Will United Miss Ronaldo?
I’m going to miss him.
Sure, he’s a diver and a crybaby who is one of the least likable Manchester United players of all time. It was always difficult to defend him to United haters because, for all of his considerable talent, he had the maturity of a six-year old and temperament of a diva.
There were plenty of moments that made United fans feel less than proud over the fact that this Portuguese playboy was the team’s franchise bearer. There was the wink to the bench after his United teammate, Wayne Rooney, was sent off in the World Cup. There was the sideline tantrum after being lifted against Manchester City. There was the training ground dust-up with Ruud Van Nistelrooy. There was the orgy at his house that featured several hookers, Nani, and Anderson. I’m not going to speculate as to who did what with whom.
And there were the dives. Many of them. So many of them. Too many of them. In fact, you would think that he was trying out for Portugal’s Olympic Diving team with the rate that he went down after receiving the slightest bit of contact. There were a few funny bits on Special 1 TV over the last few months, but one of the best involved a puppet version of Ronaldo wearing snorkeling gear while proclaiming, quite rightly, that he did the diving. In fact, they later extracted an entire bit out of the joke, advertising for Puppet Ronnie’s Ab Workout. After all, throwing yourself to the ground and writhing around while contorting your body in ways that would probably hurt way more than any late tackle has to be good for your abs, right?
Despite all his faults, though, the man could score. And I’m not talking about beautiful women (although he was certainly no slouch in that department). As much as his detractors can point to several moments that made fans want to cover up those “AIG” letters on the front of their replica Manchester United kits, there have been many more moments of absolute brilliance.
There was the 40-yard rocket against Porto in the 2008-2009 Champions League, a goal that sealed their advancement into the Semifinals. There was the brace against Arsenal in the next round where he audaciously scored on a free kick from 40 yards and followed up with by running the length of the pitch to receive the pass from Wayne Rooney in the box for the second goal. There was the free kick against Portsmouth last season where Ronaldo let fly a beauty from long-range that prompted Sir Alex Ferguson to say that it was the best free-kick he’s ever seen (i.e. better than anything Beckham ever did). There was the cheeky back-heel in traffic against Aston Villa that still managed to beat Scott Carson easily.
If you go on Youtube and look at nothing but Cristiano Ronaldo highlights, you’ll be astonished at just how wonderful and versatile of a goalscorer he is.
As such, I’m a little astonished at the number of Manchester United fans who are glad that he’s leaving for Real Madrid. Sure, his act had worn thin and it was clear that his heart was no longer at Old Trafford. Sure, Manchester United got a great deal for him at £80 million, a number that was, more or less artificially inflated as a result of his 42 goal season last year.
A Ronaldo-led team can wreck havoc on English teams, but we all saw what happened in the Champions League Final. This season, in order to accommodate him, Manchester United had to play Rooney out of position, and they had to alternate between Dimitar Berbatov and Carlos Tevez, a situation that pleased neither of them.
The conventional wisdom is that, without Ronaldo, Rooney and Berbatov will play better, and Sir Alex can replenish his midfield, which was severely exposed against Barcelona. They’ll miss Ronaldo’s goals, but surely the goals will come from elsewhere. Maybe United won’t be as flashy or as exciting without Ronaldo, but there will be no dropoff as long as Ferguson spends wisely, right? If anything, the team will be better off since they’ll stop relying on Ronaldo as much.
However, if you look at the stats, you could argue that they’ll miss Ronaldo a lot more than they think. In the last three seasons, Ronaldo scored a total of 91 goals in 155 matches. During that timespan, there were 18 matches where Ronaldo was Manchester United’s sole goalscorer. In 5 of those 18 matches where his name was the only one on the Manchester United side of the scoresheet, he scored multiple goals. In all, he had 21 matches where he notched multiple goals, including the aforementioned braces down the stretch against Aston Villa, Tottenham, and Arsenal this season. Most importantly, he scored the go-ahead or equalizing goal an astonishing 48 times during the last three seasons.
