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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 Nike Air Max Sale . -- Timbers coach Caleb Porter didnt stray from his business-like approach to the season even after Portland downed the two-time defending league champion Los Angeles Galaxy to gain crucial playoff position. Cheap Air Max 270 . Third-seeded Murray had the easiest path to victory on New Years Eve, barely breaking a sweat during his 6-0, 6-0 win over 2,129th-ranked Qatari wildcard recipient Mousa Shanan Zayed. https://www.wholesalenikeairmaxshoes.com/ . JOHNS, N. Cheap Nike Air Max Outlet . Andreas Johnson had a goal and two assists while Jacob de la Rose also scored for Sweden (2-0-0). Esa Lindell and Rasmus Ristolainen replied for Finland (1-1-0) Lindell opened the scoring for Finland just 41 seconds into the game, but the hosts quickly regained their composure and tied the score less than four minutes later on Wennbergs first of the game. Discount Nike Air Max Wholesale .Y. -- Bills receiver Stevie Johnson has a bone to pick with the NFL schedule maker. CLEVELAND -- Theres nothing Joe Thomas hasnt experienced during a stormy decade with the Cleveland Browns.Amid the firings, the hirings, the draft busts, the regime changes, the mistakes, the quarterback conundrum, the losses and, oh yes, Johnny Football, Thomas, a once-in-a-generation left tackle, has personified class and cornerstone consistency while the franchise that selected him with the third overall pick in 2007 has wandered aimlessly as an NFL laughingstock.The man has seen it all. Everything, except a 0-16 season.And thats staring Thomas in the facemask.But as the Browns (0-12), first-year coach Hue Jackson and his staff mercifully reached their bye week just four losses from infamy and shame, Thomas believes things arent as bad in Cleveland as they may look.I do see some progress even though, obviously, no wins this year is disappointing, said Thomas, the eighth player to be selected to the Pro Bowl in his first nine seasons. But definitely the ship is headed in the right direction.The Titanics captain muttered the same thing before clipping the iceberg, but Thomas is convinced Cleveland will emerge from these dark days -- the dimmest in the teams 66-year-history, worse even than the 1999 expansion season -- into a bright future.Its been another one of those years for the Browns, who have lost at least 10 games in eight of the past nine seasons.It hasnt helped that Clevelands roster, overhauled by a new front office that decided not to re-sign several free agent veterans in favor of stockpiling draft picks, has been shriveled further by key injuries.Jackson was dealt a dreadful hand, but Thomas, who has never missed a snap as a pro and played on a damaged right knee this season, has been impressed by the way his sixth coach in 10 years has persevered.Hue has been exceptional, Thomas said, noting Jacksons ability to motivate, his football I.Q. and steadiness.There are no signs Jacksons job is in jeopardy. In fact, Jackson, who became emotional when describing the difficulty of this season following Sundays loss to the New York Giants, said he has assurances from owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam that hes not in trouble.The Haslams have already fired three coaches -- Pat Shurmur, Rob Chudzinski and Mike Pettine -- since taking over the team in 2012.I have trust in the people who hired me, said Jackson, adding he asked for guarantees before taking the job in January.Im not distracted by what my fate will be because I never would have taken this job if I thought it was going to be anything other than me being here and seeing this through.Being 0-12 is hard on anybodyy.dddddddddddd Thats hard, period. I dont like to lose, and I dont like being in this situation, but I know we are going to fix it.How were going to fix it is together. We have to do it brick by brick and step by step. I know we are in the midst of doing that.While his players get away, Jackson planned to work through the break, determined to get a victory over the final four weeks. Hell have starting quarterback Robert Griffin back after the bye -- hes been out since Week 1 -- and RG3s return could infuse some life into an offense that has produced just 39 points in the past four games.Only five teams have started 0-13 since the 1970 merger, and the Browns are desperately trying to avoid moving into the 0-16 basement as roommates with the 2008 Detroit Lions.To Jacksons credit, the Browns are still playing hard despite being outmanned.Thomas said that fight-to-the-finish mentality is due to a belief among the players that the extensive building project, though unfinished, will not include any more demolition.Some of the years past when youre sitting in this situation with a poor record, the coach is imminently going to get fired, all the players on the team are going to get cut and traded and released and theres a bomb thats going to get dropped on the organization, said Thomas, who has had just one winning season in Cleveland.The optimism and positivity and the effort you still see out there on a daily basis is because everybody here knows were working for something down the line in the future and its not going to get destroyed at the end of the season.Thomas has been fooled before. The 2016 season reminds him of 2013, when coach Rob Chudzinski was let go after just one year following the finale at Pittsburgh.I thought `No way are they going to fire him. That would be idiotic, he said. I couldnt believe it. But we did, and thats the way it was, I guess. That was the most shocked Ive even been.Three years later, the Browns, who will face Cincinnati, Buffalo and San Diego the next three weeks, will finish up on the road against the Steelers again. Only this time Thomas feels the end of another demoralizing season represents a beginning.Theres a lot still for this team to play for in that regard because we do know these coaches are going to be here, he said. A lot of these players are going to be here. So this is our opportunity to start building for next year.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '