by Luca Caioli
MP: Aside from the physical aspect, I would say that he has great ball control. You’ve seen how he executes his free kicks. He has incredible balance, he knows how to lose his marker easily and above all he knows how to take advantage of his physical strength.
IH: His speed is something special. And when he shoots, he moves the ball in a way that no one else can. He’s capable of shooting the ball with a huge amount of force, yet still with just a tiny flick of his leg.
What do you think of Cristiano Ronaldo as a person?
DT: I feel that he’s a kid who’s a little bit naïve, a little bit immature, who has had to grow up too quickly in many areas, and not very much in others. It’s very difficult for me to evaluate what I think of him as a person, because he is a boy who grew up in an environment of poverty, without a lot of the luxuries that many others have had. When you’re talking about young footballers, a lot of people think that if you’re European, if you’re from Portugal rather than South America, then you must have had a privileged upbringing. But that’s not the case. There are plenty of people who face serious economic and familial hardships, and Cristiano was one of them. He didn’t have an easy childhood. Look, he will tell you that it was a happy time, that’s his way of showing that he is grateful and being generous to his parents, his family, his siblings. He says it because he loves them, and because he is a caring person. He seems like a sincere kid, but he hasn’t had a conventional upbringing. He is more or less self-taught. He went to live in Lisbon alone at the age of twelve. For a kid from an island in the middle of the Atlantic, that must have been tough.
MP: Sometimes I really don’t like the way he speaks. Like last year, for example, after the Champions League match against Zagreb when he came out with ‘I’m rich, good looking and a great footballer, that’s why people are jealous of me’. Perhaps there are lots of people – and footballers – who are jealous of his money. In terms of his looks … well, I’d like to look like him, but not everyone would agree with me! The fact that he’s a great player is true, but I would rather have heard him say something else. He came from a very difficult environment, he was sent over to Portugal at the age of twelve, where he was alone and he used to cry every day. His father was an alcoholic and his brother was a drug addict. It wasn’t exactly a model family. Now he’s rich and famous, and everything he’s achieved, he has done off his own back, without any outside help. That’s why I would have preferred to hear him offer a different message and present a different image. Especially in the current climate when we all know that so many Spanish and Portuguese youngsters his age, or even older than he is, have no job, no prospects – they don’t know what to do with their lives. Cristiano is an idol. He could say to thousands and thousands of young men and women: ‘Look at me, I was a nobody, but thanks to my own efforts, my own tenacity and determination, look where I am today. You should do the same. If we believe in ourselves, if we fight and work hard, we can get there, if we are willing to make a few sacrifices.’ He was born with a gift for football, but perhaps someone else was born with a gift they haven’t taken advantage of yet. Cristiano could be a positive role model.
IH: There’s no disputing his professionalism – all the coaches he has worked with have commented on it. And although he has quite a strong idea about his role on the pitch, and how important he is, he’s still popular in the dressing room, whether it’s at Man United, Real or Portugal. He doesn’t have many enemies or team-mates who are jealous of him. And for three years at Man United and the last two at Real, the team strategy has been more or less built around him. Man United played a counterattacking game to take advantage of his speed and dribbling. We have seen that, without him, Rooney has now moved into a very different role, for example. But his sin is that his style of play is a little bit too individualistic. At United, there were moments when he was younger where he preferred to shoot rather than pass the ball to a team-mate. Now he doesn’t do that as much, he’s grown up a bit. But I still think he needs to tone down his ego.
And what do you think about the public persona that he has created, or rather, that has been created around him?
DT: No, there is no marketing machine behind Ronaldo creating that image of him. It’s all him, he’s the one that generates these fantasies and illusions. Plenty of people want to see him as a villain and plenty more see him as a hero. Of course, he’s a bit arrogant and he doesn’t know how to behave within the confines of etiquette and protocol – he’s not very diplomatic. But then again, he’s not a diplomat, and he doesn’t lead the type of life which allows him to blend into the background. Perhaps it’s not the smartest idea to behave the way that he does, but there’s something irrepressible about Cristiano. He can’t help himself. And I think there are various things – particularly on the pitch – which he doesn’t handle very well. On the pitch he doesn’t think with his head, he thinks with his heart. And he loses his cool, like many other footballers. You have to remember that he hasn’t had a conventional education, he was his own boss, he never had to be accountable to anyone, only himself. I’m convinced that Cristiano’s ego is actually like a very strict and mean father. He is extremely rigorous and demanding of himself and he’s not very good at being at peace with himself; he must be a little bit tormented. And on the pitch he’s pure passion and chaos, but that’s what makes him so competitive. That’s what makes him such a spectacular footballer.
MP: He puts up a protective barrier around himself, which on the one hand stops anyone getting too close, and on the other hand prevents him from really being himself. I truly believe that he is a good person, but the image that he portrays of himself is one of arrogance. I think that someone needs to tell him to come down off the pedestal that everyone has put him on. He needs to make more of an effort and not be so distant with people. I would like it if his image were a bit different. For me, as a Portuguese, going to the stadium and hearing people shout ‘Portuguese son-of-a-bitch!’ is not particularly nice. I’d prefer to hear ‘Isn’t that Portuguese guy incredible?!’
