Leeds United starlet Ronaldo Vieira speaks about his glorious name, difficult upbringing and how he became a footballer
Teenager reveals all in his first international newspaper interview and says he failed his first trial with the Whites
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HE is named after one World Cup winner and shares his surname with another.
But Leeds wonderkid Ronaldo Vieira, 18, is managing to make his own name in the game.
Born in Guinea-Bissau, raised in Portugal and now settled in England, his next destination looks set to be the Premier League.
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And fans across the country will certainly take note should they see his name on a top-flight teamsheet.
Not least if he is joined on it by his twin brother — a fellow Leeds midfielder, who is called Romario!
Ronaldo — known as ‘Ronny’ — smiled: “My mum Regina played football herself.
“So because we were born a week after Brazil played France in the 1998 World Cup final, I think she just decided, ‘This one is Ronaldo and that one is Romario’.
“At school, people were just amazed we had these names, with Vieira as a surname.
“They were just thinking, ‘What is this? They must be making it up.’
“A lot of the media attention me and my brother got when we started must have been because of our names.
“But I don’t look at it like a burden.
“I have watched a few clips of Vieira on YouTube to get to know what he was about.
“He was a powerful midfielder, and my main strength is my physicality as well.”
The thought of Ronaldo going on to emulate his Arsenal legend namesake and play in the Premier League seems of little doubt.
He turned heads with his performance at Anfield in November’s 2-0 EFL Cup loss.
And after his display in last month’s 1-0 home win over Derby, visiting boss Steve McClaren simply said: “Vieira — wow. He’s got a bright future that boy.”
But his feet are firmly on the ground.
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This is Vieira’s first national newspaper interview and he has quite a tale to tell.
His story starts with when he swapped West Africa for Europe after a family tragedy.
Vieira explained: “My mum moved to Portugal to look for a job — she was a chef.
“And she was waiting until she was stable to move us over there with her.
“That was the plan, but it happened earlier than it was supposed to because my dad passed away in Africa.
“I was five years old then. That was a tough time.”
It was in Portugal that Vieira started playing football at a local club.
And his natural talent was soon spotted by Benfica, who moved him to Lisbon from his Algarve home when he was 12 — the only time he has been away from his twin.
That, though, lasted just a year as the Eurozone crisis meant his mum and stepdad were struggling for work.
So they uprooted to England, shortly after returning from a summer holiday in Newcastle, where Ronaldo scored a hatful in a tournament for Whitley Bay.
They settled in Batley, West Yorkshire, and the boys had trials at Manchester City and Leeds, albeit unsuccessfully.
It was not until they were studying at York College and playing at its i2i Academy that they won a second chance at Elland Road.
Ronaldo eventually joined Leeds aged 17, and was handed his first-team debut as a late sub at Preston in the final game of last season.
Romario signed 12 months after his brother, and is still part of the Under-23 set-up.
Ronaldo, who has made 26 appearances under Garry Monk this term, said: “It’s good to know the manager is not scared of playing young players if he thinks we are capable.
“He has put a lot of confidence into us and we want to repay him.”
Vieira confesses he did not support Leeds before he signed for them, whispering “Chelsea” when asked who his English team used to be.
But he knows just how much it would mean to get the fallen Yorkshire giants back in the big time after 13 long years.
Vieira said: “It would feel brilliant, and not just for me and not just for Leeds fans.
“Fans of the Premier League want Leeds back there. So we will try and do our best to get there this year — we have a good chance.”
Vieira qualifies for Guinea-Bissau, Portugal and England.
He has not played for any country at youth level — but admitted: “My choice will always be Portugal.
“If they don’t come, I’m eligible to play for England.”
The FA should try to do something about that if Vieira continues his rapid rise.
It is not as if they can forget his name.
