Ronaldo Strikes Back (Brazil vs Japan Match Pictures)
I’ve been hearing nothing but negative BS about Ronaldo - how he’s overweight, how he’s not in form, how he should be dropped to the bench, etc etc etc.
You only had to see Ronaldo’s second goal of the Brazil vs Japan game tonight to know that the big man is back with a vengeance.
He’s not the Ronaldo of 2002, but this Ronaldo is bloody effective in the final third and still better than the strikers sitting on Brazil’s bench. I can’t think of one team where Ronaldo would not be one of the top 3 strikers - even in Argentina, where he surely ranks above Saviola (a player deemed surprlus to Barca’s requirements) and Crespo (not first or second choice at Chelsea).
The king puts one past Kawaguchi as Brazil restore the balance
Yes, he’s out of form. Yes, he’s overweight. But the man once touted as the world’s best striker has just netted two goals, and on current form is a clear contender for smashing in a few more past Ghana and whoever lies in wait beyond. It’s easy to forget (why must we be as fickle as the media here) that Ronaldo is just 29, and was the top scorer for Real Madrid last season (again).
He also equalled Gerd Muller’s record for the most goals scored at the World Cup finals (14), and needs just one more to be the all-time leading goalscorer. Any bets for Ronaldo scoring it against Ghana?
And in other, equally ‘expected’ news, Brazil finally click into 3rd gear (despite resting their holding midfielders and their fullbacks) and thump Japan 4-1. What was that about Brazil not winning again?
Oh well, they’ll only get to the semis. There, they get beaten by England, who later go on to win the tournament. But that’s a different story.
Ronaldo scores his second as Brazil wrap up a 4-1 win
Tonight belongs to Ronaldo - the king is back.
[tags]Ronaldo, Brazil, World Cup[/tags]
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He’s not back. His finishing is still very efficient, but he scored both goals against a largely static defence and a team that gave too much respect to Brazil. Ronaldo’s workrate and contribution to the team are still serious issues and the real star of the night was Robinho, who actually tried to put in a team performance.
If people are too quick to write off Ronaldo, your post has gone to the other extreme. Both of his goals required hardly any movement on his part (not that he has any), and when he needed to move (e.g. When Robinho darted through the Japanese defence and put a cross on a plate for Ronaldo), he was a mile behind where he should have been.
We’ll see how he fares against the much more physical, and less inhibited, Ghana.