eulogise over the talents of Cristiano Ronaldo, and the man from Madeira looks more than capable of living up to his star billing for years to come.