In other words, more than half of Ronaldo’s goals resulted in Manchester United drawing level with or going ahead of their opponents. One of the (many) criticisms of Berbatov was that he seemed to score when his team was already well ahead and the result was not in doubt. Well, that can hardly be said of Ronaldo.
Also, look at the first month of the just-completed 2008-2009 season. Ronaldo missed the Community Shield, the Super Cup, and three League matches while recovering from off-season surgery. During that entire time, Manchester United failed to score more than one goal in any of their matches and only won one of those matches in regular time. The offense looked stagnant and impotent, so much so that their top scorer was Darren Fletcher.
It wasn’t until the second half of the Champions League match with Villarreal when United’s offense finally woke up and, not coincidentally, that happened to be when Ronaldo made his debut. Even though they ended up with a scoreless draw, the offense finally showed some bite and began getting results afterward.
Sure, it may have been early in the season, and you could probably write it off to the fact that Manchester United simply got off to a slow start. They did the same thing last year and they won the Premiership and the Champions League. However, it also showed just how much this team missed Ronaldo and how they were a much better team with him than without him.
Who’s going to step up and replace all those important goals? Will it be Rooney, who has never scored more than 23 goals in a season? Will it be Berbatov, who has never scored more than 26 and recently admitted to having been scared to take a penalty in the Champions League Final? Will it be Ribery, who’s never had more than 20 goals in any season? Will it be Nani, who was so bad this season that he only made 12 appearances in the League?
Maybe Ronaldo’s departure will actually make the team better and allow the team to pick up where they left off. Maybe Rooney will finally play to his potential and become the lethal force that he could be without Ronaldo holding him back. Maybe Berbatov will thrive after an uneven first year and justify every dime that Sir Alex spent on him and then some. Maybe Hargreaves will return to fitness and become the Roy Keane-type dominator that the team has lacked for years. Maybe Ribery, Benzema, and/or Valencia will contribute so many goals and set up so many others that people will forget that Ronaldo was ever a Red.
Or maybe Rooney and Berbatov can’t step up, Hargreaves retires, Ribery and Co. flop a la Djemba-Djemba, Kleberson, Forlan, and Bellion, and United will finish third in the league.
One thing is for sure, though. Manchester United will miss him. You don’t lose a player of his caliber and then assume everything is going to be okay. I guess we’ll have the rest of the summer to worry about that. For now, let’s thank Ronaldo for his six years of outstanding service to the club and wish him the best. He’ll need it, especially if Real Madrid continue to sign offensive stars and ignore their defense. Otherwise, he may finally have to learn how to track back.
Yes, Man U will certainly lack goalscoring power without Ronaclod. I doubt that Roooney or Berbatov will fill the void completely.
I think Rooney and Berbatov could step-up, they’re both top quality players after all. I think the team evolved in the last 2 years to accomadate Ronaldo and others suffered as a result.
I’d like to see a return to a more conventional 4-4-2 which has been the hallmark of Fergie’s reign. That, of course, means bringing in a right winger. Valencia seems the popular choice. He’s certainly affordable but will he measure-up? I’ve certainly been impressed with him at Wigan. Not a goal scorer but maybe a provider is what’s needed right now.
The one player I’d really like is Benzema. A quality player who scores lots and I’d have him any day over Tevez.
Ribery looks like being priced out of contention so what happens on the left? Nani, for me, is not going to measure-up and I’d cash in now if I were Fergie. Much has been said about Tosic but at 22 (as a winger) you’d have expected him to have made the break through by now if he was good enough.
Of course Valencia can also play left and Benzema, should he arrive, can also play wide.
I think a priority for Fergie needs to be centre midfield. Hargreaves is too much of a risk and, as you say, there is a need for a (world-class) defensive or creative midfielder.
I’d like to see Fergie give Anderson the attacking midfield role and let us see, once and for all, whether he is going to emerge as the player we all hoped.