IH: He comes across as arrogant, and he knows it. The public see him as vain and a bit cocky, but that’s obviously the image he likes to portray. You only have to listen to what he said after that Zagreb match.
Let’s talk about Ronaldo and Messi …
DT: Messi is the better footballer. Messi is more reserved, Ronaldo is more extroverted and when you speak to him he definitely wears his heart on his sleeve. Messi … we’ll never know exactly what he’s feeling in his heart. He’s much more secretive and introverted. But as a footballer he’s better strategically. He also has the ability to predict what’s coming. He’s more of a thinker, he observes his opponents a lot more, he’s more analytical, he plays better with his team-mates, he’s better at finding them with the ball, he interprets their play better and he does something which is crucial in football: he passes the ball. Cristiano is only just learning to pass the ball to his team-mates at the age of 27. This past season I saw him do something odd: he passes the ball and then waits for the one-two. Cristiano has always been very individualistic and he has never understood the game the way Messi does.
MP: It is always difficult to make comparisons. I think that they are both very good and they each have their own style. What would be really incredible would be to see them on the same team. Spanish football is capable of being proud of both of them – the two best players in the world. Messi is something special and that’s why he’s been winning all the Ballon d’Or awards. But it’s curious that they both have the same problem in that when they play with their respective national teams they never seem completely comfortable. Cristiano has a better time of it. He’s more influential in his team – and more appreciated.
IH: Messi is as good at passing as Xavi and he does amazing things outside the box. Ronaldo knows how to pass extremely well but he can’t compare to the way in which Messi works with his team-mates. Messi has many more playing options. Ronaldo is undoubtedly a better header of the ball, he’s taller
than Messi and a lot stronger. But everyone remembers Lionel’s second goal in Rome in the 2009 Champions League final against Man United. Ronaldo is better at taking free kicks as well, but on a global scale Messi is the better footballer.
What does Ronaldo represent for Real Madrid?
DT: At the moment Cristiano is a lifeline for Real, first of all in terms of marketing, where he is an important money-maker. Without him they wouldn’t have the same sponsorship deals, or be able to sell such expensive TV rights. They just wouldn’t be doing so well in business terms full stop. But more than that, he is important as a footballer because he scores half the goals. If you take away Cristiano’s goals and replace him with someone who scores half as many, you’d be left with a team who would have a real problem keeping up with Barça. In the last two years the coaches have organised the team so that all the attacking plays are directed towards Cristiano.
What does Ronaldo represent for Portugal?
MP: A huge amount. He is an idol, everyone loves him. But he could be much more. I think that with Portugal, we still haven’t seen the Ronaldo from Real or Man United, the Ronaldo who gives spectacular performances. It’s to be expected: his Portuguese team-mates are not the people he’s used to playing with every day. He comes here to train and everything happens very quickly, the squad is picked and there is very little time to make it come together. Euro 2012 will be an important test for him.
What did Ronaldo represent for Manchester United?
IH: Without a doubt, the best player in the Premier League in the 21st century. Although English football is so popular, and it’s followed all over the world, there is a lot of money involved and great teams … there’s still a sense that the technique is somehow inferior. What Cristiano brought to English football was the ability to say: now we have the best football in the world. And he likes playing here. When he came to Man United he was very young and he was able to learn a lot, mature a lot, and build up his physical fitness. English football gained a lot from him and he gained a lot from English football. It was mutually beneficial. But the way he left England, claiming that it was his dream to play for Real Madrid, didn’t go down well in Manchester. You can’t say that one club is more important and more appealing than another, the way that he did. But anyway, I think that he and Ferguson have talked at length and they’re still on good terms. This sense that Cristiano was ‘born to play for Real Madrid’, as Florentino Pérez puts it, is kind of understandable, because he has that confidence, that sense of his own greatness which is the epitome of Real. And he has done very well these past seasons. He deserved to do better but it coincided with a historic run for Barça. But sometimes you do wonder if Real Madrid plays a little too much for Cristiano. There are many excellent young players like Özil and Kaká who won’t be able to give it their all if the team always favours the counterattack and always gives the ball to Cristiano.
What is Cristiano’s relationship with Mourinho like?
DT: It’s a relationship built on a common interest, like the relationship between China and the United States. They don’t understand each other entirely, but they need each other. But they do have an intermediary in the form of the agent Jorge Mendes, who is friends with both of them and who represents both of them. He ensures they maintain at least some kind of personal relationship and that they understand each other from a professional perspective. But there’s no real empathy on either side. In any other situation, I can’t imagine a spontaneous friendship or even a mutual appreciation emerging between the two of them.
MP: Mou needs Cristiano more than the other way round, because he can’t afford to fail at Real Madrid. He needs to win titles and Cristiano is the key to that. I think that they do have some mutual understanding – it’s a marriage of convenience. Could they divorce or separate? They’re only tied to each other for a limited number of years. Cristiano is contracted until 2015, but you never know with football. Anyway, it would be easier if Mourinho were the one to leave.
