Ronaldo

by Luca Caioli

  Messi may not have scored this time, but he has run about eight kilometres and he has done well to keep up the pressure. He provokes a warning against Carvalho and yellow cards on Xabi Alonso, Marcelo and Adebayor. He is fouled twelve times and he looks absolutely shattered. With or without the goal, he has been the definitive player in the 1-1 match which sends Barça on their way to Wembley. On 28 May, at the home of English football, they will go on to win their fourth European Cup, beating Man United 3-1. But for now, Messi is happy just to be carried along by the atmosphere at the Nou Camp as his team celebrates the victory and the end of an exhausting month of derbies. And just when it seems like the excitement is about to become too overwhelming for him, Pep Guardiola comes over and envelops his star player in a bear hug.

  Meanwhile, Real waste no time in complaining about referee bias and that network of hidden power which has once again favoured their rivals. Everyone, from Karanka to Iker Casillas, seems to have learned Mourinho’s tirade by heart. ‘We knew that something like this would happen, and once again we have been proven right,’ insists Cristiano. ‘Higuaín’s goal was good. There have been so many issues. Think about what happened at the Bernabéu when Alves was messing around [and got Pepe sent off] and what has happened today. Barça have a great team, but there is something else going on here. I don’t want to suggest any kind of corruption, but it bothers me.’ He is also quick to accuse Mascherano of making it look like he committed a foul when he didn’t. ‘He wasn’t like that at Liverpool. He can only have learned these tricks at Barcelona.’

  All the squabbles have built up thanks to a tense first leg, a month of being at such close quarters and all the preaching from Mourinho. But a month later the dust has settled. Over in Portugal, Cristiano is feeling more philosophical: ‘We can’t go on feeling sorry for ourselves. We had the ability to win and we didn’t pull it off. It wasn’t only down to the refs. A lot of things happened this year in La Liga and the Champions League, but I don’t want to dwell on all that now.’

  Regarding Barcelona, he adds: ‘They played better and they didn’t win by accident. They won because they were better.’ His goal now is to beat them. ‘No match is impossible. Barça are a great team and they have a great coach, but we’ll get there in the end,’ he promises. ‘The things which are harder to achieve always taste sweeter when you achieve them.’ Like beating Leo Messi, perhaps? The Argentine has clinched the 2010-11 season 2-1. But the battle continues. Who will win? Watch this space.

  Chapter 26

  Cristiano and Mou

  ‘The boss is first and foremost my friend, secondly, my coach and thirdly, someone I greatly admire.’

  Best male athlete: Cristiano Ronaldo. Best coach: José Mourinho. They are crowned the winners in the male sports category of the sixteenth edition of the Globos de Ouro – the Portuguese Golden Globes. Created by Caras magazine and SIC TV channel, the awards celebrate the nation’s cinema, theatre, fashion, music and sports stars.

  Thanks to his record tally of goals scored in La Liga, Ronaldo has beaten four-times World Rally Champion Armindo Araújo, Benfica’s Fabio Coentrão, who will soon be joining Real Madrid, and European judo champion João Pina. Mourinho has beaten Benfica’s Jorge Jesús, Sporting’s Domingos Paciência, and Rui Rosa, the national judo team coach. It’s his second consecutive win: he received recognition in 2010 after his Champions League title-win with Inter Milan.

  The gala takes place on Sunday 29 May 2011, although neither of two Real winners is present at Lisbon’s Coliseu dos Recreios concert hall. Ronaldo is with the national team, preparing for an upcoming Euro 2012 qualifier against Norway. He is represented at the gala by his sister Katia Aveiro. Mourinho has stayed in Madrid to plan ahead for the coming season. He has been handed a significant amount of control since the departure of the club’s general manager, Jorge Valdano. He is represented at the gala by his friend João Graça. The Globos de Ouro is one of many awards schemes to recognise Cristiano and Mou, both Portuguese idols in their own right. Now colleagues in Madrid, they have maintained a close – though often fraught – relationship.

  In April 2010, Mourinho’s Inter Milan beat Barça 3-1 at the San Siro in the first leg of the Champions League semi-finals. During a press conference at Valdebebas, the media want to know Cristiano’s opinion about his compatriot. ‘I’ll be honest with you: I like people who have a winning mentality,’ he replies. ‘But I am very happy with Pellegrini’s achievements and that’s all I have to say for now.’

