by Luca Caioli
‘I have probably lost Cristiano Ronaldo for the match against Malta,’ admits coach Carlos Queiroz. ‘I have spoken to the medics and it’s not looking good.’ The Portuguese Football Federation allows him to leave the squad and go back to the original clinic to have his injury re-evaluated. The Real medics say it’s a grade I to II sprain of the lateral ligament with inflammation and swelling of the ankle.
The injury keeps him off the pitch for three or four weeks, during which time his club loses to Atlético Madrid in La Liga and Milan in the Champions League. ‘I am very sad about my injury relapse,’ Ronaldo tells Portuguese daily sports paper O Jogo (The Game). ‘I’m not the club saviour, but I just wanted to be able to help my Real Madrid team-mates.’
But he will be unable to help them for 55 days. And a lot will happen in those two long months: the advent of Pepe the wizard, the Alcorconazo in the Copa del Rey, a journey to Amsterdam and a dispute between Real Madrid and the Portuguese Federation. Let’s start at the beginning.
In the middle of September, Florentino Pérez receives a letter addressed to him at Real Madrid which reads: ‘I am not an antimadridista. I have nothing against this great club. I am a professional and I am paid very well to put my powers to good use. I have been contracted to see to it that Cristiano Ronaldo suffers an injury. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a very serious injury, just enough that he spends more time off the pitch than on.’
The club writes the letter off as the work of a madman, ‘just like any of the other nutters that Real Madrid has to deal with on a daily basis’. Those close to the player also pay very little attention to the incident, but a few days later Ronaldo has his relapse while playing with Portugal. And the ominous spectre of ‘Pepe the wizard’, the author of the letter, starts to cause some concerns. Not least because the 57-year-old from Malaga, who claims to have been paid 30,000 Euros to ensure Ronaldo comes to harm, is becoming increasingly threatening in each interview that he gives.
In October, the Spanish wizard tells Portuguese paper Correio da Manhã that after the current injury, Ronaldo will suffer another blow ‘causing him to be out for two or three months. After that, another injury will prevent him playing football ever again.’ Who on earth is paying this guy to harm the footballer? ‘It’s a young woman who wants revenge against Cristiano,’ claims the shaman. ‘She is not Portuguese, she doesn’t speak Spanish, but she is from a powerful family. She had a fling with Ronaldo and helped him make some high society contacts. But then he rejected her.’
He also claims that he knows that Cristiano’s mother has hired Fernando Nogueira, a Portuguese magician from Fafe who uses white magic. The absurd war of voodoo and black magic against white magic is on. Cristiano, who has been trying to recover, now has the added worry of a curse which has seemingly been placed on him. Fans start to light candles on his behalf, asking the Virgin Mary to watch over Real Madrid and ward off the evil eye from the Portuguese.
Next up on the list of Real’s woes is the match against AD Alcorcón in the 2009-10 Copa del Rey. Alcorcón is a commuter town of 168,000 inhabitants, around fifteen kilometres from the centre of Madrid. Its football team was founded in 1971 and plays in the third division. On 26 October, Real goes out to play against them at the Municipal de Santo Domingo stadium in the first leg of the final 32 round. There is no comparison between the two clubs – Alcorcón’s highest paid player earns 6,000 Euros a year and works part time as a pizza chef, while Ronaldo can hope to pocket thirteen million Euros this season.
Cristiano is not in the starting line-up. Nor are Casillas, Sergio Ramos, Xabi Alonso or Kaká. Nonetheless, Pellegrini’s team seems more than adequate for the match in question: Dudek, Arbeloa, Albiol, Metzelder, Drenthe, Granero, Guti, Diarra, van der Vaart, Raúl and Benzema. But disaster strikes when Alcorcón blast the visitors with a whopping 4-0 defeat.
‘Humiliation’, ‘Historic defeat’, ‘The thrashing of the century’, read the headlines in the following day’s papers. And the front page of Marca carries a photo of Pellegrini with the simple words ‘Go home!’ It has barely been four months since he was hired and the coach’s position in the dugout is already on shaky ground. He says he will stand strong and refuses to resign, but rumour has it the search is already on for his replacement. It seems unlikely that he will make it past Christmas.
