Cristiano Ronaldo knows what he’s doing.
He always has. Although he was nurtured by Alex Ferguson after the Scot signed him as a raw, precocious 18-year-old, the Portuguese winger always knew what he needed to do to reach the pinnacle of his profession: work, work and more work.
Ronaldo’s career has been defined by a singular, unwavering dedication to every element of his craft, from fitness and nutrition to finishing and everything in between.
It’s what catapulted him from flashy teenage wonderkid to one of the finest players the game has ever seen. Ronaldo’s goalscoring record, of course, is superhuman.
The Real Madrid forward has netted over 600 goals for club and country and has scored every type of goal imaginable: point-blank poacher’s finishes, towering headers, volleys, overhead kicks and penalties.
Then there are the free-kicks. Ronaldo has always had an unorthodox free-kick technique. It has, for the most part, produced erratic results. His ‘knuckle-ball’ technique often sees the ball hitting row Z but, when he gets it right, the combination of power and accuracy is unstoppable.
Portugal’s 3-3 draw with Spain on Friday night was the perfect demonstration of that. The 33-year-old struck an unerring dead-ball which flew over Sergio Busquets’ head and left David De Gea flat-footed and watching on helplessly.
https://twitter.com/WorldCup18Info/status/1007711558955421696
Considering Ronaldo’s technique conjures such moments of wonder, it would be safe to assume that nobody would dare offer him tips.
But it has happened. In his earlier days at Real Madrid, Ronaldo played alongside Rafael van der Vaart. The Dutchman was deadly over a set-piece, too, and after seeing Ronaldo try and fail repeatedly one day after training, the former Tottenham playmaker suggested a change of approach.
“One day after training, Cristiano took 20 balls and started practicing free kicks but none went in,” the 35-year-old said in a video posted to his Twitter account.
“I took one and it went in and I told him ‘this is the way you should do it.’ Come game day, we won a free kick and Cristiano hanged it top corner and told me, “this is the way I do it.”
The bottom line: Ronaldo doesn’t take kindly to being told how to play football.
Let me tell you about @Cristiano & his free kicks: “this is the way i do it” 😜 #Ronaldo #PORESP #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/sCvyDf0LQE
— Rafael van der Vaart (@rafvdvaart) June 15, 2018
