Is he actually staying at Juventus then? I assume squeezing into top 4 and getting rid of Pirlo confirms it.
All aboard the Allegri express and one last crack at CL?
All aboard the Allegri express and one last crack at CL?
Cristiano Ronaldo : The Juventus Chapter | Fin
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52 direct free kicks at the Euros and World Cup...1 goal. Yet he still takes them, and the commentators STILL say "this is Ronaldo territory" Surely one of the worst free-kick-takers of all time.
That is an awful record but for some reason whenever he stands ready to take it I think he’s going to score
Yeah it's mind boggling. If I was Bruno or any other decent fk taker. Id tell him to feck off.
The guy has 57 free kick goals to his belt or something along those lines. Messi only overtook him in recent seasons, catching up a lead of >30 goals at some point I believe. Cristiano is by no means one of the worst free kick takers of all time. He might very well be one of the worst to take so many in recent seasons but he was absolutely lethal in the beginning of his career. He might also be the one with the steepest decline in quality, mind.
To be honest, I genuinely thought Bruno was going to take that second one. He was standing over it and I thought "here we go" But then Ronaldo steps up and slams it into the wall.
This is the very worst type of logic...if I said the following I would be an idiot because it's just a whole list of ifs, buts and maybes.
1. Ovrebo isn't ref'ing that Barca/Chelsea semi. Barca go out, no CL title for Messi, no Ballon D'or
2. RVP's joke of a sending off in Arsenal/Barca tie or Fabregas' ridiculous back heel which gifted them a goal. Barca go out, no CL title for Messi, no Ballon D'or.
3. Messi has played in 3 (including the centenary) Copa finals and lost them all whilst missing a penalty in the shootout vs Chile. By your logic this should count against him.
4. Portugal's success was more about the team but Messi's success at Barca, in a stacked squad, particularly under Pep and Enrique, is not? Did Messi make Xavi, Iniesta, Busquets, Neymar, Suarez and co look better than they are or something?
Conclusion, think what you like in the eternal Messi/Ronaldo debate but at least use some logic.
That is an awful record but for some reason whenever he stands ready to take it I think he’s going to score
I think it's because when they do go in (which is very infrequently) they stick in the mind because they are so spectacular. So it plays a trick on the mind where you think "ah, he scored one recently, didn't he" Only to find out it was like two years ago.
incredible he's still allowed to take them by default, he's just hurting the team that way. surely there's more chance of him scoring if he leaves it to Bruno or someone else to take it and him going to penalty area awaiting the cross. he's always dangerous in air.
Obviously, I was being deliberately hyperbolic by proclaiming him the worst free-kick taker of all time. There are obviously players who are literally worse than him, but he takes soooo many. Probably why he's got a lot of goals which, as you say, I think came slightly earlier in his career. I already mentioned his International record which is pretty dismal, but I think I was reading he's only scored 1 for Juve in 72 attempts, or something like that.
I'm also very biased in that I hate the knuckleball technique.
If my auntie had a d!ck, she'd be my uncle
Yeah he really shouldn't take any free kicks these days. That being said, he shouldn't take penalties either when Bruno is on the pitch. That's also one aspect why I always find it a bit absurd when people highlight his qualities as a leader. Sure he's extremely professional and a role model but at the same time he's fully willing to weaken the team to a certain extent if it is for the best of his personal record. I mean, it's clear that his teams would profit if he stopped taking freekicks.
Regarding the knuckle ball technique: That's probably the reaosn for his decline. I have the feeling that the footballs had much to do with Cristiano being so effective at free kicks earlier in his career.
Yeah that is true but Ronaldo does shoot more than any other player, sometimes I feel like he is shooting for the sake of it to try his luck.
His freekicks are a prime example of shooting for the sake of it.
Maybe you are right but doesn't that also point to the fact that taking on easier shots means they are able to find space better to achieve the easier shot.
Do you think Messi has better long shots than Ronaldo?