The manager had already been heavily criticised for the team’s performance in the two defeats by Sevilla and Milan. Now he is being hung out to dry. He has two matches to redeem himself: in La Liga against Getafe, and at the San Siro in the return leg against Milan. After a victory over the neighbours and a draw at Milan, Pellegrini can breathe easily once again.
On 4 November, after the doctors have confirmed that the physio on his ankle has not had the desired results, Cristiano flies to Amsterdam for a consultation with specialist trauma and orthopaedic surgeon Cornelis van Dijk. The Dutchman is already familiar with Cristiano’s ankle problems, having operated on it on 8 July 2008 after Portugal were eliminated from Euro 2008. On that occasion he was unable to play for four months, and he was even unable to train with Man United for a full two months.
The initial rumours that Cristiano will again be out for two or three months are prompted by fear. The sinister predictions of Pepe the wizard are on everyone’s minds. In the end it’s not as bad as it seems. He will be back on the pitch at the Bernabéu after just twenty days. But not before a row erupts between the club and the Portuguese Federation – and not before Real crash out of the Copa del Rey.
Carlos Queiroz calls him up for the 2010 World Cup qualifier against Bosnia. Pellegrini tries to be diplomatic: ‘Of course he wants to be there and it’s understandable that the selectors want him in the team. But there is a medical issue to consider as well. I think it’s a bad idea, both for Portugal and for the player. Cristiano is in the course of undergoing medical treatment.’ The Real staff, who have never fully understood why Ronaldo was allowed to play against Hungary in the first place, send a letter outlining their concerns, signed by Cristiano, Jorge Valdano, club medics and Professor van Dijk. It’s going to be a struggle to keep the number 9 from going to Lisbon.
In the end, the club wins and Cristiano stays put to continue his recuperation. But on 10 November he is still not ready to play in the return leg against Alcorcón. Without him, the team manages a single goal – nowhere near enough to counteract the defeat in the first leg. Real Madrid are out of the Copa del Rey. The first trophy has slipped through their fingers.
On 25 November, Cristiano Ronaldo comes on to replace Raúl in the 70th minute against Zürich at the Bernabéu. The crowd cheers him on like a hero returning home after an epic journey. The Portuguese’s healed ankle is seen by the fans as enough of a reason to celebrate. In twenty minutes, Cristiano entertains them with a few tricks, a rabona which doesn’t quite come off, and a good shot which Swiss goalkeeper Johnny Leoni blocks with difficulty. He’s back on form.
He has missed a total of ten Real Madrid matches: six in La Liga, two in the Champions League, and the two Copa del Rey matches against Alcorcón. It is calculated that his timeout has cost the club 1.7 million Euros. But Copa del Rey and the Alcorconazo aside, at this stage in the season there is still everything to play for. Real are top of La Liga with a one-point lead over Barcelona and they have made it through to the final sixteen in the Champions League. And the Clásico against Barça is just four days away.
It is raining at the Nou Camp. Cristiano runs out onto the pitch, hair slicked back. He looks to be in good shape. The crowd starts up a chant which was invented nine years earlier when Luís Figo betrayed the Blaugrana to join the Whites. ‘That Portuguese, what a son-of-a-bitch!’ The Spanish rhyme is to be the theme throughout the evening. The number 9 ignores the insults and braces himself for the game ahead.
In the first half, Real are powerful, fast, efficient and lethal on the counterattack. For quite a while they seem to have the match under their control thanks to Kaká, who is an effective secon
d striker, and Cristiano, who is in his favourite position. After half an hour, Ronaldo is the one who is helping push the Real attack forward. Manuel Pellegrini rushes out of the dugout screaming ‘Go on! Keep going!’ The number 9 obeys his orders, running into a space between Henry and Abidal.
Marcelo passes to Kaká, who takes on Alves and Puyol and gets past them both. He sees a space up front and passes to Cristiano who is all alone – Piqué has forgotten all about him. Now it’s just Cristiano against Valdés, who comes out of his goal in an attempt to block his shot. A one-on-one could be lethal. Cristiano shoots with the inside of his right foot, aiming for the far post, but due to his recent injury it’s an awkward shot, ending up more central than he intended. The Barça goalie stops it without any problem. A collective sigh of relief is heard around the Nou Camp.