IH: They might both be Portuguese but they are very, very different. Cristiano comes from a tiny island far away from mainland Portugal, from a poor family. Mourinho is from the city of Setúbal and had a middle-class upbringing. But their football is not dissimilar. What’s always interesting in the teams that Mourinho manages is the hierarchy in the dressing room. The Special One always likes to have a lot of control, but he’s given Cristiano more freedom than the others. Cristiano is able to speak more openly in public than his team-mates. He has more opportunity to influence the way that Real play, which is understandable since he’s the most important player, he’s number one.
What do you think the future holds for Cristiano?
DT: Cristiano’s future is very uncertain because he is a commercial product so to some extent it depends on the market. Much more so than with other footballers, because very few have such a market value. Along with Messi, Cristiano is one of the most valuable, which is why he will receive some very aggressive – and no doubt tempting – offers. Clubs like Man City have offered him twenty million per season, which is more than double what he earns at Madrid. So from a financial perspective I think it will be very difficult for Madrid to retain him in the short term. The arrival of interest from the Arab Gulf, people who are offering inexhaustible sums of money to some of these clubs, could be a deciding factor in his eventual departure, because money is something he really likes. Another factor would be if Real Madrid continue in this vein without winning any titles. I don’t think Cristiano could cope with going another season without winning any major titles. That’s my opinion regarding his professional future. In terms of his prospects as a player, I think that he has a long future ahead of him, because he is in incredible physical shape, and he is extremely disciplined – he really looks after himself. He won’t always be as dazzling as he has been up till now, from about 28 onwards he will lose some of his power. But he will always be a great striker, a great header of the ball, and he’ll score a lot of goals that way. Will he be number one in the world again? Only if Messi gets tired of winning the Ballon d’Or. In order for Cristiano to be the best player in the world, Messi would have to get tired or get injured, one of the two. Those are my predictions for the future. Unless he wins a load of titles with Mourinho … but I don’t see it happening.
MP: In some ways Cristiano has had an unusual career path. He has already played in La Liga and in the Premier League, something all footballers dream of and work towards. I don’t see him going back to England. I don’t see him ending his career in Portugal either. I think he will put up with as much as possible where he is, unless he gets some crazy offer. Cristiano is a Real Madrid icon and I don’t think he could leave unless they had a disastrous season. After that he could follow in the footsteps of great stars like David Beckham and go to the States. I hope he doesn’t get injured or anything like that, because he still has so much to give to football, he still has many years left at the top. He is incredibly fit, he has built up his physical profile with a huge amount of hard work. As a player he can evolve. Over time, if he loses his explosiveness and the freshness he has now, he could reinvent himself as more of a team player. He could move into the midfield and share the ball more with his team-mates – something which he doesn’t always do at the moment.
IH: It will be interesting to see when Cristiano starts to lose his speed, and to see what kind of player he will become with a little less speed and a little more maturity. It’s difficult to imagine him as a midfielder. Everything depends on his mindset. If he’s still behind Messi in the fight to be the best in the world, then his frustration could build up. One thing I’m sure of is that you won’t see him as a coach after he retires. But then again, you never know with football.
Facts and figures
Name: Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro
Nicknames: CR7, CR9, Cris
Date of birth: 5 February 1985
Birthplace: Funchal in Madeira, Portugal
Nationality: Port
uguese
Parents: Jose Dínis (died 6 September 2005) and María Dolores
Sisters: Katia and Elma
Brother: Hugo
Son: Cristiano Junior
Height: 1.86m
Weight: 85kg
Position: Winger
Shirt number: 7
Teams
Andorinha (1993-1995)
Nacional (1995-1997)
Sporting Lisbon (1997-2003)
Manchester United (2003-2009)
Real Madrid (2009-present day)
Sporting Lisbon
Debut with first team: 14 July 2002, friendly against Olympique Lyonnais
League debut: 7 October 2002 against Moreirense FC
First goal: 3 August 2002, friendly against Real Betis
Appearances:
League: 25 Goals: 3
Cups: 3 Goals: 2
Europe: 3 Goals: 0
Manchester United
Debut: 16 August 2003, Premier League match against Bolton Wanderers
First goal: 1 November 2003 against Portsmouth
Appearances:
Premier League: 196 Goals: 86
Cups: 38 Goals: 17
Europe: 55 Goals: 16
Real Madrid
Debut: 21 July 2009, friendly against Shamrock Rovers
La Liga debut: 29 August 2009 against Deportivo de La Coruña
First goal: 29 July 2003, friendly against Liga Deportiva Universitaria de Quito
Appearances (up to 31 December 2011):
La Liga: 79 Goals: 86
Cups: 11 Goals: 9
Europe: 22 Goals: 16
Portugal national team
Debut: 20 August 2003, friendly against Kazakhstan
First goal: 12 June 2004 against Greece in the opening match of UEFA Euro 2004
Appearances (up to 31 December 2011):
Caps: 87 Goals: 32
Tournament participation
UEFA Euro 2004
FIFA World Cup 2006
UEFA Euro 2008
FIFA World Cup 2010