What do people make of this? Initially, it may seem like a ridiculous thing to say, especially amongst those who idolize him the most, but I don't think she's totally wrong...
I suppose it comes down to how you define "few years"
I suppose it comes down to how you define "few years"
Madrid are seeing the benefit of not having Ronaldo
Juventus also have players like Ramsey, Rabiot, schezny, morata, Arthur, demiral- such an unbalanced team it’s hard to act like it’s Ronaldo holding them back surely?
easily
madrid made a cl semi final, losing to the eventually champions, and won half as many league titles as Ronaldo did in Spain as soon as he left. Ronaldo gets knocked out by midtable quality teams in CL. Madrid definitely could’ve still used Ronaldo, but there is no question that Ronaldo has fared worse without Madrid since he left compared to Madrid faring without him. He needs Madrid more at this stage of his career than Madrid need him.
is cheetah faster than garden snail?
A Champions League Semi-Final, a league title, and missing out on another league title by just 2 points last season. Not bad, to be honest. Their issue is that they need a squad overhaul
I think many of you would be very surprise to learn the number of free kick goals Ronaldo and Messi have in their career up to this very date:
Ronaldo - 57 freekick goals
Messi - 58 freekick goals
Yes Ronaldo has been a very poor freekick taker in recent years, so poor he shouldn't really take them, but he still keep taking it. But believe it or not, he used to be a top freekick takers in the past, thats quite a long time ago. He used to be very good at taking those knuckleball freekick when he was younger. A joy to watch, even if you don't really like the technique. But just to put things in perspective, here are other top freekick takers in the history of game:
1. Juninho - 77 freekick goals
2. Pele - 70 freekiick goals
4. Ronaldinho - 66 freekick goals
5. Beckham - 65 freekick goals
6. Maradona - 62 freekick goals
7. Zico - 62 freekick goals
8. Koeman - 60 freekick goals
Those are GOAT of freekick takers,. Take a moment to think about it. Is Ronaldo really worst freekick taker of all time, or is he nearly the best? I wouldn't know, but he is only few goals behind those very best legendary freekick takers in the game. Think about that.
Truth is, he has been a poor freekick taker since 2015, and he was terrible or even the worst freekick taker in past 3 years or so. Prior to that (before 2015), he was not bad, and when he was younger, probably during 2005- 2013, he was quite good at it. To be more accurate, he was quite good at taking those longer range freekicks when he was younger. But he was never really good at taking those easier, shorter range one. He simply needs longer distance for those knuckleball to work. But nowadays the technique just totally gone, hence he is not longer good at it.
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Ronaldo's repertoire of free kicks during the first half of his career is nothing short of extraordinary. He did it just about from anywhere. That one against Arsenal is eternal. So are at least another 10 or 15 freekicks he scored.
It's just a very bipolar career in terms of free kicks. Messi too, they kinda swapped and Ronaldo got much worse and Messi got much better. Haven't seen Koeman or Pele, but I imagine some other players were more consistent during their career while the current two kinda went through 2 extremes.
It's just a very bipolar career in terms of free kicks. Messi too, they kinda swapped and Ronaldo got much worse and Messi got much better. Haven't seen Koeman or Pele, but I imagine some other players were more consistent during their career while the current two kinda went through 2 extremes.
Yeah, as me and the other guy was saying, those free-kicks came slightly earlier in his career. I think we're pretty much in agreement in that he should stop taking them. The thing I don't know with that list you posted, is how many free-kicks those players actually took. Because Ronaldo takes a lot, which probably explains why he has so many goals despite seemingly missing all the time. Would be interesting to see how many he has taken compared to those guys. I'm not going to look because it really doesn't bother me that much!
Although I do know at Madrid he scored 33 free kicks, in 444 attempts. Not sure if that's considered awful, or what. But yeah, my criticism has a lot to do with recency bias, perhaps.
