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Cristiano Ronaldo: They said I should retire… but I am back
Portugal 5-0 Uzbekistan
Did you really think he was going to be turned away from the party? If you did, you were very much mistaken. Certainly, Cristiano Ronaldo never gave it a moment’s thought.
“Back,” he roared, eyes blazing, as a TV camera made the mistake of entering his territory at the final whistle. “I’m back!” Ronaldo reiterated, slapping his chest, keeping his glare fixed down the barrel and making it clear he did not appreciate anyone who had the temerity to question him.
You can have a bad game, you can have a period of iffy form but, ultimately, quality endures – and that is why it felt inevitable Ronaldo was going to make a statement against Uzbekistan. When the pressure is on, the top performers take control.
Asked why he had made such a demonstration after the 5-0 skewering of admittedly inferior opponents, he replied: “Yes, so people do not forget. They said I should retire… but I am here. The noise from outside is always like this, but we can’t control it. We keep going and we are united.
“The most important thing is our work and the confidence we showed. The team performed really well and improved a lot. As the saying goes, every cloud has a silver lining. But my goal is always to help the national team.”
Ronaldo had been subject to a huge debate since his rather limp offering against DR Congo but after a week of watching his rivals help themselves to goals like hungry schoolboys would fill their pockets in a tuck shop, the time arrived for him to make his presence felt: and how.
It was never in Roberto Martínez’s thinking not to start Ronaldo against Uzbekistan and, within six minutes, that decision had been handsomely vindicated as the 41-year-old darted to the near post and wrapped his right foot around a moment of World Cup history.
You would be naïve if you did not think news of Lionel Messi’s record-breaking night in Dallas had lit a fire. While the Argentine now holds the record for most World Cup goals, Ronaldo helped himself to the feat of goals at most World Cups, this being tournament number six. Truly astonishing.
Ronaldo’s early goal lanced the tension in Houston, paving the way for handsome victory that showed why, when the knockout stages begin, Portugal will be a threat to all. How could you not consider them as potential winners when their striker is so good?
True, he is not the buccaneering presence of his peak, a man who could bend a contest to his will, but when it comes to poaching goals, there is nobody better and the way he converted a cross from Pedro Neto, from the run to the finish, was a thing of beauty.
He needed it, too, and celebrated with an outpouring of emotion. Ronaldo, publicly, has never lacked self-confidence but the debate around that miserable night against Democratic Republic of Congo clearly had an effect. Even the best needed their spirits lifting.
Once Portugal got the lead, it was never in doubt what would happen. Goals followed via a free-kick from Nuno Mendes, a brilliant finish from Ronaldo, an own goal from Manchester City defender Abdukodir Khusanov and Rafael Leão’s late flourish. Portugal will not be looking back now.
It was his 10th goal, taking him past Eusebio as Portugal’s leading World Cup scorer. “Speaking personally,” he said with a remarkable level of understatement. “Records are always nice.”
“This was the response we had in the dressing room,” said Martínez. “There are times when you need a game like the first one in order to grow in the tournament. You saw a team with the same attitude and commitment, but with greater maturity. I’m very pleased with the result.”
[Source: Daily Telegraph]
