Ronaldo
Page 9
Chapter 14
A great season
‘I thought it was going to be the worst day of my life. But despite my mistake, my team-mates still believed we could win. In the end it was the happiest day of my life.’
It’s 21 May 2008. The two English superpowers, Chelsea and Manchester United, are meeting in the final of the Champions League at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, after a nail-biting finish on the final matchday of the Premier League. In the 26th minute, Paul Scholes went past the Blues’ defence, Wes Brown crossed and Cristiano Ronaldo put a phenomenal header past Petr Čech to make it 1-0.
At 23 years of age and after five seasons with the Red Devils, the boy from Madeira has become a visionary. And that’s not all. He has retained the playing style he had as a kid: the run-ins from the touchline, the tricks, the games, the backheels, the ‘sombrero’ chips. He has also expanded his repertoire: he shoots with both feet, from free kicks, from headers … he is a better team player. This Champions League final at a former Olympic stadium could be the perfect chance to cement his champion status.
‘In order to be the best in the world I have to win titles like the Premier League and the Champions League,’ he says before the match, all too aware of the opportunity at stake. ‘I’m a winner, and this season I’m dreaming of a double. Why not?’
It seems as if his dreams are on track. Cristiano is on fire on the wing and has already opened the scoring. But a few seconds before halftime, a long shot from Essien deflects off two United players and Frank Lampard doesn’t waste an opportunity. With a little bit of luck, a double deflection and a slip from Van der Sar, the score is level once again. The equaliser has given Chelsea a confidence boost and now Makélélé, Lampard, Ballack, Cole and Essien are on the attack. Cristiano cannot get free and the chances are coming thick and fast from the camp of Avram Grant, the Israeli coach who has taken over from José Mourinho. Thanks to Drogba and Lampard, the final is transformed into a heroic and agonising match. After 120 minutes nothing has changed and the game goes to penalties in the pouring rain.
Carlos Tévez is first up and he makes it 1-0 to United. Next it’s Michael Ballack: 1-1. Both Michael Carrick and Juliano Belletti convert theirs to take it to 2-2.
The third penalty falls to Man United’s number 7. Ten days earlier on 11 May, Cristiano scored from the penalty spot, punishing Wigan and winning their 17th league title in the process. Earlier in the season he missed one in the Champions League semi-final against Barça at the Nou Camp. But the English TV commentators haven’t forgotten the one he converted in Gelsenkirchen in the summer of 2006 which knocked England out of the Germany World Cup.
The Portuguese has scored 42 goals in a single season. He is the crowd favourite and everyone is focusing intently on what he’s about to do. It’s the best player in the world against the best goalkeeper in the world, say the pundits. Ronaldo kisses the ball and places it carefully on the penalty spot. He puts his hands on his hips as always, lowers his head, takes a deep breath and waits for the referee’s whistle. He takes his run up, opting for the Brazilian-style ‘paradinha’, the little stop intended to confuse the goalie. But Čech anticipates the move and still manages to block the shot. ‘Saved!’ screams the commentator into the microphone.
Cristiano buries his face in his hands and slowly walks away, devastated, while Čech steps aside for Van der Sar. Many great players have missed penalties at crucial moments – including Roberto Baggio, Raúl, Michel Platini and Zico to name but a few. But this is little comfort to the boy from Madeira.
‘After I missed I thought we were going to lose,’ says CR7. ‘I thought it was going to be the worst day of my life. But despite my mistake, my team-mates still believed we could win.’ And they do, thanks to Hargreaves, Nani and Giggs who all score, and Van der Sar who saves the final shot from Nicolas Anelka.
Chelsea captain John Terry has the chance to secure the win but he slips on the waterlogged pitch and misses, gifting United the victory. The Blues’ centre-back ends the game with tears of frustration, while Cristiano is finally able to cry tears of happiness. His team-mates rush towards the goal like madmen, where Van der Sar is already celebrating. Cristiano is on the edge of the box, crying with his face pressed into the grass. He wants to be alone to savour the most beautiful moment in his footballing career so far. ‘In the end it was the happiest day of my life,’ he says later. ‘Penalties are a lottery, but we deserved to win because over the course of the 120 minutes we were better.’
