da casino： International retirement appeared to beckon for the forward after Qatar, but he's still going strong and gunning for glory in Germany
da bwin： Cristiano Ronaldo believes that the three aspects of reality are pain, uncertainty and constant work. It's easy to understand why: his remarkable road to Germany is a case in point.
It began with the pain of Qatar, where a calamitous campaign left Ronaldo's Portugal future shrouded in uncertainty. However, the hard work that followed has led him all the way back to a major international tournament.
Indeed, as Portugal prepare to kick-off their Euro 2024 campaign on Tuesday against Czech Republic, Ronaldo is not only still in the squad, he's set to start in attack for one of the most talented teams in Germany. There's every chance, then, that, at 39 years of age, a record-breaking international career that appeared set to end in embarrassment, will instead conclude with the most glorious demonstration yet of Ronaldo's remarkable resilience.
Make no mistake about it: this isn't just about Ronaldo enjoying his last dance; after being written off and ridiculed in Qatar. Ronaldo's also determined to have the last laugh in Germany, too.
GettyDeath of a 'dream'
The tears began to flow as soon as the full-time whistle blew in Doha on the night of December 10, 2002. Ronaldo was so upset he couldn't even bring himself to acknowledge Portugal's fans. The pain was too great.
A shock World Cup quarter-final loss to Morocco signified the death of a "dream". It also looked like the end of Ronaldo's international career. He was 37 years of age and quite clearly well past his brilliant best.
After relying on Ronaldo for almost two decades, the common consensus was that Portugal needed to move on. For so long the Seleccao's saviour, Ronaldo was now provoking more problems than he was solving.
AdvertisementGettyBetter off without CR7?
In all honesty, Ronaldo looked finished at the very highest level in Qatar. He had arrived intent on restoring his reputation as a world-class forward after an embarrassing end to his second spell at Manchester United – but his World Cup campaign was a sad story of poor performances and pathetic petulance, resulting in Fernando Santos dropping the forward to the bench for the knockout stage.
It was a decision that sent shockwaves through world football, but was undeniably the correct call: Portugal performed better without their all-time leading scorer, who netted just once in Qatar and appeared to be in complete denial over his dwindling abilities.
Ronaldo didn't walk away, though. Crucially, Santos' successor didn't want him to either.
Getty'Wasn't ready to step away'
One of the first things Roberto Martinez did after being named as Belgium's new boss in January 2023 was fly to Saudi Arabia to see where Ronaldo was at, mentally.
"He wasn’t ready to step away,” he revealed. “He wanted to be a part of the new cycle and, so it was very easy to include him into the March camp. After that, I could make a footballing decision."
For Martinez, it proved a no-brainer. Ronaldo bagged braces in both Euro 2024 qualifiers against Liechtenstein and Luxembourg. It wasn't just about the goals, though, as far as Martinez was concerned.
"He was a real leader, a captain and someone who brings an experience that no other player has in world football," the Spaniard said. "He's someone who can reach 200 caps for his country. You need to make use of someone like that in your dressing room."
Getty'No doubts' over defending
Portugal ultimately progressed to Euro 2024 with a perfect record, winning all 10 of their qualifiers. Only Belgium's Romelu Lukaku (14) scored more times than Ronaldo (10).
There are ongoing doubts, though, over the true strength of a team led by a 39-year-old now plying his trade in Saudi Arabia. Portugal's group was desperately weak, while it's worth noting that they've lost two of their four warm-up games, away to Slovenia and at home to Croatia.
Given the prevalence of pressing in the modern game, the wisdom of selecting a forward who contributes next-to-nothing to the defensive phase has also been questioned in certain sections of the Portuguese press. Martinez, though, insists that Ronaldo is acutely aware of what's required of him.
"It is obviously important for us to attack and defend with 11," he acknowledged. "Ronaldo is obviously a player who knows very well how to make use of space in the area and is a special finisher, a special player.
"But Cristiano's reaction to the loss of the ball and his attention to defensive positioning were both perfect during the games we played. So for me, there are no doubts, there are no worries."