Real Madrid

Fourty minutes prior to his presentation, Cristiano Ronaldo had his first look at his new dressing room. "I had never been here before, and it's fantastic." He knew that just meters away waited 80,000 fans.

The Cristiano Ronaldo show began in the dressing room, where the Portuguese star gave us a glimpse of his ball skills. One touch after the other on a miniture set surrounded by cables and lights. The ball never hit the grund as the acrobatics grew more impressive. It was his way of warming up and preparing for what awaited; hi s way of relieving the stress. As soon as Jorge Valdano walked in Cristiano asked the Director General what kind of surface he would be setting foot on. "Similar to the dressing room," reponded Valdano, and Cristiano immediately calmed down. He didn't want any mistakes so that everything was just perfect.

He knew the date, 6 July 2009, that was embossed on his shirt would go down in history. "Is this the biggest presentation ever?" he asked. "Yes, it's broken all the records," replied those on hand. He smiled and continued working the ball.

He had previously been put through an intense photo session. Spectacular photos because he poses so professionally knowing how important his image is to the club. He humbly took orders from the photographers and posed with several different shirts with his name written in Arabic, Chinese and Japanese.

Ten minutes away from the presentation, Real Madrid President, Florentino Perez walked in. Ronaldo continued displaying his skills. "How well do you play?" he asked the President, who replied, "I'll leave the playing to you, my friend." The two chatted for several minutes and the dressing room slowly emptied out, leaving nothing but the player behind. The silence was a stark contrast to the 119 decibels recorded as he appeared on the pitch.

Ronaldo kissed the cross on his necklace and got his last touch on the ball before making his way out of the tunner. His game begins now.