There’s a lot of ifs and buts right now but also bundles of talent in the squad. Let’s not forget Adem Ljajić who will only be 18 in September and is rated very highly (next season is probably too early for him though). Or can Gibson, Possebon, Macheda or Welbeck make the break- through?
With a couple of key additions I’m sure Fergie will sort it out!
am incredibly impressed with Cristiano Ronaldo. I’ll admit, I was very close to writing him off completely, on a few occasions, and each time he has redeemed himself and showed his potential. But does he have the right ingredients to become a legend in football, or will he be another flashy young gun that never achieves the next level?
As I watched him tumble all over the field, whine to the ref, and cry his eyes out at the World Cup, I said to myself, this is just a little boy. A little boy with a lot of talent who’s selfish play and hot head will be his downfall. He pleaded for fouls, he was overly fancy, but then he did something extremely mature. He came through in the clutch. The look on Cristiano’s face when he stepped up to take that penalty to finish off England was one of total focus and determination. His kick was perfect. Clutch.
Read more: http://soccerlens.com/cristiano-ronaldo-how-good-can-he-be/658/#ixzz0PR0qokZs
The Portugese team in general responds the best when they are underdogs, and worse when favored. See their Euro 2004 loss to Greece on home turf, vs. their consecutive David vs. Goliath wins over England in that same Euro, and in the World Cup 2006. Cristiano has produced some of his best form ever this season, while being taunted by both home and away fans. This is a sign of a great player, one like his Brazilian name twin. We all heard the endless “Ronaldo is fatâ€? comments, and what did he do? Become the all-time leading World Cup goal scorer.
There is however a darker parallel between the Ronaldos. Brazil did not win this World Cup, and nor did Portugal. Victory is what truly defines the merit of a player, and while the Brazilian has his trophy, Cristiano is yet to win on the big stage.
For all his skill, he has the potential to become a selfish player, who does not put the team first. His hot temper can put his team in tough positions, and his desire to be the hero can make him take bad shots instead of pass. His tears when he had to come off with an injury against Holland showed a player who desperately wants to be the hero, but is not yet mature enough to lead a team.
Which Ronaldo will prevail? Will he accent to fill Figo’s shoes, or become another Joao Pinto, a talented youngster whose character issues overshadow his skill? (He punched a ref in the World Cup 2002). At this point I am leaning toward the former. He has carried Man U on his back for most of this season and if his current form continues, he will have a very bright future.
Ronaldo wants to be the one to take the high-pressure shots, and so far he has hit them. If he continues to hit those shots, and wins either the World Cup or the Euro, it may not even matter how mature he becomes.
Early life
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro was born on 5 February 1985 in Funchal, Madeira, the youngest child of Maria Dolores dos Santos Aveiro and José Dinis Aveiro. His second given name, “Ronaldo,” was chosen after then-U.S. president Ronald Reagan, who was his father’s favourite actor.[6] He has one older brother, Hugo, and two older sisters, Elma and Liliana Cátia.[1]
Club career
Early career
At the age of eight, Ronaldo played for amateur team Andorinha, where his father was the kit man. In 1995, Ronaldo signed with local club CD Nacional, and, after a title-winning campaign, he went on a three-day trial with Sporting CP, who subsequently signed him for an undisclosed sum.[7]
Sporting CP
Ronaldo joined Sporting’s other youth players who trained at the Alcochete, the club’s football academy. He became the only player ever to play for Sporting’s U-16, U-17, U-18, B-team, and first team, all within one season.[8] He scored two goals in his Sporting debut against Moreirense, while featuring for Portugal in the UEFA Under 17 Championships.[9]
