A new chapter in the career of Cristiano Ronaldo opens on Saturday evening as the Portuguese star is set to make his Serie A debut for Juventus at Chievo Verona. It promises to be an intriguing occasion as the man who signed for £105m from Real Madrid last month is set to make his first league start for the Bianconeri in the humble surroundings of the Stadio Bentegodi.
The five-time Ballon D'Or winner has a habit of making a good first impression and he certainly hit the right tone on his first start for his previous club as he was on target when Real defeated Deportivo La Coruna in August 2009. Ronaldo would go on to score in each of his first four La Liga games, scoring five goals in total, as he began a quite legendary period as he meant to go on. He left the Bernabeu with 450 goals in all competitions to his name.
It hasn't always been fast starts for Ronaldo though. He eventually scored in his ninth game for Manchester United when he came off the bench to strike in a 3-0 win against Portsmouth at Old Trafford, while it took him eight games to score his first senior goal for the Portugal national team.
The 33-year-old is set to be thrust straight into the action against Chievo on Saturday as Juventus boss, Max Allegri told Sky Sports:
"I didn't give Ronaldo any advice. He's very intrigued to understand how teams play in Italy.
Ronaldo will make his debut. Wojciech Szczesny, Giorgio Chiellini, Leonardo Bonucci and Miralem Pjanic will play and the two full-backs on each side will be Joao Cancelo and Alex Sandro.
Everyone is in good condition, even Mario Mandzukic and Blaise Matuidi, who both went all the way to the final in the World Cup.
Juventus are 4/5 favourites win Serie A with bookmakers on the eve of the new season and there is a genuine belief that they can now challenge for silverware at home, as well as in the Champions League, although Allegri has warned against getting carried away.
"It's time to put aside the excitement of the arrival of great players and the greatest of all, we have to keep our feet on the ground, keep a low profile," Allegri told Sky Sports.
"We mustn't make the mistake of thinking that we can win because we have Cristiano. He's an added value in a team that has played two Champions finals in the last four years.
"Players like Ronaldo are different from all the others: it shows in what he has won, he is a stimulus for everyone."
It is a brave person who backs against Ronaldo making an immediate impression at the Bentegodi as he prepares for the latest chapter in a career that started league football with a brace in only his second start for Sporting Lisbon in the Portuguese Primeira Liga. CR7 has come a long way - and scored a few goals - since making his debut for Sporting in 2002.
