Finally, Portugal have earned a major international football trophy. Finally, the game’s superstar Cristiano Ronaldo can proudly show off an international medal. This is
the ultimate 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 limped off. 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 single-handedly decided the semi-final against Wales. 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.
