Even though Madrid play similiarly to portugal I would say they use the ball better and would have the ball more. He may not require possession, but a player in ronaldos position requires service. I might be wrong, but I cant remember many clear chances for Ronaldo vs spain. Also in 04 and 06 there was less pressure on Ronaldo as he was much younger and they had senior players like figo to take criticism. He was the senior player and captain at euro 2012 and was the player who had the most responsibility and also when they lost in the end received the most criticism.
Cristiano Ronaldo
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So Ronaldo sucks but since you can't even show any facts to prove your point you are complaining about his English? Do we need to be perfect fluent in English to join this forum?
Man I just don't know what people expect from Ronaldo. He is a winger/ Striker yet people expect him to do everything. Obviously it wasnt a one man show the same way it wasnt when Argentina won it in 86 but the truth is portugal werent getting to the semi's without ronaldo turning up and performing. He clearly turned up in euro 2012 and had a very good to great tournament. For Portugal to win he would of had to had to have an excellent tournament up there with Maradonna.
Isn't the entire point of having the 2nd best player in the world that he lifts the entire team to a higher level? Portugal don't have a brilliant side no but there's still loads and loads of quality in there. Moutinho, Pepe, Nani, Coentrao and Mereiles are/were all good players. He's not playing for Saudi Arabia, he's playing for a very good team easily in the top ten in the world on paper.
Not mentioning that in years past he's actually played with some real elite talents like Figo, Deco and Rui Costa.
I don't think the Portugal side right now without Ronaldo is much worse if at all than the 86 Argentina side without Maradona.
Ronaldo didn´t recieve criticism in the end at all. The only time he was criticized in the Euro 2012 was in the first game against Germany. We aren´t Spain, Germany or Italy. How could anyone criticize the team after we reached the semi´s?
There was still alot of pressure on Ronaldo in the Euro2004, just remember his age and the fact that he was playing a very important role in a team that was playing a major tournament in their own country. The only difference was that he had a better support cast with experienced players like Figo, Rui Costa, Maniche and Carvalho to help and guide him. In 2006 he was very good and had alot of pressure again. I think we could have went to the final on that World Cup if Carvalho didn´t have an horrible semi final performance against France (giving away a stupid penalty and having too many concentration lapses). We had a very good team in 2006 and were very solid performance wise. Even Scolari´s decision (in contrast with the Euro2004) were spot on.
Look at the teams they are up against mate. He lifted his country to get to the semi's thats very good considering the quality around him. As you said there are some good players but no great players. Whereas the likes of Spain, Germany, Italy, France and even England have better teams overall.
They are good players but im not sure how many of portugals attacking players or midfielders would get into spain, italys, gemanys, hollands, frances or englands team. He is at a disadvantage to other attacking players. Portugal go far by being gritty and hard working. He is definitely at a disadvantage to other attacking players. Even torres managed to win euro 2012 top score playing for spain and he didnt start many matches and some games he didnt even play.
So us constantly qualifying to the tournaments (in constrast with the past), reaching an Euro final, a Euro semi final, a World Cup semi final, always passing group phases isn´t good enough? Do you even know our national team historial? Again, we are not Italy, Spain or Germany. Of course we would want to win a competition but we already had a world player of the year in Figo (with a better support cast than Ronaldo) who couldn´t do it. This is our level. Until we produce a decent striker or have Mourinho managing our national team, we won´t win a tournament. Too many limitations in our team.
Ronaldo will be top scorer in this world cup. If Portugal can feed him enough, he could win them the tournament in his current form.
The problem with Portugal is the same for decades no strikers and without a good striker then Ronaldo will be double marked the entire game.
That's pretty much sum up his performance in Euro 2012. Obviously not Maradona-like, but not in any sense bad either. In fact Portugal got into semi mostly because of his winning goals against Holland and Cezh, while great players usually only have 3 great games in one tournament, he has 2, so he is not far off from it either.
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They beat Denmark, Czech Republic and a Holland side who lost to everyone (including Denmark). Basically what you'd expect which is what Portugal have always done in the last three tournaments, they beat who they should beat and then lose when they face someone better than them. I think the 2nd best player in the world should be stepping up so they can win some of those games against Germany, Spain and Brazil, but whenever Portugal do run into top class opposition (or even just opposition better than them) Ronaldo's never made that step up.