Fifty years after the Munich air disaster on 6 February 1958, which led to the death of 23 of the 44 passengers on their way back from United’s European Cup quarter-final triumph, and 40 years after the team’s first European title win – led by George Best in 1968 – Manchester United are crowned the kings of continental football for the third time.
United have a solid defence and the brilliance of Cristiano Ronaldo to thank for the win. The Reds’ number 7 has undoubtedly been the star of the tournament, and with eight decisive goals he is the top goal-scorer and player of the tournament.
The first goal was scored on 19 September 2007 at the Alvalade against his former team, Sporting Lisbon, in the Group F opening match. It is the first time he has come up against his old team-mates since he left in 2003. After a pass from Wes Brown on the right wing, he heads the ball into the net, but doesn’t celebrate the goal out of respect for the Sporting fans, who gave him a standing ovation as his name was announced before kick-off. The game finishes 0-1.
Next, the Portuguese winger manages three goals against Dynamo Kyiv: two goals in Ukraine, one of which is a penalty, and the final goal of the 4-0 win at Old Trafford, sending Man United into the final sixteen. On 27 November Ferguson praises Cristiano after he scores from a direct free kick in the final minute against Sporting, claiming the victory for United. ‘It was a marvellous goal by Cristiano Ronaldo,’ the United manager tells the press. ‘Ronaldo always wants to do well against his old club. He owes a lot to Sporting, he respects that and has great admiration for the club. Cristiano was only eighteen when he started playing European football. Now he’s maturing – he does what we expect him to do.’
And Ronaldo shows his gratitude by taking United into the quarter-finals, overwhelming Olympique Lyonnais goalkeeper Grégory Coupet in the return leg of the final sixteen match on 5 March 2008. A low left-footed shot after recovering the rebound from a miscued shot by Anderson, and the game is all but over.
In the quarters United are up against Francesco Totti and coach Luciano Spalletti’s Roma once again. In the group phase they managed a victory against the Italians at home and a draw away. The quarter-final home leg at the Stadio Olimpico has ‘defeat’ written all over it. But Cristiano sets off on a run, leaps over Cassetti and heads a cross from Paul Scholes into the net. It is his 36th goal of the season. In the second half Rooney will seal the victory, taking the final score to 0-2. The return leg is a mere formality, topped off with a goal by Tévez. Ronaldo remains firmly on the bench: Lionel Messi is waiting for him at the Nou Camp in the semis.
Naturally the Barça defenders are worried about facing Cristiano. As Gianluca Zambrotta explains: ‘You have to try and predict what Cristiano Ronaldo is going to do. He has similar talents to Messi and his team-mates look to him to try and create good chances. It is not easy to mark him because he approaches the box from different angles, he dominates a lot of the play and gets very involved. You have to be extremely focused because he is very quick on his feet and he likes to do tricks with the ball. There’s no way to stop him in a one-on-one unless you have back-up from the fullbacks or a central midfielder. It’s better if he just never gets possession of the ball.’
And naturally, Messi strikes fear in the hearts of the United defence. His speed is a particular concern, but most of all they dread going up against the little Argentine one-on-one. They have been focusing on how best to stop him before he has a chance to slip away on one of his incredible runs. Both teams may be unbeat
en when they meet at the semi-final on 23 April, but they have had very different journeys. United have destroyed everyone in their path, while Barça have made it to the Champions League after two particularly bleak seasons with no silverware.
The match at the Nou Camp is a significant outing for Ronaldo, playing in front of 96,000 spectators. His first touches provoke a foul, a corner and a penalty. It has barely been two minutes since referee Massimo Busacca got the match underway and already CR7 is placing the ball on the penalty spot after his attempt to head in a corner was blocked by Gabriel Milito’s hand-ball. It’s Cristiano against Víctor Valdés. The Portuguese takes a deep breath and focuses on the opposition goalie. He chips and misses. It’s over the bar. Ronaldo has missed out on the opportunity to get one in the bag early on.
But he is still a tour de force for United. Ferguson has put him in charge of the attack and he is on fire … just as long as rival Lionel Messi is on the pitch. The Argentine has been unwell but is attempting to play for as long as he can to try and help his team’s chances. He lasts for half an hour before finally relinquishing his spot to Bojan. And his exit extinguishes Ronaldo’s energy. Without the two stars, the two most dangerous players on planet football, the game becomes boring and predictable. Barça dominate but can’t seal the deal, while United turn defensive. The game ends 0-0.