  A few weeks later, rumours are circulating in the ‘White House’ that Mourinho is set to become the new Real manager. Sky Sports News is reporting the story as if it’s a done deal. ‘He’s a very special coach,’ comments Ronaldo. ‘He has demonstrated that he is one of the best in the world. Perhaps some people don’t like his personality, or the fact that he is so revered. I know him very well, and I like what I see. I know his character: he’s a winner.’

  When asked whether he would like Mourinho to win the Champions League with Inter and then come to Real he replies: ‘This is not the time to discuss the matter. Right now I am only interested in having a good World Cup with Portugal, not what is happening with transfers or the future of Real’s managerial position. I would just like to wish him luck in the Champions League final. He’s a fellow Portuguese sportsman, that’s why I want him to win.’

  On 22 May, Mourinho’s team lifts the trophy at the Santiago Bernabéu after beating Bayern Munich 2-0. Four days later, Florentino Pérez announces Manuel Pellegrini’s dismissal and confirms the addition of José Mourinho to the Real Madrid dugout. By this time, Cristiano is in South Africa with the national team. He is delighted with the news. ‘I like coaches who have a desire to win,’ he tells Público newspaper. ‘The trophies Mourinho has won with his previous clubs speak for themselves. I hope to be able to celebrate winning many more with him. The desire to win titles was one of the reasons I moved to Real Madrid. And I am extremely confident that we can achieve great things.’

  Meanwhile, the man in question is busy singing Ronaldo’s praises in an interview with Marca. ‘Cristiano is phenomenal. No one should complain if he wants to spend his vacation with Paris Hilton, go to Los Angeles or buy himself a Ferrari. Someone who works as hard as he does is on another level professionally. He is football history in the making. All he needs to do in order to be like Pelé, Maradona or Di Stéfano is win more titles.’

  The Special One knows that Cristiano’s first season at Real Madrid hasn’t turned out quite the way he wanted, and the manager has no hesitation in bringing it up. ‘He hasn’t won any titles,’ he points out. ‘I don’t think he is satisfied with just having a great season or scoring 26 goals in La Liga.’

  It’s clear that Mou knows his future player very well. He has known Cristiano since the latter was a teenager at Sporting Lisbon. ‘It was in a game against [Portuguese team] União Desportiva de Leiria,’ Mourinho recalls. ‘We were going to train afterwards, so we stayed to watch the match. Then he walked past, and I said to my assistant: “There goes Van Basten’s son.” He was a striker, his movements were very elegant and he had great technical skills. He reminded me of the Dutchman. It’s strange … I didn’t know his name, but I have to admit that he astonished all of us because he stood out much more than anyone else on the team.’

  Since that first day their paths have crossed many times. First, in the Portuguese Primeira Liga, where Mourinho wins two league titles and one Champions League with FC Porto. Meanwhile, Ronaldo is just breaking into Sporting’s first team. Next it’s on to the English Premier League, with Mourinho in the Chelsea dugout and Cristiano wearing number 7 for Man United. Cristiano comes to England in 2003 and within two years he has made a name for himself. In June 2004 Mourinho arrives at Stamford Bridge and wins two successive league titles.

  The reporters start asking Ronaldo if Mou is stealing his thunder as England’s star Portuguese import. ‘We’re talking about a manager and a player, each with their own rol
e to play,’ he tells the Portuguese press at the end of the 2005–06 season. ‘Mourinho is a great coach, he’s one of the biggest names in the Premier League. But there’s plenty of room for me. It’s important for Portugal to have two people who are so talked about, although for very different reasons. We only really meet when our teams face each other, but we’re on friendly terms.’

  But a year later, there is talk of a ‘war of words’ between the two. Looking back now on the disputes he had with the coach, Cristiano insists it is all water under the bridge. But at the time, the story was so well documented that it ‘bled rivers of ink’, to quote the common Spanish idiom.

  By Sunday 22 April 2007, the race is on between Man United and Chelsea for the Premier League top spot. The Blues have just drawn at Newcastle, where the referee denied them a penalty. Meanwhile, the day before at Old Trafford, the Red Devils were granted a reprieve when a foul against a Middlesborough player should really have cost them a penalty.

