Rangers striker Cedric Itten has revealed his idol as a youngster growing up was Brazilian superstar Ronaldo.
Itten joined Rangers from St Gallen in a £2.7m deal last summer after impressing in his homeland.
His first season in Scotland proved to be a mildly successful one, with him managing six goals and three assists in a campaign that saw him largely used as a substitute by Steven Gerrard.
He will be planning to make a greater impact in front of goal for Rangers next season and has admitted one legendary striker was his idol.
“The Brazilian Ronaldo was my role model,” he told SRF.
“He was ice-cold in front of goal, quick as an arrow and could sometimes leave an entire defence standing alone. I always liked that a lot.”
Unlike Ronaldo, Itten is yet to establish himself on the international stage, with just four appearances to his name so far.
He has managed to impress on that front, though, with three goals and one assist in two games during qualifying for the European Championship.
Despite that, he was left out of Switzerland’s squad for the tournament as coach Vladimir Petković went with Breel Embolo, Haris Seferović, Admir Mehmedi and Mario Gavranović instead.
That was obviously a bitter blow for Itten, who says he is focused on improvement with Rangers to ensure he doesn’t miss out next time around.
“Of course, I would have loved to be there,” he added.
“Representing Switzerland at such a big tournament would have been a dream come true. Unfortunately, that’s not the case now.
“But I’m trying to work hard so that I can make it to the next big tournament.
“I always believed in it, but in the end, it’s the coach’s decision and it’s clear that I accept that. I hope that my big time in the national team will still come.”
