/url] . So it was understandable if he was a little s

On August 6, 2003 an injured Gary Neville was at home watching his Manchester United team-mates playing against Sporting Lisbon in a televised pre-season friendly. The oppositions 18-year-old left winger quickly caught his eye... It was the first time Id seen Cristiano Ronaldo play.He was up against John OShea, who was obviously a good defender; he was strong, he was quick and he knew where to position himself. Sheasy was playing in the position I would normally play - right-back - but I was injured and I was watching the game at home on MUTV.Like Sheasy, Im very aware of how difficult it is to play against certain types of movement. I specifically remember Cristiano making a certain move where he cut inside and ran between OShea and our centre-half. He made this double movement and I remember thinking oh my God. Ronaldo agrees new deal Cristiano Ronaldo agrees new deal with Real Madrid until 2021 Obviously you could see the skill he had on the ball and his natural talent, but these days what you see less and less is players who make runs without the ball in between the full-back and the centre-back. I would say thats possibly the most underrated run of all.Its so difficult for the full-back and centre-back to defend against, as the full-back doesnt know when to pass over the attacker to the centre-back or play offside. The centre-back then could have a decision to make whether to leave him or track the runner. Its a really difficult issue, especially when the ball is in a central area.I remember watching Cristiano make that run between the full-back and centre-back and thinking wow, you dont normally see that from experienced players, never mind a young kid. As Cristiano Ronaldo prepares to face Sporting in the Champions League, we recall the 2003 friendly against Manchester United in the same stadium What a player, I thought. After the match I remember sending a text to my brother, saying we need to sign him and apparently there was a lot of talk about him on the coach after the game.Obviously players should never be involved in signings, but he certainly made everyone sit up and take notice. Id never heard of him and Id never seen him before that night, but there was a huge excitement among the players afterwards.The only other opposition player Ive felt like that about was Louis Saha. I remember playing against him as a centre-back when he was at Fulham and he destroyed me three seasons on the bounce. I was devastated when I had to play against him and I thought weve got to sign him.He was clearly a different type of player to Cristiano, but we spoke about him in the dressing room in the same way. After that game against Sporting Lisbon, there was a great admiration and there was no doubt the players were all talking about Cristiano. Ronaldo scored a 38th hat-trick for Real Madrid as they won 4-1 at Alaves What we didnt realise is that the manager had been dealing with it for a period of time before then. Sir Alex Ferguson signed him shortly afterwards. Cristiano was very raw when he first came to the club; he had a lot of growing up to do and like all young players he needed time to develop.It took a few years for his body to fill out and he needed time to get his decision-making right but you would expect that from a young player. And over two-and-a-half years he became a devastating player, improving himself both physically and mentally.For me, it felt like he matured and became a man after the 2006 World Cup. After that tournament he became a completely different player. Sir Alex greets Cristiano at Man Utds training ground Suddenly he knew when to pass, where to pass and he knew when and where to run. It all seemed to come together at once. That was the time he was getting criticised the most by fans in this country after his famous wink at Wayne Rooney, but I would never criticise him for that. I always felt all was fair in love and war when it comes to the football pitch. As long as it was legal and you were acting within the rules of the game, then a player should try to gain all competitive advantages possible to try and win. Ronaldo tells the story of the time he dazzled Man Utd and Sir Alex Ferguson while playing for Sporting Lisbon in 2003 Ive always said that Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs and Roy Keane were the three great players I played with over a long period, but for three years from 2006 to 2009, Ronaldo set a standard you can only dream about. It was a magical time when he was playing with Rooney and Carlos Tevez; Ive never seen anything like it. It was amazing to watch and he was the pinnacle of it.After leaving United, he has gone on to become the best player in the world - and I think thats been proven by the Ballon DOr wins.There has long been an argument over who the best player is - Ronaldo or Lionel Messi - and in my mind weve been blessed to have both. I would always favour Cristiano because I played with him, but its almost unfair to say that because both are sensational players. Ballon dOr explainer With FIFA launching their own award, we explain the latest on the Ballon dOr But Ill never forget that game against Sporting Lisbon and the chat among the players when they got back to Manchester. Poor Sheasy was the butt of a lot of jokes for being given a run-around.But I have to be honest, I felt for him. If Id been playing that night hed have done the same to me.Watch #CR7Live tomorrow at 1pm on SkySports.com, Sky Sports Facebook page and on the Soccer AM You Tube Channel. Also See: What Utd saw in Ronaldo Ronaldo agrees new deal Gerry Cheevers Jersey . Bryce Harper? He also came into Wednesday without a long ball and hadnt driven in a run. He was hitting .160, had nearly three times as many strikeouts as hits and was dropped to seventh in the batting order. Terry OReilly Jersey . So it was understandable if he was a little shaky early in his return to the Texas Rangers rotation. He spent most of the outing searching for his best stuff, but still managed to shut down the struggling Minnesota Twins offence. http://www.thebostonbruinshockey.com/brad-marchand-hockey-jersey/ . Nowitzki scored 28 points, Harris had a season-high 14 for the second straight game and the Dallas Mavericks beat the Detroit Pistons 116-106 Sunday night. Patrice Bergeron Jersey . Power had a two-lap average of 218.896 mph in qualifying Friday at the high-banked, high-speed 1 1/2-mile track for his 34th career pole. Adam Oates Jersey . - The situation looked bleak at best for the coach Doc Rivers Clippers — down by four points with 18 seconds left in the fourth quarter.CARSON, Calif. -- Erick Torres gave Chivas USA an early lead and Gyasi Zardes pulled the Los Angeles Galaxy even before halftime, and the Southern California rivals played to a 1-1 tie Sunday in their final matches before Major League Soccers two-week World Cup break. The Galaxy (4-3-5), who had a 21-6 advantage in shots and held possession for 65 per cent of the game, have lost just once in the past 19 meetings, since dropping two in a row in 2007. Los Angeles leads the all-time series 21-4-8. "Not a good result for us," Los Angeles coach Bruce Arena said. "We squandered a few chances. ... There were chances for us to get a few more goals, and at the end of the day, thats the game. You could see we controlled the game for long periods of time, but youve got to get a goal. The goals were out there for us, and we didnt connect." The Galaxy are seventh in the Western Conference but have games in hand, as many as four, on all of their rivals. Chivas (2-7-5) is last in the West. "The players showed characcter," said Chivas coach Wilmer Cabrera, whose team has won just once in its past 13 games.dddddddddddd "With the ball, we made some possibilities. That was important for us. ... (This result) is going to help us with what we are going to do, but we are not happy unless we get three points." Torres scored his ninth goal of the season in the 20th minute, finishing a defence-splitting pass from Leandro Barrera, as Chivas took its first lead in the SuperClasico series since May 2012, its last victory, a span of six games. The goal was his 16th since he joined Chivas last July, giving him a share of the MLS record for Mexican-born players with former Chicago Fire star Cuauhtemoc Blanco. The Galaxy (4-3-5) nearly tied the score seven minutes later, but Chivas goalkeeper Dan Kennedy pushed Landon Donovans chip off the right post, then leaped across his goalmouth to snag Marcelo Sarvas header on the rebound. Zardes scored in the 35th minute, jumping above two defenders to head home a chip from Sarvas. Authentic Steelers Jerseys Authentic Cowboys Jerseys Authentic Raiders Jerseys Authentic Chiefs Jerseys Authentic Eagles Jerseys Authentic Redskins Jerseys Authentic Falcons Jerseys Authentic Ravens Jerseys Authentic Browns Jerseys Authentic Cardinals Jerseys Authentic Bills Jerseys Authentic Panthers Jerseys Authentic Bears Jerseys Authentic Bengals Jerseys Authentic Texans Jerseys Authentic Broncos Jerseys Authentic Lions Jerseys Authentic Packers Jerseys Authentic Jets Jerseys Authentic Dolphins Jerseys Authentic Patriots Jerseys Authentic Jaguars Jerseys Authentic Titans Jerseys Authentic Chargers Jerseys Authentic Giants Jerseys Authentic Saints Jerseys Authentic Buccaneers Jerseys Authentic 49ers Jerseys Authentic Seahawks Jerseys Authentic Rams Jerseys Authentic Vikings Jerseys Authentic Colts Jerseys ' ' '