If you look at how Ronaldo played in Juve compared to Real (I suppose that’s “last few years” since in Real he was extremely successful and so was his team) you know it’s bullshit because you can criticize him but not say that he got more selfish or less team oriented than before. Apart from free kicks, where it’s difficult to expect from a player of such status to just step down and give up on this, I think it’s lazy and unfair to say he’s been putting personal goals ahead of his team
His conversion rate has never been outstanding, but bear in mind he always took those and shoot directly from difficult angle and distance, where most other would just wiped into the box looking for a header instead. So you may never get a fair comparison out from that.
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Funny thing is, Ronaldo has won more trophies in Juventus (5 trophies) than his teammates at Real Madrid (3 trophies) over past 3 years. Whereas in same period, Barca is in clear decline too, so its actually easier to win trophies over this period of time in Spain than before (ie Atletico). But its really hard to compare, Madrid as a team has been poorer after Ronaldo left. It could be for other reasons too, (ageing, many players out of form, change of manager, no longer has the same hunger for success etc). But the thing we could all agree on, both Barca and Real Madrid are no longer the super power they once were, due to the ageing/decline/depart of many of their key players.
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Was it the last world Cup or euros where the whole stadium were taking the piss out his free kicks. Hit the wall and the crowd would laugh at him and cheer
She's wrong. It's only this season that his goals didn't matter. Think COVID threw everyone's timelines out of whack though, this season felt like 3 years for me
good post my friend, la liga is definitely at its lowest point in terms of quality at the top
She's wrong. It's only this season that his goals didn't matter. Think COVID threw everyone's timelines out of whack though, this season felt like 3 years for me
Fair enough. As I said, I don't think she's totally wrong and I can kinda see where she's coming from. I know it could be considered a "hot take" by many, but yeah - I get what she's saying. Even if I wouldn't necessarily say it myself.
I think that's a big reason for the criticism, to be honest. The fact that he does take so many, from different areas of the pitch, where a shot is probably the worst decision to make.
But anyway, I think we're both in agreement that he should cut down on the free-kicks now, as he's definitely not too hot on them anymore.
its very infuriating, 100% agree!
The main thing thing I'd say is that Ronaldo has still done well individually but Juve has done poorly of course. It's a bad signing for them because he's not what they needed. He's done well and he's been an elite poacher - but they didn't need a poacher. They needed a full rebuild. So its no use to buy a poacher unless you are pretty good all around and just missing that end product to get the results. Juve needed a full rebuild again, but instead spent loads on Ronaldo to try and cover up the gaps and it hasn't worked overall.
Her follow up is more on point: they signed him to take them to the next level, and that didn't happen
Grace is great btw, one of my favourite football writers
He's been getting worse and worse at it.
Last 4 seasons 2 goals. Messi has 23 in all club competitions. I've seen people on reddit blaming the ball for it
Yeah, exactly. Which is the point she's making here. As I was saying, I get where she's coming from even though initially it could be seen as a hot take.
I can see why they did it, though. I agree with what you're saying here, but there's also a part of me that understands why they put so much into him. They've come close a few times to winning the Champions League, and the chance of adding an elite goal scorer to possibly get them over the line sort of made sense...I guess. Although, as you said, that money obviously should have been spread out. And now they have a problem. He cost them 100m Euros, and I think he earns four or five times more than the next highest-paid player in Serie A.
Juve would likely have won them 5 trophies without him, considering they won the last 7 league titles before Ronaldo joined and would have invested the 100m euros and big wages elsewhere.
He's been getting worse and worse at it.
Last 4 seasons 2 goals. Messi has 23 in all club competitions. I've seen people on reddit blaming the ball for it
I think it has less to do with blaming. I just recall the balls in the late 00 years had a habit of taking absolutely ridiculous curves at times. That's perfect for knuckle balls.
And it is definitely amazing that he has 50+ free kick goals although he's been so bad at taking them since his latter Madrid years.
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