When he was 15, Ronaldo was diagnosed with a racing heart, a condition that might have forced him to give up playing football. The Sporting staff were made aware of the condition and Ronaldo’s mother gave her authorisation for him to go into hospital. While there, he had an operation in which a laser was used to cauterise the area of his heart that was causing the problem. The surgery took place in the morning and Ronaldo was discharged from hospital by the end of the afternoon; he resumed training only a few days later.[10]
He was first spotted by then-Liverpool manager Gérard Houllier at 16, but Liverpool declined to take him on because they decided he was too young and needed some time to develop his skills.[11] However, he came to the attention of Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson in the summer of 2003, when Sporting defeated United 3–1 in the inauguration of the Estádio José Alvalade in Lisbon. Ronaldo’s performance impressed the Manchester United players, who urged Ferguson to sign him.[12]
Ronaldo became Manchester United’s first-ever Portuguese player when he signed for £12.24 million after the 2002–03 season.[13] He requested the number 28 (his number at Sporting), as he did not want the pressure of living up to the expectation linked to the number 7 shirt, which had previously been worn by players such as George Best, Bryan Robson, Eric Cantona, and David Beckham. “After I joined, the manager asked me what number I’d like. I said 28. But Ferguson said ‘No, you’re going to have No. 7,’ and the famous shirt was an extra source of motivation. I was forced to live up to such an honour.”[14]
Ronaldo made his team debut as a 60th-minute substitute in a 4-0 home victory over Bolton Wanderers. He scored his first goal for Manchester United with a free kick in a 3–0 win over Portsmouth on 1 November 2003. He scored United’s thousandth Premier League goal on 29 October 2005 in a 4–1 loss to Middlesbrough. He scored ten goals in all competitions, and fans voted him to his first FIFPro Special Young Player of the Year award in 2005.
2006–2007
In November and December 2006, Ronaldo received consecutive Barclays Player of the Month honours, becoming only the third player in Premier League history to do so after Dennis Bergkamp in 1997 and Robbie Fowler in 1996.[15][16] He scored his 50th Manchester United goal against city rivals Manchester City on 5 May 2007 as United claimed their first Premier League title in four years, and he was voted into his second consecutive FIFPro Special Young Player of the Year award at the end of the year.
Despite rumours circulating in March 2007 that Real Madrid were willing to pay an unprecedented €80 million (£54 million) for Ronaldo,[17] he signed a five-year, £120,000-a-week (£31 million total) extension with United on 13 April, making him the highest-paid player in team history.[18][19]
Ronaldo amassed a host of personal awards for the season. He won the PFA Players’ Player of the Year and PFA Young Player of the Year awards, joining Andy Gray (in 1977) as the only players to receive this honour.[20] In April, he completed the treble by winning the PFA Fans’ Player of the Year. Ronaldo was also one of seven Manchester United players named in the 2006–07 PFA Premier League Team of the Year.
Ronaldo’s 2007–08 season began with a red card for a headbutt on Portsmouth player Richard Hughes during United’s second match of the season, for which he was punished with a three-match ban.[21] Ronaldo said he had “learned a lot” from the experience and would not let players “provoke” him in the future.[22] After scoring the only goal in a Champions League away match against Sporting, Ronaldo also scored the injury-time winner in the return fixture as Manchester United topped their Champions League group.[23]
He finished as the runner-up to Kaká for the 2007 Ballon d’Or,[24] and was third in the running for the FIFA World Player of the Year award, behind Kaká and Lionel Messi.[25]
Ronaldo scored his first hat trick for Manchester United in a 6–0 win against Newcastle United at Old Trafford on 12 January 2008, bringing Manchester United up to the top of the Premier League table.[26] He scored his twenty-third league goal of the season in a 2–0 win against Reading, equalling his entire total for the 2006–07 season.[27] During a 1–1 Champions League first knockout round draw against Lyon on 20 February, an unidentified Lyon supporter continuously aimed a green laser at Ronaldo and United teammate Nani, prompting an investigation by UEFA.[28] One month later, Lyon were fined CHF5,000 (£2,427) for the incident.[29]
