by Luca Caioli
As for Ronaldo, the United number 7 may have started on the bench in the first two matches, but he earned his spot in the starting line-up against Spain and treated the fans to an incredible performance. He will form Portugal’s main attack against England alongside Deco and Nuno Gomes, while Rooney will pair up with 2001 Ballon d’Or winner Michael Owen up front for England. And it’s Owen who scores the first goal in the third minute, thanks to a terrible error from Costinha. Cristiano, by comparison, is off to a magnificent start. The Portuguese number 17 is on fire, commanding control of the left wing and generally causing a headache for England’s number 3, Ashley Cole.
And what about Rooney? He almost scores the second goal from a free kick taken just outside the area by David Beckham. But his match only lasts 23 minutes after he gets stamped on by Jorge Andrade. At first it doesn’t seem serious, but Rooney is visibly limping and three minutes later he has to be substituted by Darius Vassell. He has broken the fifth metatarsal on his right foot.
Unfortunately for Rooney and for the match, the duel with Cristiano will have to wait until the 2006 World Cup. Meanwhile, despite the Portuguese onslaught, England manage to hold out until the 83rd minute, when Hélder Postiga heads in a great pass from Simão to take the game into extra time. Both teams are tired, but Portugal seems to have the edge. For Cristiano it’s as if the match is just getting started, and Phil Neville receives a yellow card for trying to stop him in his tracks. In the 115th minute Rui Costa thinks he has closed the deal with a fantastic shot into David James’s net. But England regroup and five minutes later Frank Lampard makes it 2-2 to take the game to penalties.
Beckham sends the first sailing over the bar; Rui Costa follows suit. Now it’s Cristiano’s turn. He places the ball meticulously on the spot and, without any sign of nerves, sends a medium height shot flying into the net. Portuguese goalie Ricardo blocks Darius Vassell’s attempt, and shortly afterwards takes his own shot to secure his team a place in the semi-finals.
Next up is Dick Advocaat’s Holland – another team who are hanging on by the skin of their teeth. They made it into the final stages after an eleventh-hour qualifier and their first three group matches have been tough. In the quarters they beat Sweden on penalties. And when it comes to the game against the host nation Advocaat really wants to win. He wants it for the team but he also wants to show the fans that a tiny country can reach the pinnacle of the footballing world.
But Dutch central defender Wilfred Bouma is convinced that the biggest threat in the Portuguese team is Cristiano Ronaldo. And he is right – the game has barely started before the Red and Green number 17 misses by a whisker after a fantastic cross from Figo. Minutes later another Ronaldo shot loses momentum and Edwin van der Sar saves it comfortably. It’s a corner to Portugal in the 26th minute, the first of the match. Luís Figo takes it, Cristiano gets free in the box, and – in a similar move to his goal against Greece – he goes up for the ball and heads it into the corner of the net in full view of the powerless van der Sar and Edgar Davids, who is covering the post. The boy from Madeira pulls off his shirt, waves it in the air and runs to celebrate his second goal with his team-mates in front of the Portuguese fans in the stands. Out comes Swedish referee Anders Frisk’s yellow card.
In the 67th minute Ronaldo is substituted by Petit. The score is 2-1 to Portugal (after an incredible diagonal shot from Maniche from 27 yards, and an own goal by Jorge Andrade) and that’s how it stays. Portugal have beaten the rusty Dutchmen and are through to their first final.
On Sunday 4 July at the Estadio da Luz in Lisbon they will face Greece. Interestingly, it is the first time in Euro history that the same two teams who played the inaugural match will also close the tournament. They meet again after just 23 days – a final that very few would have predicted at the start. Before the tournament began, Portugal was considered one of the favourites, but the odds on Greece winning were more like 80 to one. The Greeks’ journey has not been an easy one. They came second in Group A after their win over Portugal, a draw with Spain and a defeat at the hands of the Russians. They beat current title-holders France in the quarter finals and defeated the Czech Republic in the semis.
