World player of the year Kaka paid tribute to club and international team-mate Ronaldo on Thursday, claiming he is still 'Il Fenomeno'.
That nickname, meaning the phenomenon, was more common for Ronaldo in his younger days but injuries, lack of form and weight problems have seen him struggle with his form these last couple of seasons.
He was even unkindly nicknamed 'El Gordo' (the fat one) by some sections of the Real Madrid crowd towards the end of his stay in Spain.
But he made a match-winning comeback to the AC Milan team last weekend, scoring twice as the European champions thrashed Napoli 5-2 to end their seven-game winless drought at the San Siro.
Ronaldo formed a threatening attacking partnership with Kaka and teenage star Pato.
"It's always great to play with great players. Here at Milan we have so many champions that it's great to go out on the field with my team-mates," Kaka told Milan TV.
"I've had a few chances to play with Ronaldo in the national team and he really is 'Il Fenomeno' like everyone says because he does amazing things with the ball and when he takes to the field he shows his worth and always makes the difference."
Kaka has was also impressed with Pato's goalscoring debut against Napoli.
"I'm happy for his debut, it went very well. All strikers dream about scoring on their debut and he manged to do just that, and at the San Siro in front of our fans.
"We hope he continues like that and fits into the team's way of playing. He's a calm lad, he's playing in a team with a lot of experience that can help him a lot so he gets even better."
(AFP) Thursday 17 January 2008
Tags: Kaka Ronaldo