  At the Chelsea press conference, Mourinho is frustrated: ‘There’s a new rule in English football. Don’t give any penalties against United, and don’t give any penalties in favour of Chelsea.’ He adds: ‘I don’t think I should be criticised for making a truthful observation … If someone wants to punish me, let them punish me. It would be the end of democracy and a return to some very archaic attitudes.’

  And with that, a war erupts between Mourinho and Man United. The first to respond is Cristiano Ronaldo, who has just been awarded the Player of the Year award on 22 April. ‘I really don’t want to be dragged into Mourinho’s complaints over referees – everybody knows how he is,’ he tells Portuguese broadcaster RTP TV. ‘He always has to say something because he can’t admit his failures.’

  Mourinho responds immediately. ‘Ronaldo is a great player, perhaps the best in the world. But he needs to be mature enough to accept that you cannot argue against the facts. If he says it’s a lie that Manchester United have conceded penalties that were not given, then he’s lying. And if he lies he will never reach the level to which he aspires in football.’

  Sir Alex Ferguson comes out in defence of his star player at a press conference, talking non-stop about the Chelsea manager’s antics. ‘He has no respect for anyone but himself. I am surprised no action has been taken against him. He just seems to go on, and on, and on. José Mourinho seems to be on some sort of personal crusade about regulations and honesty and suspicion in the game. Everyone is entitled to have a comment or opinion. Ronaldo has an opinion. That doesn’t mean to say he is a liar. [Mourinho] is on about us changing the regulations. I would like to know who is doing it. Is it us? The FA? The Premier League? UEFA? I really feel he has been let off lightly with those comments.

  ‘Jesus, God. It is a rant all the time now. I don’t think it is fair to the game,’ he continues, adding: ‘We all get good and bad decisions. Does he remember the goal Paul Scholes had disallowed for offside when we played against Porto in the European Cup? We didn’t like it and we complained. But we didn’t go to war on it.’ Ferguson also expresses his concern about putting added pressure on referees. ‘The thing is, José is a very clever man. In some people’s eyes he is a hero. I don’t know who is a villain and who is a hero … It is a calculated move. We have four games to go now. If we get a penalty kick against us in that time, Mourinho wins that war. That is wrong.’

  Enter Carlos Queiroz into the arena, Ferguson’s right hand man at the time. ‘Mourinho has his own style. He always tries to divert everyone’s attention to the points which are convenient for him. These are his tactics and that’s the way he is. We are different because we are humble enough to recognise the merits of our rivals.’

  After a 2-2 draw at home to Bolton, which leaves Chelsea trailing United by five points at the top of the table, Mourinho renews his attack on Cristiano. ‘It’s a game where a kid [said] some statements … not showing maturity and respect, maybe a difficult childhood, no education, maybe the consequence of that. Sir Alex felt he had to protect his boy. But [that’s] normal … I have no problems with him [Ferguson]. I have no problem with the boy.’

  The United coach is indignant. ‘It is really below the belt to bring class into it. I don’t know why he has done this. Maybe he is trying to unsettle the boy. Just because you come from a poor, working-class background does not mean to say you are not educated. What Ronaldo has are principles – that is why he has not responded to it. Other people are educated but have no principles.’

  Ferguson wants this back-and-forth to end. Eventually, the Special One backs down and apologises to Cristiano. ‘Mourinho has apologised to me and now I have no problem with him,’ the player confirms. ‘As far as I am concerned, the whole thing is now in the past.’

  Agent Jorge Mendes later reveals that the apology has been made over the phone, just before the Premier League match between Chelsea and United. A few weeks later on 19 May, the two clubs are due to meet again in the FA Cup final at Wembley. On the eve of the match, when asked what message he would like to convey to Ronaldo, Mourinho responds: ‘Play good, no injuries, because I don’t like injuries in my players or opponents. And as the [great] player he is, he wants to be fair with his opponents.’

  Mourinho leaves Chelsea on 20 September 2007, and the dispute is well and truly over. Cristiano even misses him, noting that without his guidance, Chelsea are ‘a completely different team. You can never write Chelsea off, but I have a feeling that this will not be a good season for them,’ he tells Viennese newspaper Heute.

  Three years later, Mourinho and Ronaldo cross paths once again at Real Madrid. And this time, the player’s first impression of his new manager is excellent. He says that Mou is almost faultless as a coach. ‘The way in which he won the Champions League with Inter is proof of that. I watched a number of the Italian team’s matches last year and Mourinho was a decisive factor in them winning the Champions League, the league and the cup.’ He has put his trust in the new coach, promising that ‘this year, we will work together to win every competition. Mourinho has already won titles with Inter and Porto. He can do the same here.’

  In October, after Real Madrid beat Milan 2-0 in the group stage thanks to a goal from a Cristiano free kick, the star player confirms that everyone is happy with Mourinho. ‘When things aren’t going well it’s only natural for people to be down about it. But this season is going fantastically. Thank God everything is going so well. Mourinho is fantastic. I am grateful that he came here because with his experience and with all the titles he has won, it is a pleasure to work with him. I always said that I wanted to be coached by Mourinho and now it has become a reality. I’m not the only one who is happy – my team-mates are also thrilled to be playing for him. I hope we win the Champions League.’

  For his part, Mourinho considers Cristiano to be untouchable: his place in the starting line-up is never contested. He describes him as a ‘hardworking, modest and down-to-earth player’, noting that the public perception of Cristiano is ‘completely different to who he really is as a person’. As far as Mourinho is concerned, his fellow countryman is the best in the world. ‘There are two choices: Cristiano or Messi. If you think Cristiano is the best, then Messi is the second best. And vice-versa. But to me it’s obvious: Cristiano is the best.’ The Special One is convinced that CR7 will stay at the top for many years to come, saying that no other player will come close to matching Cristiano’s abilities in the near future.

  On 10 January 2011, Lionel Messi is named the winner of the 2010 Ballon d’Or at the Zurich Opera House, beating his Barça team-mates Andrés Iniesta and Xavi Hernández to take home his second consecutive trophy. Cristiano is not one of the three finalists. The following year he will come second, and Messi will make it three in a row.

  Meanwhile, José Mourinho goes up on stage to collect the prize for best manager of 2010, having beaten Spanish coach Vicente del Bosque and Barça’s Pep Guardiola. The Real coach weighs in on the results: ‘For me, Messi, Iniesta and Xavi are players on ano
ther level. And when a player on another level such as Messi wins, everyone should respect it. Obviously, I would have preferred Sneijder to win after everything he’s done in the past year, or Cristiano Ronaldo because he’s one of my current players, or Diego Milito, but I have to respect the choice that has been made.’

  Once again, Mou doesn’t hesitate in piling on the praise where his star pupil is concerned. In fact, he has defended him all year from criticism and provocation. Back in September, Cristiano was frustrated because the Bernabéu crowd kept whistling every time he touched the ball during a match against Osasuna. He asked the fans to divert their energy into supporting him rather than whistling at him. The Special One came to his rescue: ‘He is a kid who puts his body and his future on the line when he plays for us, he assumes all the risk. All he asked for was a bit more understanding between the team and the fans. And he asked nicely.’

  In February, after a scuffle between Cristiano Ronaldo and Walter Pandiani just before half time in another Osasuna match, his opponent comments that he has a screw loose. Mou responds: ‘Pandiani had his minutes of fame today talking about Cristiano. He should pay for that kind of advertising. Prime-time publicity like that is usually very expensive. He’s smart, he got it for free, he got his moment of glory.’ Pandiani’s response is equally biting: ‘His daddy had to come out and defend him. I don’t need publicity! I’ve been playing in Spain for eleven years, I don’t need anything from those two.’

  True to his style, Mourinho grumbles about the referees on numerous occasions, claiming that the same defenders who seem almost afraid of certain star players nonetheless ‘come down hard on Cristiano’. Ronaldo takes up the same argument after a kick from Dinamo Zagreb defender Leko in the first match of the 2011–12 Champions League. ‘The referees never protect me,’ he claims. ‘Some people get star treatment – no one ever touches them! In my case, they could knock me down with a pole and nothing would happen to them. I don’t understand it!’ The allusion to Messi and Barça is obvious.