Scolari’s team watched the Czech match on TV and were shaking their heads at the outcome. ‘Greece again?’ they said to each other. ‘We have to end it with the team who beat us at the beginning?!’ But they are all convinced that history will be different this time around. They think they can win it and clinch the big title for Portugal. The entire country is rooting for them, willing them to succeed. The whole of Lisbon is out in the streets waving and cheering and an enormous tide of supporters follows the coach as it carries the team to the stadium. The atmosphere in the stadium itself is electric, and at 7.45pm that Sunday evening, the whole of Portugal comes to a standstill.
Before the match, Greece coach Otto Rehhagel declares: ‘We have come all this way and we have brought enormous happiness to the people of Greece. We have nothing to lose. In the opening match Portugal underestimated us – this time they’ll be on their guard. It’s obvious that they are the favourites, they’ll have the support of 50,000 spectators.’ And let’s not forget the fact that Portugal haven’t lost in Lisbon for seventeen years, not in the Alvalade or in the Estadio da Luz. They are the host nation – something which was a deciding factor for Spain in ’64, Italy in ’68 and France in ’84.
But the home ground and the host advantage are worthless as Portugal stumble and fall into the same traps as before. The host nation’s story ends just as it began, with a defeat by the Greeks, 1-0 thanks to a header in the 57th minute from Angelos Charisteas. Greece has pulled off a Maracanazo – a term coined after Uruguay’s 1950 World Cup win over Brazil at the Estádio do Maracaña in Rio. They have ruined the party planned with the blood, sweat and tears of an entire nation.
And the host nation’s story ends just as it began – with tears from Cristiano Ronaldo. Looking lost and alone in the centre of the pitch, he is oblivious to the consolatory words and gestures from his team-mates, crying at the sadness of it all. And crying over missed chances; like in the 59th minute, when Nikopolidis thwarted his chance; or in the 74th, when he had acres of space in front of goal but he sent his shot over the bar, the ‘Ahhh!’ from the crowd audible on the pitch. He is crying because he never could have imagined losing to Greece. Because ‘we had a fantastic team and we have played a great tournament and we don’t deserve to lose like this’. Because he’s ‘an ambitious person’ and he wants to be ‘the champion of Europe at nineteen years old’.
‘But now I have to move on,’ adds Cristiano. ‘I have to look forward. There will be many other opportunities to win in Europe throughout my career, and make up for this huge disappointment.’
Chapter 9
Martunis: a special boy
‘A brave, beautiful and healthy boy.’
That morning he was playing, running after a ball on the beach. He was wearing his favourite shirt, the Portuguese football team’s red and green strip. Along came an enormous wave and carried him away. Far, very far, God knows where. It took him along with the houses, the palm trees, the boats, the animals, the cars, the tourists. It took him along with thousands of other children, men and women, as well as his family, who tried desperately to flee the tidal wave in their pick-up truck.
Martunis was adrift for nineteen days. He survived by eating whatever he could find and drinking seawater. His guardian angel appeared in the form of Ian Dovaston, a British journalist for Sky News. He was the one who found the seven-year-old boy wandering alone on a beach in Banda Aceh, in the northern region of the island of Sumatra, Indonesia. He was weak, dehydrated, disoriented and covered in insect bites – but safe.
Dovaston and his interpreter offer him water and biscuits and take him to Save the Children. There they clean him up and administer first aid. ‘It’s a miracle he survived,’ say the volunteers. At the hospital where he is assessed the prognosis is very positive – the boy has no serious inju
ries or illness. He is reunited with his fisherman father Sarbini, and his grandmother. He discovers that his mother and two sisters have not survived the tsunami which occurred on 26 December 2004, claiming 230,000 lives across South East Asia.
When the Sky News report about the rescue of a little boy wearing the national team shirt reaches Portuguese televisions, it unleashes a wave of emotion and solidarity across the country. Martunis immediately captures the hearts of the people of Portugal as well as many others across the footballing world. Gilberto Madaíl of the Portuguese Football Federation arranges for the clubs in the league to send joint humanitarian aid to Indonesia. He gets in touch with the British reporter to find out what they can do for the boy and his family. Meanwhile, some of the stars of the national team decide to ‘adopt’ the boy.