For the fourth time, Ronaldo has failed to score against the eternal rivals. In the 66 minutes he is on the pitch before being substituted by Benzema, he proves that he is on good form, he doesn’t seem to be getting tired and he faces up to his opponents without any difficulty. But by the second half, the Catalans are gradually closing in around him, giving him less room to move. Barça are taking control. Alves passes to new signing Ibrahimović (45 million Euros plus Samuel Eto’o to Inter) who shoots at Casillas, taking the score to 1-0.
Barça overtake Real to regain the La Liga top spot with a two-point lead. But it’s not over yet and the race for the title will be an exciting fight to the bitter end.
On 6 December there is more bad news in store for Cristiano as Messi is awarded the France Football Ballon d’Or title. It’s a real whitewash: 473 points to Ronaldo’s 233. And the Argentine is crowned king once again on 21 December at the Zurich Opera House during the FIFA World Player of the Year gala, racking up a score of 1,073 – more than three times that of Ronaldo, who managed 352. Nobody can get near the Flea, particularly after Barça’s incredible year, during which they have won six titles: La Liga, the Champions League, the Copa del Rey, the Spanish Super Cup, the UEFA Super Cup and the World Club Cup. In January the Blaugrana fall from grace, eliminated by Sevilla in the Copa del Rey. But they are still very much in control as far as La Liga is concerned, extending their lead over Real to five points.
Cristiano, meanwhile, makes the headlines on 25 January for all the wrong reasons. Real are playing Málaga at the Bernabéu and the Portuguese is dominating the match. After three league games without scoring, he nets two spectacular goals which seal the result. Unfortunately, he also manages to get tangled up and elbow Patrick Mtiliga, who has been pulling on his shirt. Direct red card.
It’s his second of the season, after the one he received against Almería when he aimed a kick at Juanma Ortiz. He apologised later that evening: ‘It was in the heat of the moment, I was in competitive mode. I apologise to everyone concerned.’ He received a one-match ban, missing the duel against Valencia at Mestalla.
This elbow against Mtiliga, on the other hand, doesn’t seem worthy of a sending off. First, he sinks to his knees on the pitch. Then he tries to show the crowd and the referee how his opponent had been grabbing his shirt. And when Málaga’s Toribio tells him to ‘come and see what you’ve done to my team-mate’, he responds: ‘What are you talking about? You didn’t see how he was grabbing me.’ In the end he is heading back to the dressing room, shaking his head.
‘I’m barely allowed to move. I touch the opponent and it’s a red,’ he later complains to the press. ‘That wasn’t a red. You can interpret it however you want, but anyone who knows anything about football knows that that wasn’t an expulsion because I had no intention of harming my opponent.’ Referee Pérez Lasa responds: ‘I felt it was a red because he hit the opponent in the face with his arm and drew blood – he ended up having to be substituted.’ But Cristiano is not convinced, he thinks there is some kind of conspiracy against him. ‘I feel like this only happens to me because of who I am,’ he insists.
After he heads down to the Málaga dressing room, he apologises to the defender and is alarmed to see that Mtiliga’s nose is in fact broken. Nonetheless, he will not be swayed regarding his convictions surrounding the red card. The dispute is perfect fodder for the tabloids, which waste no time in naming them the hero and villain, the goody and the baddy. El País leads with: ‘Cristiano, out of control. Real Madrid staff admit it is difficult to put the brakes on the Portuguese’s strong personality.’
Valter Di Salvo who was his fitness coach at Man United explains: ‘His career at Real will always be like this – oscillating between moments of glory and more difficult times. It will continue like that until such time as he can sit down and relax, away from all the tension in his life. He spends all his time trying to be the best because that’s what people expect of him. It’s difficult to keep someone under control who spends their whole life under such pressure. And he does. In England he was in the tabloids once a fortnight and here he’s under constant pressure to keep up with Benzema and Kaká.’
Jorge Valdano defends his star player: ‘It’s part of his personality. He goes out onto the pitch in a state of overexcitement. That’s what enables him to turn a game around.’
But not everyone agrees. There are many people in the Real camp who are concerned about his ego, not to mention the fact that after just twelve La Liga matches he has already received half the number of red cards that he saw in five years with Manchester United.