Not sure about Mourinho since the Portuguese federation doesn't have the money to buy defenders and defensive midfielders plus a striker
I'm not even sure Portugal will get out of the group. They were terrible in qualifying and both Ghana and the US are very solid sides.
It´s pretty simple. Also our managers aren´t really world class either. Scolari could have probably done better in 2004 (Mourinho would have won that tournament). Queiroz was horrible and Paulo Bento is just a decent manager nothing brilliant about him. He just manages to the team´s strenght and is tactically very conservative. I would have loved to see Mourinho or even Jorge Jesus (i dislike Benfica but have to praise his attacking football strategy) with this team.
Whatever mate. We'll have to agree to disagree. The criteria you are holding Ronaldo up to is higher than any player ever. No player has taken a team on Portugal's level to a world cup or euro trophy. Not Maradona not pele, not messi, not cruyff it just doesnt happen. But consistent semi finals is one hell a outcome for portugal when you compare their teams to others.
A lot of papers and sports sites I read cruelly mocked him over not taking the penalty and the analysts on the channel I was watching criticised his performance , unfairly I might add. He is the kind of player that when his team wins he gets all the praise, and when they lose he will get a lot of criticism. Im sure he wasn't criticised in Portugal and rightly so as he did well for them and im sure they were proud of him. I don't think the pressure he was under back then was anything compared to now as not only was he very young, he was also not considered to be one of the best in the world at the time and he wasn't the captain or the teams main player. At euro 2012 he was all of those things. Every performance he has now is compared to messi. I agree the 06 team was very good and probably was the best Portugal team.
You should have won in 2004 but completely bottled it for one.
You have a brilliant striker, he just plays from the wing. Most nations would kill to have a winger like Ronaldo even if it meant having Almedia/Postiga, I don't see how you can complain about your goal scoring options.
It's not like Nani and Quaresma aren't great players either. You have loads of talent you just consistently get the minimum from it (much like England).
Well considering they have got to the semi's or final in the last 4 tournaments. Recent form would go against your theory
A lot of re-writing of history going on.
Goals against a really woeful dutch side and the winner vs the Czechs seem to have masked some really poor displays. I thought he did alright against Spain though, and you can't really hold anything against him in that game since Portugal weren't exactly in control.
Portugal are actually quite a solid unit, feel sorry for guys like Pepe who are basically being ignored for what is a pretty hefty contribution.
Goals against a really woeful dutch side and the winner vs the Czechs seem to have masked some really poor displays. I thought he did alright against Spain though, and you can't really hold anything against him in that game since Portugal weren't exactly in control.
Portugal are actually quite a solid unit, feel sorry for guys like Pepe who are basically being ignored for what is a pretty hefty contribution.
Great players?
one is good the other is an all time bottler who doesnt even play for the national team anymore and hasnt for years now.
Wait, what?
They lost in 2nd round in 2010 and the quarter finals in 2008.
Do you even watch football?
He had a decent tournament, some good games and some not so good games. I think it would be wrong to say he had a poor one but very good, excellent etc. is pushing it.
The thing with the way Cristiano plays is that he can be really poor overall, still score a goal and get a lot of credit despite his performance, so you can understand him being criticised when he doesn't score a goal to mask his underwhelming contribution to the build up play. He's not a poacher but his game is so focused on end product that it's easy to single him out when he doesn't score, as unfair as that may be.
You right sorry. Either way out of the group stages last few tournaments.
Not excellent as I said but very good to great and turned up. As the highlights show he was clearly the main driving force not just scoring, setting up chances, dribbling taking on men, scaring the opposition, hit the post 4 times etc. He didnt just score 3 goals he was by far their best attacking force.
Not portuguese ones surely. In relation to the penalty decision it was a Paulo Bento strategy to leave him as the fifth penalty taker.
I think that they've got a much harder group this time than usual.
Ghana are a good side who did well in South Africa. The USA are really well organised and hard to break down, which is what Portugal struggle against.
Germany dispatched Portugal very easily 2 years ago.