‘When we saw the footage, we decided we had to respond immediately; buying some land and helping them build a new home seemed like the best idea,’ explains national coach Luiz Felipe Scolari. ‘The important thing to emphasise in this story is the boy’s fight and struggle to regain his life, his attempt to rebuild what was destroyed by the tsunami. Martunis is an example to athletes and indeed to all of us, of how it is possible to overcome difficulties. He is a symbol of overcoming personal challenges, the classic sporting spirit,’ he adds.
‘I was just absolutely amazed that a child of seven years old could survive after so many days,’ comments a visibly emotional Cristiano Ronaldo. ‘It’s incredible. It gives us all the strength to believe that it is possible to succeed even in the most difficult circumstances. I, together with the coach, hope to bring him over to Manchester, and to Portugal, to see some matches at Old Trafford and the Estádio da Luz. We already have people working on this to help make it happen as soon as possible. I hope we can arrange it, because this boy is a symbol of bravery, and since he was wearing the national shirt I’m sure he would love to come.’
Cristiano’s dream of bringing the boy over to a match is realised six months later. On 31 May 2005, Martunis arrives in Portugal accompanied by his father and the psychologist who has been working with him since his rescue. The Portuguese Football Federation has invited him to attend an Under 21s match in Rio Maior on the third day of his stay, and on the fourth day he will see the national team take on Slovakia. Martunis visits the hotel where the team are staying and joins the footballers during their meal. He also gets to meet his idol, Cristiano Ronaldo, in person. He already knows all about him because he is a Man United fan. Cristiano gives him a kiss and presents him with a red and green shirt with the number 1 and ‘Martunis’ written across the back.
The following day at the Benfica ground, the boy from Indonesia sits next to Rui Costa wearing a cap, scarf and the shirt. Portuguese Football Federation president Madaíl gives him a cheque for 40,000 Euros, money contributed by all the members of the national team. FIFA president Sepp Blatter shakes his hand and they sit down to enjoy Portugal beating Slovakia 2-0. The second goal comes on the stroke of half time, when Cristiano Ronaldo scores from a free kick taken just outside the area.
The number 17 tells Martunis that he will see him again very soon. He is true to his word. On 11 June he lands in Banda Aceh, where he visits the coast of Ulèë Lheuë, one of the areas worst affected by the tsunami. He is shocked by the level of ruin and destruction and moved by the courage of the locals and their attempts to rebuild as much of their lives as possible. He is also overwhelmed by the kindness and affection that he receives everywhere he goes. Martunis accompanies him during his visit, while crowds of people follow him by foot, on bicycles or on motorbikes. He can’t even get off the tour bus to play a match with the children at the local school – the pitch is invaded by people who want to see the United number 7.
He chats to Martunis using gestures and with the help of an interpreter. He gives him his number 17 national shirt and a mobile phone, and he takes out his computer to show the boy photos and videogames. Together they visit OIKOS, a Portuguese NGO currently operating in Aceh. Martunis is excited about everything that has happened, about becoming the hero of his island and about his famous new friend. He is shy and he talks very little, but his eyes sparkle with happiness.
‘He’s a brave, beautiful and healthy boy,’ says Cristiano afterwards. ‘I believe that many adults would not even be able to deal with what he has gone through. We must respect him. His was an act of strength and maturity. He’s a special kid.’
The two of them spend the Saturday together and the boy’s father Sarbini says that Martunis was delighted to spend time with such a great footballer, who treated him like a younger brother. On the Sunday Ronaldo flies to Jakarta where he will meet with Indonesian vice-president Jusuf Kalla at a fundraising dinner. As well as the dinner there is an auction (including three of his shirts from Portugal and Man United, a pair of boots and a signed football) which raises one billion rupiahs, around £60,000, to help rebuild Aceh.
Three years after the tsunami and Cristiano’s visit, Martunis is interviewed for a FIFA documentary. ‘My favourite hobby is playing football,’ he says. ‘It’s fun. My grandfather was a footballer. I want to be a footballer when I grow up.’