Between all the back and forth, the disputes and the goals, the final sixteen of the Champions League rolls around on 16 February. It’s a crucial moment in the season, because Real Madrid haven’t made it past this point in the tournament for five years. In addition, the Champions League final will be played at the Bernabéu on 22 May. It would be the ideal setting for the club’s tenth title win.
Their opponents are Karim Benzema’s former team, Olympique Lyonnais. The first leg is at the Gerland stadium, where the Whites have never scored but have been defeated 2-0 and 3-0. This time everything feels different, thanks to the ‘super team’ that Florentino has created. But it turns out to be a bad evening all round. Real don’t seem to be playing the way they usually do and they are unable to pull off the same kind of performance which seemed so easy in La Liga. They have no idea how to corner Claude Puel’s team, who have the home advantage, play a very physical game, and are very good at closing all the gaps.
In the first half, the Whites only manage a single shot and it goes wide. They are powerless in the face of Jean Makoun’s goal, a bullet into the left corner of the net that nobody, not even Casillas, sees coming. Only in the final fifteen minutes do Pellegrini’s men have any decent chances, mounting an attack on Hugo Lloris’s goal. The Frenchman saves a shot from Cristiano with an impressive dive across to the opposite post, comes out of his goal to take on the Portuguese head-to-head, and ultimately succeeds in keeping a clean sheet.
No one doubts Real’s ability to turn it around at the Bernabéu, but they have certainly managed to get themselves into a bit of a mess. Before the return leg, Cristiano speaks out: ‘We are going to do everything we can from the first minute until the final whistle goes. We have to show Lyon that we are in charge at the Bernabéu.’
For the first half, at least, they do seem to be in control. They are on devastating form and look impossible to tame. Cristiano is tearing across the pitch like a whirlwind – no amount of reinforcements can stop him. In fact, the entire attack is doing a great job of blasting through the Lyon defence. Guti notices that Ronaldo has managed to find space between Révellière and Cris and is attempting to push forward as much as possible while still staying onside. He passes to the Portuguese, who shoots with his left foot. The ball goes between Lloris’s legs.
It’s only the sixth minute, but the goal signals the first of dozens of Real chances. At first it seems as if Lyon will probably be heading home, but time after time the goals are just out of reach. In the end, the reality is brutal, a harsh reminder to the Florenteam that money and Ballon d’Or pri
zes have no bearing on the game at hand. In the 75th minute, Miralem Pjanić equalises, knocking Real out of the Champions League for the sixth consecutive year. It’s a failure, a disaster … although no one in the club will admit it at the time.
The following day’s papers take no prisoners. ‘Catastrophe’ bemoans As, while Marca calls for Pellegrini to go with a categorical ‘Out’ as its headline. Elsewhere, El País writes: ‘Football cannot be bought. Lyon brings Florentino Pérez’s extravagant project to a new low.’
Now all that remains for the Florenteam is La Liga, and the race against Barça is going to be tough. It all comes down to the 31st matchday of the season when the rivals meet at the Bernabéu. After the match, Cristiano passes briefly through the press area, offering one thought: ‘When a team wins it is because they are the best. We have to accept the criticism we have received. Today Barcelona were better than we were, from the moment they scored the first goal.’
It’s Lionel Messi who scores that opening goal, 40 seconds after being fouled by Sergio Ramos, who has managed to kick him in the face during a little scuffle on the left wing. The Argentine brushes it off, gets Maxwell to take the free kick as quickly as possible, receives the ball, passes to Xavi who passes it back to him in the box, and shoots. It’s a big psychological blow to the Whites.
Little Messi’s performance has been the complete opposite of Ronaldo’s – almost invisible up until the moment he scored. He has been lost in the middle of the pitch, seemingly absent from the play. Cristiano, on the other hand, has done well to get himself noticed, receiving countless long passes, heading, controlling the ball well, keeping the play going, running for the ball, dictating the flow, going up against defenders one-on-one, taking on Piqué, and generally pushing things forward. He is a constant presence, energetic, determined, and keen to show off his abilities with every touch of the ball. But it’s not working for him the way it usually does, and despite all his efforts, his contribution is not enough to turn the derby around.