Head: Cheerleader Ronaldo
=======================================================
Blurb:
Ronaldo spent much of final match in the technical area giving the sort of encouragement to his team-mates which is often lacking when he is playing. Portugal needed Ronaldo, the cheerleader.
=========================================================
Finally, Portugal has earned a major international football trophy. The game's superstar Cristiano Ronaldo can proudly show off an international medal. This is the crowning glory for one of the all-time greats in the sport's history. But oddly, it was not the Real Madrid star who delivered the maiden title for the perennial underachievers in world football. It was Portugal minus Ronaldo that cracked the French code to become European champions at Stade de France on Sunday night.
Less than 10 minutes into the final, the Portugal captain went down clutching his knee. Ronaldo appeared to be Portugal’s only hope of pulling off an upset against the hosts, the hot favourites to win the trophy at home. But 25 minutes into a match that would last two hours, Ronaldo was carried off the field. Portugal scored in extra time. Shocking as it may be to consider, the upset 1-0 victory came because of Ronaldo’s injury, not in spite of it.
Relieved of any obligation to pass to Ronaldo every time he was free or allow him to take free kicks, Portugal's players appeared less inhibited without him on the pitch. Raphael Guerreiro, barred from taking free kicks when Ronaldo is playing, showed his abilities when he curled a sublime effort against the crossbar in extra-time, shortly before Eder scored Portugal's winner. The left back had also scored from a free kick in the pre-tournament friendly against Norway, a game which Ronaldo missed. Also, Eder would never have seen any action if Ronaldo hadn’t been unable to continue. The 28-year-old striker had only made two substitute appearances prior to the final “ a seven-minute cameo in Portugal’s tournament opener against Iceland and a seven-minute outing against Austria in its second group game. Ronaldo had been more of a stationary, predatory forward than an electric winger during the tournament. As the final progressed into extra time, the 31-year-old Ronaldo would have become even more stationary and Eder would not have been called upon.
Ronaldo has a remarkable record for his country, scoring in seven major tournaments in a row -- the last three World Cups and last four European Championships. Yet, his presence sometimes seems to overwhelm his younger team-mates. He has taken more than 40 free kicks at major tournaments without converting and television pictures often show him remonstrating angrily when the ball does not reach him. However, Ronaldo spent much of Sunday's match alongside Santos in the technical area giving the sort of encouragement to his team-mates which is often lacking when he is playing.
Portugal's is a triumph of coaching and togetherness but the truth is they are deeply average. They came third in their group, won only one match over 90 minutes in the whole tournament, and their winner in Paris was scored by Eder, who failed to net a single goal in 15 games for Swansea this season. They needed Ronaldo to get them into the knock-outs with two goals against Hungary and he decided the semi-final against Wales with a goal and an assist in a space of three minutes.
Frankly, to win the Euros with this team is a quite stunning achievement. And the real irony is that Portugal did not need Ronaldo the goal poacher but the cheerleader to deliver it the title.