The return leg at the Theatre of Dreams will decide whether Cristiano or Messi will get to go to their first Champions League final. It’s Cristiano – thanks to Paul Scholes – who pulls off an incredible shot from outside of area in the fourteenth minute. The solitary goal is enough to send United through to the final.
A smiling Cristiano fulfils one of his lifelong dreams as he lifts the double-handled trophy under a rainy Moscow sky. For CR7 it’s the perfect end to a season which has seen him racking up the goals, clinching titles and earning star status.
He has scored a total of 42 goals this season. He is the top Premier League scorer with 31, beating Adebayor and Fernando Torres who have managed 24 apiece. On 12 January 2008 he scored a hat-trick for United against Newcastle. On 19 March, Alex Ferguson awarded him the coveted captain’s armband before the Bolton game, where he went on to score two goals. He will score another two on 15 November against Stoke City, taking him to more than 100 goals with Manchester United.
His 2007-08 season achievements include the Charity Shield trophy, his second consecutive PFA Players’ Player of the Year award, the Premier League title (United finish with 87 points, two above Chelsea and four above Arsenal) and, of course, the Champions League.
‘No one could legitimately dispute that he has developed into the world’s most devastating attacker,’ writes The Guardian. And no one disagrees.
Chapter 15
Ballon d’Or
‘This Ballon d’Or is just the first step towards something even greater.’
With 446 points out of a possible 480, Cristiano Ronaldo is the only player out of the 30 nominees to feature on every single one of the 96 jurors’ ballot papers. He has beaten Lionel Messi by a landslide, with the Barcelona star amassing a mere 281 points. The Argentine has had a great season, but Barça have not won any significant titles. His only major triumph has been with Argentina’s Albiceleste national team, who were crowned world champions at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Fernando Torres is third with 179 points, thanks to a great first season with Liverpool, a tally of 24 goals, and his role as the protagonist in Spain’s Euro 2008 victory over Germany in Vienna.
The international press have hailed Cristiano as the best in his class. From Beijing to LA, from Johannesburg to Reykjavík, the journalists called upon to vote by France Football – the French sports magazine which has been awarding the Ballon d’Or since 1956 – are unanimous in their praise of his talents.
Despite not shining in Europe, despite the ongoing soap opera surrounding his possible move to Madrid, rumours about his personal life and his arrogance and provocation on the pitch, he has been crowned the winner. All that matter are his ability to put on a stunning performance, his enormous talent, the goals that earned him the Premier League Golden Boot, and the Premier and Champions League titles he won with Manchester United.
At 23 years of age, and after coming second in 2007 behind Kaká and ahead of Leo Messi, fourteenth in 2006, twentieth in 2005 and twelfth in 2004, Cristiano has become the fifth youngest footballer to take home the trophy, after the other Ronaldo who was 21 when he won in 1997, George Best (1968) and Michael Owen (2001), who were both 22, and Ukrainian Oleg Blokhin (1975) who was 23. He is the third Portuguese to win the title after Eusébio (1965) and Figo (2000).
He receives a personal congratulatory message from the Portuguese president, Aníbal Cavaco Silva, who emphasises how this honour ‘has helped promote Portugal’s sporting reputation internationally and contributes to the country’s appreciation of sport, which is significant encouragement for many of our nation’s young sportsmen and women’.
Ronaldo is the fourth United player to win the Ballon d’Or after Denis Law in 1964, Bobby Charlton in 1966 and the aforementioned Best in 1968. He is also the first Premier League player to win since Owen.
On 2 December 2008, France Football announces the winner of the 53rd Ballon d’Or on its website and publishes a special edition dedicated to Cristiano. Everyone has already predicted the win, everyone is betting on the Portuguese, from Zidane (‘He’s the favourite, he won the league and the Champions League and he’s the top scorer’) to Kaká (‘He deserves it, he’s been the crucial element in United’s victories’), from 2006 winner Fabio Cannavaro (‘It’s obvious he’ll win it’) to Ibrahimović (‘I would give it to him, although he didn’t do so well in Europe’), and finally Fernando Torres (‘He’s a goal-scoring machine’).