If I was betting my mortgage I'd go with Portugal but I think they could easily struggle. I think they'll lose to Germany and could easily lose or draw to one of the US or Ghana.
Very true. Messis struggles with argentina show it is not easy. I don't think many could argue that Ronaldo has had a better international career than messi
Messi's been really poor with Argentina too. They've both been disappointing on the international stage for me.
They weren't portugese ones no. Mostly English and Spanish ones.
He was their best attacking force, yeah. That's expected given his ability, his team mates ability and how they're set up to get the best out of him - that's not a criticism of Cristiano but it's nothing to praise him for either, it would be like saying Zlatan can never have a poor tournament with Sweden because he's their best attacking force.
Like I said, I don't think he had a poor tournament, but being the most threatening player in a team set up to get the best of him him is expected, anything lower than that would be a complete disaster. I think it's fair to say he could have played better in a few of his games, but similarly anyone who says he's to blame for Portugal not going further is just wrong.
To be fair portugal had Brazil,North Korea and Ivory Coast which was very tough at the time.
Germany didnt dispatch them easily 1-0 after hitting the post twice isnt exactly being easily dispatched. They will all be close games but as you said you'd be your mortgage on them getting through so its a rather pointless prediction considering we could easily say the same for Germany.
I think Ronaldo has done better so far. Being joint top scorer at a tournament for a defensive side is a good individual achievement as well as playing a part in getting a team to a final in 04, semis in 06, out of the group of death in 2010 despite being played in a very defensive formation and out of position and then going out to the winners and arguably best international team ever, and the semis again 2012. He was very good in the play-offs for the recent world cup too. He was meant to have won the best young player of wc 2006 but England fans complaining stopped him from winning it and podolski got it.
Being the best attacking force in a team that gets to the semi finals and puts up a great fight against the eventual winners is a great achievement no matter how you try to twist it. He was only poor in one game every other game he was either portugal's best player or their best attacker so I'd say he was the reason they got that far.
Agree with everything you said except this which I really disagree with. Yes, Ronaldo put a woeful Sweden to the sword but if he hadn't been so damn poor in the groups they wouldn't have even been in the playoff in the first place. They drew home/away with Israel, drew with Northern Ireland and lost in Russia. You'd expect Ronaldo to do more in those games.
Also the 2004/06 squads had more to do with Deco than Ronaldo. It didn't become the Ronaldo show until after Figo and Deco were past it, Ronaldo was good in 04/06 but he wasn't Portugal's best player yet.
Yeah we should have won it in 2004. Wasn´t because of Ronaldo we lost it though. The blame goes to Scolari and specially Figo and Rui Costa having a very subpar tournament.
Cmon do you even know what are you talking about? Why are you mentioning Quaresma? His national team career equals zero. No influence at all.
And that last phrase...i don´t even know how you can make that comparison. We aren´t getting the minimum, we are clearly overachieving if you compare our national team with other big european national teams.
It's a decent achievement, have no problem with that part. To say he was the reason he got that far is unfair on the rest of the team though, especially the likes of Coentrão and Pepe who were no less important than Cristiano. Is Charisteas the reason Greece won Euro 2004 or was it a great team performance? You're giving Cristiano too much credit, he was decent but he didn't single handedly drag Portugal to the semis, not at all.
49 goals in 110 people have to remember that in his beginning years in Portugal he was only playing as a winger he was not the goal scorer he is now if you were to get his Portugal stats over the last 4-5 years i am certain their would be much improvement also keep in mind the players he has around him yet he still performs .... just as an example now Messi with all the World Class attacking talent around him the fact he does not do better for Argentina surprises me imagine Ronaldo with some of the players Messi has around him....... I dont get some of the hate Ronaldo gets around here
Wouldn't it be the other way around?
Didn't he go two years without scoring for the national team recently?
Wrong. Deco wasn´t better than Ronaldo in the Euro 2004. Deco didn´t even get picked for the Uefa Euro 2004 squad. The 2004 squad had more to do with Maniche rather than Deco. Ronaldo was second best there. He did very well since he wasn´t even supposed to be a starter and people had more expectations in relation to Figo and Rui Costa. In 2006 he was best player since Carvalho had a very bad semi final against France.
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