Obviously meant to be a Juventus fails comp, but I thought this was a pretty good video to highlight that his creativity and playmaking abilities are still there. There's been a lot of craziness talked (not on here really) that he's suddenly become a one-dimensional goalhanger, like a slightly better Inzaghi.
7
Season Average Rating
- Appearances
- 38
- Goals
- 24
- Assists
- 3
- Yellow cards
- 9
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik (@Rood) and Imran (@Annihilate Now!) look forward to a new life under Ruben Amorim. What system will we be playing? What players will impress? and how will it all go? We also say goodbye to Ruud Van Nistelrooy and review United's 3-0 win at home against Leicester City.
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I know he is 36 but some of the comments throughout this thread have been laughable. Why are people surprised he is still quick, surprised he can still do build up play, surprised the step over and flicks are still there? He is the best striker in the world even at 36, aruguably the best player in the world still at 36. Sure he isnt the same Ronaldo as last time here but its like nobody has seen gim play for the last five years?
Someone wrote earlier they were worried about him stirking hard shots or something haha ridiculous.
One thing that struck me early on in the match and he admitted it himself in the post match interview. Considering he has won pretty much everything in international football bar the world cup and won everything at club level and broken so many records and played so many huge games, pressure penalties etc etc.....it was surprising to see how visibly nervous he was in the first half
Someone wrote earlier they were worried about him stirking hard shots or something haha ridiculous.
One thing that struck me early on in the match and he admitted it himself in the post match interview. Considering he has won pretty much everything in international football bar the world cup and won everything at club level and broken so many records and played so many huge games, pressure penalties etc etc.....it was surprising to see how visibly nervous he was in the first half
Agree on all counts.
It's really weird because we see Ronaldo every year. Champions League football is on TV. International football is on TV. Even if you don't follow Serie A it's not been hard to watch Ronaldo.
It's as if collective amnesia has taken hold since the Euros. As though people have forgotten him sprinting the length of the pitch in a dozen seconds to score against Germany.
To some extent I get it on a forum. It's the professional pundits that get me. A lot of them don't even have to do research. The ones that work for TV can ask for clips packages and some goafer to give them facts and figures. Yet they still just roll out lines like: 'At his age you can't expect much from him.' It's just lazy.
PS) Ronnie being nervous just shows he takes United seriously. He's got a real relationship to this club.
how can we play both Cavani and Ronaldo in the same team
Play Ronnie off the left.
He's a very complete forward and my guess is that because of the rivalry between the fans about who's better between him and Messi, he has been constantly dismissed and talked about as someone who only scores tap ins, penalties and doesn't do anything else to the point of being a hindrance to the teams he plays. I also suspect a lot of people don't actually watch him play, he has changed his style constantly but he's still the same player he was at Real Madrid and in all his seasons there I never had anything to criticize him in terms of his professionalism, ambition, compromise and performances. He obviously has had bad games but when you compare those games to the games he actually performed and delivered then there's really nothing to complain about him. He can be perceived as narcissistic but he also has a very strict work ethic and is very demanding with himself.
Think he's very complete in the sense he can play centrally and in the flanks and also drop back a bit so ideally he needs freedom to roam around the attack positions but also coordinate with the other forwards in order to use the space correctly and cover each other. This also makes it hard to mark him and ideally he should be the one finishing the plays but is also capable of assisting.
I know it’s not possible now but didn’t Cavani play on the left with PSG when he and Ibra were there?
We don't necessary have to start both of them together. Cavani will do the job when he is called up but I don't think we should worry too much about him not starting too many games.
Also, he seems to have injury problems with us.
I think that could be a special partnership with the unselfish way that Cavani plays.
Imagine 2 forwards with untrackable movement bothering defenders at the same time
I am actually surprised people would buy into that “disrupt the team balance” narrative. There is clearly an agenda against him made up by haters (same group from rival fanbase who always insist Ronaldo does nothing apart from goals etc).
If anyone watched him play regularly, they will know this is clearly untrue. Truth is , he has been carrying his team most of the time, with his goals, impact, efficiency, determination, decision making, experience and leadership. He is still very quick and has good first touch and technique. But then I don’t expect people here will always follow his football closely since he left United, especially during his Juventus years.
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It's a good read on Cristiano
Good read
Not gonna lie: Seeing Ronaldo back in a red shirt just seems right somehow.
The fecking GOAT. VIVA RONALDOOOO
Seeing him that shirt again, feck me it just feels right. Nostalgic as Hell maybe, but I am so glad he is home.
Seeing him that shirt again, feck me it just feels right. Nostalgic as Hell maybe, but I am so glad he is home.
You just can't not like Lee Grant imo
I've always argued that Ronaldo, while unbelievable for us in his last two seasons, was never a full blown United legend. If he helps us regain the league title or CL then his status will absolutely become that of a legend.
Agree. I always saw him as the best to ever play for us but not even close to being our greatest ever player, if that makes any sense. Hopefully he'll cement his legendary status for us with his second spell.
Came across this site the other day. When you look at the numbers for both, they are just crazy.
https://messivsronaldo.net/all-time-stats/
How can people not just accept that they are different but equally great footballers that most of us will never see the like of ever again.
https://messivsronaldo.net/all-time-stats/
How can people not just accept that they are different but equally great footballers that most of us will never see the like of ever again.
No, that makes perfect sense, it is how I feel.
