On July 4th, 2004, a 19-year-old lay flat on the pitch of the Estádio da Luz in Lisbon, Portugal where he remained for a while, disappointed and disconsolate.
Despite his best efforts in what was his breakthrough tournament, his team had just surrendered the European Championship to an unfancied Greece side.
The teenager’s name was Cristiano Ronaldo, and this was a nightmare. Such was the excitement and expectation surrounding the youngster’s precocious talent and potential to do great things for Portugal that it is startling when the facts are laid bare.
Not only has Ronaldo failed to illuminate a major international tournament since, he has never managed to make it back to the final of one. The retirement of world-class players such as Luis Figo, Rui Costa and Simao, players considered to be part of a ‘golden generation’ would have certainly contributed to this, but there is something else to consider.
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There has always been the unerring feeling that after that period from around 2000-2006 where the team was genuinely competitive, the national team has simply not been good enough and has been plagued by mediocrity and inconsistency.
Although far from a one man team in its current state, it is without a doubt short on true elite quality and as a result there is extra emphasis placed on Ronaldo. It is something that has inevitably resulted in tension and over-reliance in recent years. An incident before the 2014 FIFA World Cup springs to mind where Ronaldo, suffering from a career threatening patella tendinitis injury later justified his participation and commented that “If we had two or three Cristiano Ronaldo’s in the team, I would feel more comfortable. But we don’t.”
At 31, it remains to be seen how many more shots at international glory Ronaldo has. His underwhelming international career is unbecoming of a true footballing superstar. Despite being Portugal’s all-time top scorer, the stark reality is he has scarcely reproduced club-form on the international stage
For a player of his idiosyncratic and unique talents, 9 goals across 6 international tournaments is a dereliction of duty for a player considered by many to be the best of his generation. This is backed up by the fact that his two greatest achievements to date with the national team, have been single handedly dragging Portugal through qualifiers for the Euro 2012 and the World Cup 2014 against Bosnia and Herzegovina and Sweden respectively.
All of Cristiano Ronaldo's goals in European Championships 🔥#EURO2016 https://t.co/Ju9NXkN54k
— Signings Alert (@SigningsAlert) May 30, 2016
The closest he has come to what the world expects of a player of Ronaldo’s caliber was at Euro 2012. The winger was impressive throughout most of that tournament without ever really dominating it, knocking out Holland with two clinical finishes and scoring in the quarters against Denmark before being knocked out by eventual champions Spain on penalties.
However, these moments have not been frequent enough. When you inspect the career Ronaldo has had so far, you are left short of words. His voracious appetite for hard work and personal improvement are truly spectacular.
Ronaldo’s CV is as aberrant as it is breathtaking, but it however fails to overshadow the fact that the phenomenon lacks a truly defining moment. Think of Zinedine Zidane with his volley in the 2001 Champions League, the ‘Cruyff turn’, or Diego Maradona’s solo goal against England in 1986.
A triumph for Portugal at this summer’s European Championship led by a fired up Ronaldo will certainly provide that. Portugal are behind the likes of Germany, France, Belgium and Spain when it comes to the favourites for the tournament, but on their day are a match for anybody.
If the likes of Joao Moutinho and Nani can help lessen the attacking burden on Ronaldo, Portugal will ease their way into the knockout stages.
Ronaldo has overcome much criticism in his storied career, his performances at Euro 2016 will go a long way to determining how far Portugal progress and whether the criticism remains valid.
It is time for the world to see the real Ronaldo, the match-winner, game-changer and talisman. It is he who they saw in the making, all those years ago.
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