NOTHING BUT A NUMBER
Before Football Daily’s inbox is flooded by an angry reader with fingers busier than Arsenal fans at a Viktor Gyökores lookalike contest, we would like to shout from the rooftops that Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the greatest male football players of all time. How far up or down that list is another matter, but there is no denying his place at the top table of our sport. Clutch moments, sublime bits of skill and athleticism, a trophy cabinet big enough to holiday in: Ronaldo has done (almost) everything for club and country. But time waits for no man.
- Cristiano Ronaldo appears past his peak; Portugal must stop relying on his middle-aged feet, and Roberto Martínez should accept reality.
- Converted penalty in Croatia 2-1 but slowed play; Gonçalo Ramos rescued Portugal with a stoppage-time header.
- Ageing leaves legacy intact; showed class honoring Diogo Jota with a No 21 tribute, though Jota might have altered selection.
There is no shame in saying that Ronaldo’s best years are behind him and that one of the great international sides, Portugal – equipped with the best midfield and finest left-back on the planet – deserve better than a 76-year-old up top who is now limited to taking penalties and stat-padding against Uzbekistan. That Ronaldo is still playing professional sport is a triumph – most men his age can barely run a bath without twanging a hamstring, never mind run around for 90-plus minutes against elite opponents young enough to be offspring. But the sooner that Roberto Martínez realises that Portugal’s fate no longer rests at those middle-aged feet, the better.
The headlines will say that Ronaldo scored in a 2-1 win over Croatia to help Portugal into the last 16 of the Geopolitics World Cup. Yes, he converted his penalty but otherwise stunk the joint out, slowing Portugal’s attack down to a snail’s pace before making more faces than a town clock upon being substituted on 81 minutes. Despite being the better side for large periods, his side very nearly blew it: Croatia had two goals (correctly) ruled out by the finest of margins and hit the post before Gonçalo Ramos – Milan’s new £60m striker – saved the day in stoppage time, leaping like … well, prime Ronaldo … to glance a beautiful header into the corner and send Croatia crashing out.
Ageing does not diminish a legacy. Ronaldo remains a legend but nobody is asking David Attenborough to clamber through the rainforests of Rwanda any more and nobody should expect CR7 to inspire Portugal to international glory, especially with a formidable Spain side waiting in the last 16. But this is just the latest episode of writing off Ronaldo, which almost certainly means Football Daily will end up with pastel de nata all over its face when he proves us wrong (yet again) on Monday. And for all his dithering on the pitch, Ronaldo was a class act after the final whistle against Croatia, paying tribute to former teammate Diogo Jota – his No 21 jersey on Ronaldo’s back providing a powerful moment on the first anniversary of the Liverpool forward’s death. “Because the situation of the day, it means a lot to us,” said Ronaldo. “Not only because we won the game but because of the way we did it.” The irony being, if Jota was still with us, Ronaldo probably wouldn’t have started against Croatia.
