AuthorJeffEyesRimmer From the school playground to the office to the pub we as fans often chat about who is the best in the world or who is the best player ever was. Depending on your generation and the amount of football you watch those answers can differ greatly. However, if there was any doubt that Cristiano Ronaldo’s name should be mentioned in the same breath as greats like Pele, Maradona, Peter Crouch and Johan Cruyff then that was dispelled after Real Madrid’s Champions League victory this weekend just gone. While many will disagree with that statement, the stats alone speak for themselves. Ronaldo has so many milestones with regards to scoring goals it’s difficult to list them all but here are a few of the more impressive ones:
The stats really do speak for themselves, but that’s just a part of the story. Ronaldo is the big name player for the big occasions. At the quarter final stage of this season’s Champions League he had only scored 2 goals, but by the end of the final whistle in Cardiff he had 12 (one more that Messi if that counts – which of course it does because he will have counted that!). When Real needs a player to rise to an occasion and change a game or make something happen it is Ronaldo they look to and he more often than not delivers. In the final this week he put the Juventus defence to the sword, scoring two goals against a side that had shut out virtually all others, including Barcelona’s fantastic attacking talent. Last summer he led Portugal to the European Championship title. While he limped off during that final, it was his goals that got them to the final. Their only win during that run to the final which came in normal time was in the Semi Final against Wales. Ronaldo scored to kill the encounter and end Welsh dreams. I think one of factors that is often overlooked when discussing Ronaldo in the context of “the worlds greatest players” is his work ethic. It could be argued that he is not the most naturally gifted player of all time, but his dedication to becoming the best in the world is what has set him apart from others. Many a player has had more nature ability than Ronaldo, but squandered it due to not working to improve or consistently performing for their respective clubs. In fact there was a time in Portugal when people thought that Ricardo Quaresma was and would be the better player, but while Quaresma has had a good career as a bit of a journeyman, Ronaldo’s sheer work ethic has led to him becoming better and achieving greater things. His former Manchester United team mate Quinton Fortune said ‘He's got the ability but I've never seen anything like it, because every single day he came into training he was doing extra. Shooting, dribbling, step overs, going to the gym, wanting to be stronger, quicker. Just practice, wanting to be better every single day’. Ronaldo would complete training with his team mates and then instead of going home he would go back to the gym to train on his leg strength etc. His dedication to be the best has led to all those stats, accolades and trophies. The number of trophies he has won is staggering as well. He has won:
That’s 20 titles in total and we haven’t even mentioned the 4x Ballon d’Ors. Players like Pele and Maradona played in different eras to old CR7 and so it’s very hard to compare them, but in this era of elite sportsmen and women Ronaldo is up there with the best. While many fans will say Messi is a better player (team wise and overall) I am just happy that we are alive to witness both Ronaldo and Messi in the same era. The amazing thing about both these players is that they are perfect for each other. When one of them achieves something magnificent then the other goes ahead and tries to outdo him (although maybe only one of the two of them is worried enough to want to outdo the other!). It makes for brilliant football and means we potentially get to see Messi and Ronaldo achieve even more next season. Once those two players retire we really will miss their rivalry and it will be some time before we see anything like it again. Yes he’s vain and has an ego, and yes he's a bit of a prima donna, and yes he does indulge in the odd hissy fit , but he is just a brilliant player! Is CR7 the greatest footballer ever? If not, he’s bloody well close. |
AuthorsJust Some Fans Writing About Football. Archives
June 2018
Categories
All
|