The man for the big occasion.
Cristiano Ronaldo is a machine. His goalscoring records are so outlandish and so far ahead of everybody else’s that they don’t even seem real anymore. The numbers don’t even hold much weight because, in reality, how could numbers do a man like Cristiano Ronaldo justice?
We should really appreciate every time we get to sit in front of the television and watch the Portuguese peacock sing at the top of his voice because it really is something mythical. It really is something different from somewhere else.
And nowadays, he will always grab that microphone and sing.
We really are witnessing one of the true greats, not just of soccer, but of sport in general. How he has adapted his game from the fleet-footed winger in his early days at United, to the powerful left sided midfielder in Madrid, to now, the most prolific centre forward on the planet at 33-year’s of age is something that transcends many previous greats of the game.
We all hear the stories of Ronaldo putting in freakishly long hours in the gym, staying out on the training grounds practicing his free-kicks until kingdom come and then we realise that this man’s longevity is no coincidence. This man’s longevity is a testament to himself.
Because, his relentless ambition, his insatiable appetite for more and more and more when he has it all shows evidence of a character and a mentality that is so unique to himself.
Oft dismissed as flaky in his younger days, the beautiful game’s most flamboyant artist has turned that perception upside down over the last five, six or seven years on so many different occasions.
Now, he’s Cristiano for the big stage. Now, the big stage is always his.
Wednesday night was just another one of those nights. Real Madrid were reeling, headed for extra-time after a disastrous showing in front of a frustrated Bernabeu crowd. Nobody had shown up, Ronaldo included.
As the game entered its dying moments, each Madrid player must have been craving the sanctuary of the dressing room to regroup before extra-time.
They were probably afraid to get on the ball for fear of making a mistake after everything had gone so wrong up to then. Ronaldo is different gravy though.
He may have had an ineffective game but his confidence, as we all well know, is unwavering no matter what.
With Ronaldo still on the pitch, Real Madrid still had a chance. In the 90th minute he showed his genius once more. Now we’ve all heard about the nerveless spot kick, but what Ronaldo hasn’t really got the credit for, amidst all the madness, was the incredible athleticism, the selflessness and the composure of his headed knock down which created the danger in the first place.
https://twitter.com/SportsQuotient/status/984169710550945792
Kenny Cunningham, speaking on eir sport on Thursday evening paid tribute to Ronaldo for his game-changing moment.
“The impressive thing for me was Ronaldo’s assist in the lead up to the penalty. It just showed his intelligence in the lead up to the goal, you know, he ran onto the shoulder of Sandro, the smallest full back, and then isolating himself against him.”
You’d have to agree with Kenny, and appreciate that wondrous moment from Ronaldo.
“Then he just had really good awareness of what was around him, he knew he couldn’t score himself and he just cushioned the ball into the feet of Vasquez which led to the penalty.
"The impressive thing for me was he intelligence in the lead up to the penalty" – Kenny Cunningham was impressed with Ronaldo's role in winning the penalty last night. #UCL pic.twitter.com/DgsOg6wzrG
— eir Sport (@eirSport) April 12, 2018
“So not just in terms of his calmness in taking the penalty, but also in his lead up to the goal and his intelligence in knowing where to be.”
As for the penalty, not even Gigi Buffon would have stopped that.
“I don’t think it would have made any difference, I think he was absolutely ice cool.”