I would love that more than anything, it would be such a great story for him, the club and the fans. Watching the reception he got on Saturday it made the hairs on my arms stand up, it was probably one of the best moments as a fan since we last won the league. That can't have been lost on Ronaldo. Even though we all know he went off to Madrid and gave them his best football, it won't matter if we can won something while he's here, he came back and helped us back to the top.
A lot of it comes from obsessive Messi fans. Even for Portgual that day he put in some amazing balls in the cross. He is , at heart, still a winger and very much can be involved in buildup play.
4-4-2 and tear ass
We can’t. The balance wouldn’t work and we will be a better team with one of them starting and one of them on the bench.
Not sure if we can.
Ronaldo shifts left and Cavani would be the CF but the problem is that it doesn't make much sense because neither really tracks back.
Against "smaller" teams it wouldn't hurt that much, but against a bigger team that will become an issue.
So far so good. The guy can score against any team if he gets the service he needs but the reality is that he will not be the same I mean the legs are tired right?. But I still wish him the best until he faces Juve.
Going back to the question of whether Ronaldo was a club legend when he left us 12 years ago, other than remaining with the club what more could he have done for United to earn the status of being a club legend?
We can reasonably debate who among Best, Law, Charlton, Robson, Cantona, Keane, Giggs and Ronaldo is the greatest of club legends, but is there any serious debate as to which of them is the greatest footballer?
We can reasonably debate who among Best, Law, Charlton, Robson, Cantona, Keane, Giggs and Ronaldo is the greatest of club legends, but is there any serious debate as to which of them is the greatest footballer?
No, or well, you can argue that Ronaldo didn't hit his heights with us but Ronaldo is one of the best players ever, and if you look at all their careers, a better player has never played for United.
As a top striker, I bet Ronaldo would be licking his lips at the prospect of playing against these lot.
True, Ronaldo improved after he left us. But even just looking at his last season with us it would be difficult to name a United player who had a more dominant season of performances. Maybe Best in 67-68, but that has to be it.
I keep hearing about not being legend and all but which actual legend will get that kind of reception? Are legends defined or told?
Ronaldo scored 101 goals in 134 games for Juve. I don't understand Juve fans saying he has tired legs having watched him for three years.
Ronaldo hit a top speed of 20mph (32kph) when chasing Luke Shaw's through ball.
Juve's problem has been replacing players like Pjanic and Khedira with inferior players brought in on the cheap, often for free. It has been Ronaldo's brilliance (with help from Dybala) that has prevented the underinvestment in Juve's first XI being shown up for so long.
Ronaldo's legs are far from gone. Mark my words. He will score more for United this season than he scored for Juve last season.
I don’t think so. The problem was the management. Andrea Agnelli ruined everything not only for Juve but football in general. I don’t think that you follow Juventus because you statements are totally wrong.
Ronaldo on the other hand scored two goals against Newcastle not against the top dogs.
He played a lot on the right in his early career for Uruguay, sometimes for Palermo too. Not just as a wide forward put sometimes in a 442. He's always desperate to play and hard work comes easy so I wouldn't be surprised to see him play there instead of Greenwood sometimes.
I watched the highlights back about 5 times already, might give it another go over... really was emotional and great to see.
I’m curious as to how long he stays for, he still looks absolutely unreal at 36.
I’m curious as to how long he stays for, he still looks absolutely unreal at 36.
You claimed Ronaldo's legs were gone, yet he hit a top speed of 32kph to score his second goal last Saturday. So your claim is clearly wrong. Talking about the quality of Newcastle doesn't change how fast Ronaldo ran.
On quality, you are very lucky to have had Ronaldo last season. His goals against teams of similar quality to Newcastle are the reason Juve finished top 4 last season.
You have claimed I am wrong but you have not actually shown how. You just changed the topic to Agnelli, which actually supports what I said: Since Agnelli's decision making is part of why Juve's recruitment has been bad in recent years.
Ronaldo was let down by Juve and kept you afloat. It's not his fault that Juventus replaced world class talent with, for example, a goalie who wasn't even good enough for Arsenal. You can't blame Ronaldo for Juventus picking coaches incapable of getting the best out of that squad.
Ronaldo has come to United and he still looks good. Can you say that about Juventus without him?
I think you should ask @LuckyScout78
Obviously with him returning it's cemented his legacy, fans are clearly very happy.
If he didn't return then i'm sure people would remember him fondly, but not as highly regarded as he will be again now. Him leaving us for Madrid at a time we were the best team in the world hurt.
I'm glad for him and us though that we can have a 2nd chance - and he will rightly be remembered as a legend.
If his goals help us beating the bottom 10 consistently, half of the work is done. That's 60 points to play for (we already dropped two in Southampton) and we often struggled in the near past against low blocks and lots of men behind the ball. Ronaldo will give us a fear factor back against these teams, so our points tally will improve instantly. By how much, nobody knows yet obviously.
First of all I am not criticising Ronaldo in here. Secondly no one picked a goalie over him even if it is your example. Sarri is better than most of premier league managers. I give you pirlo even though he was a rookie. Let’s tell facts instead of defending a player over Club, bigger and more popular. Lastly the season has just started.
I don't think there's anything wrong with saying his legs are tired. He's 36, he's obviously going to play accordingly. Him jogging around whilst Bruno sprinted past him to press Newcastle players highlights that, conserving his energy is exactly why when the time comes he can still hit 32kmh.
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