On 19 March 2008, Ronaldo captained United for the first time in his career in a home win over Bolton, scoring both goals in the 2–0 victory.[30] The second of the goals was his 33rd of the campaign, which set a new club single-season scoring record by a midfielder and thus topped George Best’s forty-year-old total of 32 goals in the 1967–68 season.[31] Ronaldo scored another brace in a 4–0 win over Aston Villa on 29 March, which at the time gave him 35 goals in 37 domestic and European matches as both a starter and substitute. Ronaldo’s torrid scoring streak was rewarded with his becoming the first winger to win the 2007–08 European Golden Shoe, finishing eight points ahead of Mallorca’s Dani Güiza.[32]
In the 2007–08 Champions League final on 21 May against league rivals Chelsea, Ronaldo scored the opening goal after 26 minutes, which was negated by a Chelsea equaliser in the 45th minute as the match ended 1–1 after extra time. His misfire in the penalty shoot-out put Chelsea in position to win the trophy, but John Terry shot wide right after slipping on the pitch surface, and Manchester United emerged victorious 6–5 on penalties. Ronaldo was named the UEFA Fans’ Man of the Match,[33] and wrapped up the campaign with a career-high 42 goals in all competitions, falling just four short of Denis Law’s team-record mark of 46 in the 1963–64 season.
On 5 June 2008, Sky Sports reported that Ronaldo had expressed an interest in moving to Real Madrid if they offered him the same amount of money the team had allegedly promised him earlier in the year.[34] Manchester United filed a tampering complaint with FIFA on 9 June over Madrid’s alleged pursuit of Ronaldo, but FIFA declined to take any action.[35][36] Speculation that a transfer would happen continued until 6 August, when Ronaldo confirmed that he would stay at Manchester for at least another year.[37]
Ronaldo underwent ankle surgery at the Academic Medical Center in Amsterdam on 7 July.[38] He returned to action on 17 September in United’s UEFA Champions League goalless group-stage draw with Villarreal as a substitute for Park Ji-Sung,[39] and scored his first overall goal of the season in a 3–1 League Cup third round win over Middlesbrough on 24 September.
In a 5–0 win over Stoke City on 15 November 2008, Ronaldo scored his 100th and 101st goals in all competitions for Manchester United, both from free kicks.[40] The goals also meant that Ronaldo had now scored against each of the other 19 teams in the Premier League at the time.[41] On 2 December, Ronaldo became Manchester United’s first Ballon d’Or recipient since George Best in 1968. He finished with 446 points,165 ahead of runner-up Lionel Messi.
He was awarded the Silver Ball after finishing with two goals as United won the Club World Cup on 19 December.[43]
On 8 January 2009, Ronaldo was uninjured in a single-car accident in which he wrote off his Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano in a tunnel along the A538 near Manchester Airport. A breathalyzer test he gave to police officers at the scene was negative, and he attended training later that morning.[44] Four days later, he became the first Premier League player ever to be named the FIFA World Player of the Year, in addition to being the first Portuguese player to win the award since Luís Figo in 2001.[45]
Ronaldo scored his first Champions League goal of the season, and first since the final against Chelsea, in a 2–0 victory over Internazionale that sent United into the quarter-finals.[46] In the second leg against Porto, Ronaldo scored a 40-yard game-winning goal as United advanced to the semi-finals. He later called it the best goal he had ever scored.[47][48] Ronaldo participated in his second consecutive Champions League final, but made little impact in United’s 2–0 loss to Barcelona. He finished with 53 appearances in all competitions, which was four higher than the previous year, but scored sixteen fewer goals (26) than his career-best total of 42 from the previous season.