Even Cristiano himself is convinced that 2008 will be his year, admitting that he fancies his chances a few days before the winner is announced. ‘I think I have done more to deserve it than anyone, I’m feeling confident,’ he tells Italian paper Gazzetto dello Sport. ‘If you look at the past season, I think I did better than I have done any other season.’ Regarding his competition, he admits that ‘there are two or three others who deserve to win. But if you evaluate what each of them has achieved over the course of the entire season, I still think I have done more than anyone else. What else should I have to do to get the Ballon d’Or besides winning the Premier and Champions League?’
The newspaper responds to his rhetorical question by reminding him of Euro 2008, warning Cristiano against getting his hopes up … despite the fact that he played through an ankle injury in order not to let down his country and coach Luiz Felipe Scolari. (‘It was like being stabbed with a knife, I never want to feel pain like that again, it was torturous, both physically and psychologically.’)
After Torres, shortlisted players from Spain’s winning Euro 2008 team include Iker Casillas in fourth place, Xavi Hernández in fifth, David Villa seventh and Marcos Senna eleventh, while Cesc Fàbregas is joint nineteenth and Sergio Ramos joint 21st. But in the end, the Austria-Switzerland tournament, which saw Portugal beaten 3-2 in the quarter-finals by Germany, is not what swings the votes from the 96 journalists. As juror Michel Dubois from Belgian daily newspaper La Dernière Heure writes: ‘Although Ronaldo wasn’t up to scratch in the Euro 2008 quarter-final, everything else he has done has been incredible.’ And speaking of votes, 77 of the 96 jurors nominate him as their first choice.
Ronaldo is only notified of his achievement at the last minute, the day before the announcement, or at least that is France Football’s justification as to why, unlike in previous years, there is no picture of the winner holding the Ballon d’Or to accompany the online statement. The number 7 will have to wait until Sunday 7 December to lift the trophy when he goes to Paris with his family.
The trophy is presented to him live on television by Denis Chaumier, editorial director of France Football, during Telefoot, a programme on French national channel TF1 all about the 2008 Ballon d’O
r winner. An excited Cristiano is wearing a dark suit and tie and a grey and white shirt, with his hair slicked back. He apologises for the late arrival of his plane and the Paris traffic, then takes a look at the trophy which he has been desperate to hold since he found out about his victory. He lifts it, commenting on how fantastic it is and adding that he is very happy.
‘As everyone knows, winning the Ballon d’Or is something I have dreamt about since I was a little kid, which is why this is a very emotional and wonderful moment for me. I would like to take this opportunity to dedicate this trophy to my family, who are here with me,’ he explains, turning and gesturing towards his loved ones. ‘I dedicate it to my mother, my father, my sisters Elma and Katia, my brother Hugo, my closest friends Rodrigo and Zé, my agent Jorge Mendes … this is hard, there are too many people to mention … but I’m really happy.’
And he will be even more choked up after hearing the compliments from Patrice Evra, Kaká, Nicolas Anelka, Karim Benzema, Samuel Eto’o, Pedro Miguel Pauleta, Luís Figo, Francisco Alonso, Luiz Felipe Scolari, Alex Ferguson, his sister Elma Aveiro, his godfather Fernão Sousa and his mother Dolores – who is beaming into the camera as she concludes the pre-recorded tributes to the 2008 Ballon d’Or. ‘I’m so proud of you. You’re the best son in the world. Kisses,’ she says. Live in the studio, the camera zooms in to show the champion’s mother crying in the audience. But the compliments are not over yet.
The programme’s host brings up the 7 on his shirt, a number considered special at Old Trafford. ‘Best, Robson, Eric Cantona, David Beckham, and now you have taken on this highly-prized number. It’s certainly the number of the aristocracy at United.’ Alex Ferguson appears as if by magic on the French stage to offer his opinion. ‘Cristiano deserves it and the club is thrilled with this latest success. Manchester United has been waiting for this moment for 40 years,’ he says, adding that Ronaldo is exceptional and has matured so fast, to a point that even he couldn’t have imagined five years ago. ‘He is only 23 and has his whole career ahead of him,’ he adds.