Was everyone wrong about Ronaldo?

Ronaldo plays the lead role.

Before assisting Bruno Fernandes' goal against Türkiye (Portugal ultimately won 3-0), Cristiano Ronaldo had a controversial first half.

In the situation where Portugal opened the scoring in the 21st minute, Ronaldo stretched to finish after a pass from a teammate. However, the 39-year-old superstar lost his balance and fell to the ground. Fortunately, Bernardo Silva was there to follow up with a decisive one-touch shot to score.

Ronaldo had a memorable match.

The situation was even more comical when "European Brazil" doubled their lead (28th minute). Joao Cancelo and Ronaldo made a miscommunication, with Cancelo's pass going in the opposite direction of his teammate's movement. They exchanged heated words even before the play was over. At this point, defender Samet Akaydin made a careless back pass, in the opposite direction of goalkeeper Altay Bayindir, gifting Portugal a goal. Many fans believe that the argument between Ronaldo and Cancelo startled the opponent, leading to the goal.

Towards the end of the first half, Bruno Fernandes received a pass from Cancelo and raced down to face Bayindir. Although Ronaldo made a run to get the ball, Bruno shot directly, sending the ball over the crossbar, before the two exchanged words. This means that even without scoring or assisting, the most notable moments always seem to go to Ronaldo. That's the privilege, and also the misery, of a superstar.

When Ronaldo is misunderstood

Even Ronaldo's presence on the pitch was controversial. Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson argued that the Portuguese superstar should be benched, given his age and the fact that he was playing in a tournament of significantly lower caliber than the EURO. Merson wasn't the only one who agreed. However, coach Roberto Martinez thought differently. The former Belgium coach wanted Ronaldo to use his experience and influence to unite a Portuguese team that was plagued by too many egos.

In the context of the victory against Türkiye, Coach Martinez was right.

Although he didn't receive a pass from Bruno Fernandes in a favorable position, Ronaldo reciprocated in the second half. In a one-on-one situation with Bayindir in the 56th minute, instead of shooting himself, Ronaldo set up Bruno Fernandes to score.

Ronaldo becomes the player with the most assists in EURO history.

"Ronaldo could have easily taken a shot to score his first goal at EURO 2024, which would have been very significant for him personally (Ronaldo is leading the EURO scoring charts with 14 goals). But Ronaldo chose to pass sideways for Bruno Fernandes to tap the ball in," commented the UF account.

"Ronaldo played one of the least selfish games of his career. He dropped back, tackled, created chances for his teammates, assisted Bruno Fernandes, and helped his teammates shine. That's the effect of a 39-year-old star," another fan shared on social media .

These assessments are well-founded, as Ronaldo has made 3 assists, the second highest in the Portuguese team (only behind Bruno Fernandes). In the match against the Czech Republic, Ronaldo also had 2 assists, the most in the team.

The superstar wearing the number 7 shirt didn't dribble much (only 2 successful dribbles against Türkiye), but instead moved to draw defenders away, creating space for his teammates, allowing for quicker and simpler finishing.

Ronaldo is expected to mentor younger players.

Ronaldo was labeled "selfish" throughout his peak, as the Portuguese midfielder only wanted to score goals. "Ronaldo's mentality was all about scoring goals; he only cared about goals, nothing else. Ronaldo just wanted goals," Wayne Rooney commented.

Looking at it from a positive perspective, it's clear that selfishness elevated Ronaldo, making him more authoritarian and ruthless in the penalty area.

However, Ronaldo's selfishness isn't as extreme as many people think. For example, at Real Madrid, besides scoring 450 goals in 438 matches, Ronaldo also had 131 assists – a huge number for any star player. Or at EURO 2024, Ronaldo made history by becoming the player with the most assists with 8 passes leading to goals.

Ronaldo is a good passer and can play as a team player when needed. The 39-year-old striker only takes many shots because the coach assigned him that role. The task of scoring goals must be given to the best. And when Ronaldo is no longer the best, the 39-year-old superstar is ready to step back.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/tat-ca-da-sai-ve-ronaldo-185240623014228605.htm