On 11 June, Manchester United accepted an unconditional offer of £80 million from Real Madrid for Ronaldo after it was revealed that he again had expressed his desire to leave the club.[49] It was confirmed by a representative of the Glazer family that the sale was fully condoned by Ferguson.[50] When Ronaldo had eventually completed his transfer to Real, he expressed his gratitude towards Ferguson for helping him develop as a player, saying, “He’s been my father in sport, one of the most important factors and most influential in my career.”[51]
Real Madrid
On 26 June 2009, Real Madrid confirmed that Ronaldo would join the club on 1 July 2009, after agreeing terms and signing a six-year contract.[52] It is believed that Ronaldo’s contract is worth €13 million per season and it has a €1 billion buy-out clause.[53] He was presented to the world’s media as a Real Madrid player on 6 July 2009,[54] where he was handed the number 9 jersey, [55] most recently worn by Javier Saviola. The shirt was presented to him by Madrid legend Alfredo di Stéfano.[56] Ronaldo was welcomed by 80,000 fans at his presentation at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, surpassing Diego Maradona’s record of 75,000 fans when he was presented in Italy, after he was transferred from Barcelona to Napoli in 1984.[57] Ronaldo made his debut for Real on the 21st of July against Irish side Shamrock Rovers and won 1 – 0 after a late goal from Karim Benzema. Ronaldo’s first goal for Real Madrid was a penalty in a friendly match against Liga de Quito.[58]
International career
Ronaldo earned his first cap for Portugal in a 1-0 victory against Kazakhstan in August 2003. He was called up for Euro 2004, scoring in a 2-1 group stage loss to eventual champions Greece and in a 2-1 semi-final win over the Netherlands. He was named in the team of the tournament despite finishing with only two goals.[59] That same year, he also represented Portugal at the 2004 Summer Olympics.
2006 World Cup
Ronaldo was the second-highest scorer in FIFA World Cup qualification in the European zone with seven goals,[59] and scored his first and only World Cup goal against Iran with a penalty kick.[60]
During a quarter-final match against England on 1 July 2006, Ronaldo’s United teammate Wayne Rooney was sent off for stomping on Portugal defender Ricardo Carvalho. The English media speculated that Ronaldo had influenced referee Horacio Elizondo’s decision by aggressively complaining, after which he was seen in replays winking at the Portuguese bench following Rooney’s dismissal. After the match, Ronaldo insisted that Rooney was a friend and that he was not pushing for Rooney to be sent off.[61] On 4 July, Elizondo clarified that the red card was due to Rooney’s infraction and not the fracas between Rooney and Ronaldo that followed.[62]
The angry reaction from the English press caused Ronaldo to consider leaving United,[63] and he allegedly told Spanish sports daily Marca that he wished to move to Real Madrid.[64] In response to the speculation, Ferguson sent Portuguese assistant manager Carlos Queiroz to speak to Ronaldo in attempt to change his mind, a sentiment that was shared by Rooney.[65][66] Ronaldo stayed, and signed his new five-year extension in April 2007.[67]
Ronaldo was booed during Portugal’s semifinal defeat to France, and missed out on the competition’s Best Young Player award due to a negative e-mail campaign from England fans.[68] Though the online vote only affected the nomination process, FIFA’s Technical Study Group awarded the honor to Germany’s Lukas Podolski, citing Ronaldo’s behaviour as a factor in the decision.[69]
Post-World Cup
One day after his twenty-second birthday, Ronaldo captained Portugal for the first time in a friendly against Brazil on 6 February 2007. This move was in honour of Portuguese Football Federation president Carlos Silva, who had died two days earlier. Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari explained, “Mr. Silva asked me to make [Ronaldo] captain as a gesture… [he] is too young to be captain, but Mr. Silva asked me, and now he is no longer with us.”[70]
Ronaldo scored eight goals in Portugal’s UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying campaign,[71] behind Poland’s Euzebiusz Smolarek, but finished with only one goal in the tournament as Portugal were eliminated in the quarter-finals by Germany. Since the appointment of new Portuguese coach Carlos Queiroz, Ronaldo has been named the new captain of the squad.[72]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cristiano_Ronaldo
HOW CAN THEY NOT MISS CRISTIANO RONALDO!!!