Home Page > Sport > Fans mob Ronaldo as Spanish giants prepare for Rovers clash

Blogs

News

Sport

Entertainment

Advice
- Green Card

Roots

Make a comment

Larger Text

E-mail

Fans mob Ronaldo as Spanish giants prepare for Rovers clash

Soccer fans swarm $131m signing Ronaldo in Kildare

PADDY KELLY

IrishCentral.com Staff Writer

Published Tuesday, July 14, 2009, 9:09 AM

Updated Thursday, July 23, 2009, 5:58 PM

Read more: Cristiano Ronaldo, European Football, Soccer, Sports

Cristiano Ronaldo arrives in County Kildare for debut game against Shamrock Rovers

Soccer fans swarmed a luxury hotel in Ireland last night to catch a glimpse of Cristiano Ronaldo, the most expensive soccer player in history.

Ronaldo is in Ireland for pre-season training with his new club Real Madrid at the swanky Carton House in County Kildare.

Security was tight at Dublin Airport when the team arrived and they were whisked away throuh a VIP exit and driven to Kildare.

In Kildare, fans mobbed the luxury bus when it pulled up at the hotel and Ronaldo waved to fans as they snapped pictures.

However, one fan was blocked by a security guard as he tried to approach Ronaldo for an autograph.

The Spanish giants paid Manchester United a record-breaking €94m ($131m) for Ronaldo and he is expected to make his debut in a friendly match against Irish minnows Shamrock Rovers on Monday.

The €60 ($83) tickets for that game have long sold out but tickets are available on ebay for just over face value at €75 ($104)

Ronaldo is just as well-known for his partying as he is for his soccer skills.

His on-off relationship with celebrity Paris Hilton has kept the sports media occupied in the off-season.

However, the world's attention will be focused on Tallaght Stadium Monday night as he makes his debut with Real Madrid.

Vote now - Buzz this story up!

RELATED ARTICLES
RELATED TOPICS

E-mail

Be the first to make a comment.

Join us - follow IrishCentral.com

Facebook

Buzz

Twitter

Irish sport is popular and widespread. Levels of participation and spectating are high on the island of Ireland. Throughout the country a wide variety of Irish sports are played, the most popular being Gaelic games (such as Gaelic football, hurling and camogie), soccer, rugby union and boxing. By attendance figures Gaelic football and hurling are by far the most popular sports in Ireland, (34% of total attendances at sports events being to football and 23% to hurling), while golf and soccer (including 5-a-side) are the most played at 17% of the population each. Many Irish sports, such as boxing, cricket, rugby union, Gaelic football and hurling, are organized in an all-island basis, with a single team representing Ireland in international competitions. Other Irish sports, such as Association Football, have separate organizing bodies in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. At the Olympics, a person from Northern Ireland can choose to represent either Ireland or Great Britain. The various GAA discipline finals are easily the largest sporting events regularly held in Ireland, in both terms of attendance and media coverage. The biggest national sporting event in Ireland is the final of the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, held annually in Croke Park in September. It usually attracts a sell out crowd of 82,500 to Croke Park. Many of the matches in the championship attract crowds of 50,000, depending on who is playing. Aside from the GAA, the biggest multi-sport event held in Ireland regularly is the Community Games. The games are organized every year from a local level, where hundreds of thousands of young people compete in different disciplines such as athletics, swimming, cycling etc., in the first half of the year. Winners progress to county level, and then to the Community Games finals. One of the biggest international Irish sport events is international Association Football. The Republic's national team has punched above its weight in recent years, qualifying for the 2002 World Cup, and performed well against such teams as Brazil and Portugal. In rugby union, Ireland's national team has been ranked in the top five teams regularly over the last few years, and has produced major stars such as Keith Wood and Brian O'Driscoll. In golf, Ireland is home to several top golfers such as Padraig Harrington.

Blogs

Fans mob Ronaldo as Spanish giants prepare for Rovers clash

Soccer fans swarm $131m signing Ronaldo in Kildare

Be the first to make a comment.

Related Items

Join us - follow IrishCentral.com

news

sport

entertainment

gossip

business

travel

advice

opinion

multimedia

roots

food & drink

blogs