Chapter 10
The saddest day
‘My father was number one in my life. He is always in my heart.’
It is 9pm in Moscow. Cristiano is in his room watching a film when Portuguese manager Luiz Felipe Scolari summons him to his room. It is Tuesday 6 September 2005. The following day Portugal will face Russia, a key moment in their quest to qualify for the 2006 World Cup. If they win and Slovakia concedes points, they will be one step closer to Germany.
Portuguese captain Luís Figo is in the manager’s hotel suite. Cristiano thinks it’s a little odd to be meeting like this, but he suspects nothing. He presumes it must be about some strategic issue, something the coach and the captain want to discuss with him. But they have called him in to inform him of the death of his father. Dinis Aveiro has passed away at a clinic in London after being hospitalised several months earlier.
In July, the father of Man United’s number 7 had been urgently admitted to Funchal’s Centro Hospitalario with serious liver and renal problems. The doctors reserve judgement on his prognosis. In an attempt to help save him, Ronaldo requests that he be transferred to England for a liver transplant. But despite improving briefly, Dinis later dies. His untimely death has been caused by alcohol and Cristiano is devastated. ‘It was as if our world crumbled around us,’ says his sister Katia.
Scolari and the national directors offer Ronaldo the option of leaving Moscow immediately to be with his family. But CR7 says no, he wants to stay with the team, and he asks Scolari to let him play. ‘I wanted to play. That was all I knew how to do,’ Cristiano will later explain. ‘I wanted to show everyone that I was able to compartmentalise, that I was a consummate professional and that I took my work seriously. I wanted to play that match in honour of my father. I wanted to score a goal for him. I was testing myself and all the people who love me.’
‘I hope that playing will be a way of dealing with his emotions,’ says Portuguese Football Federation president Gilberto Madaíl. And when the press ask him how the player is doing, he replies: ‘I have seen a 22-year-old man who is destroyed over the loss of his father. It’s a complicated situation; although it was expected, no one thought it would happen so quickly. It is a very painful period of mourning.’
The final decision over whether to start Cristiano rests with Scolari, a man who is very close to him in a difficult time. He reminds Cristiano that family comes first and football second, he tells him to have strength, and he empathises with his pain, recalling the death of his own father. Eusébio consoles the squad’s star player, recalling the day his mother died and telling him how he played a match the same day and scored three goals.
The team is on hand to support him and all the staff try their best to make him as comfortable as possible. But on the day of the match, despite the support of the press (‘Portugal is w
ith you’ says A Bola), there is a strange atmosphere in the dressing room at the Lokomotiv Moscow. The sadness is palpable. Faces downcast, nobody speaks, nobody jokes, there is none of the sense of anticipation that is usually felt before a big match. Cristiano realises what is happening and with an enormous effort he starts to do tricks with the ball as he has done before all of Portugal’s matches. He is trying to show that life and the game must go on. But later, lined up next to the team, listening to the national anthem, the number 17 cannot contain his emotion.
The game against Russia ends in a 0-0 draw and Ronaldo doesn’t manage to score the goal that he wanted to dedicate to his father. He will do it at the World Cup in Germany instead, converting the final penalty against England to take Portugal through to the semi-finals. He will raise his hand to the sky and say, ‘This is for you, Dad.’ But on 7 September at the Lokomotiv stadium he is the best on the pitch. Team-mate and Barcelona player Deco later explains: ‘I think that he felt comfortable with us. What we did that day was to not dwell on it too much. We knew that once he was on the pitch he would feel better. Football brings him joy. But I will never forget how he dealt with that kind of pain. It was admirable, especially when you consider how young he was and the pressure he was under.’
After the match Cristiano Ronaldo returns to Madeira. His father’s funeral is held at the Santo António cemetery in Funchal. The news of Dinis Aveiro’s death has shaken the close-knit community. According to friends and neighbours, Ronaldo’s father was ‘a humble man who got on well with everybody and never had bad words with anyone’. A simple man who had not changed despite his son’s success. He maintained the same traditions and friendships that he had enjoyed before anyone knew his name.