Cristiano Ronaldo's soccer talent has never been in doubt, the only problem has been questions raised over whether he tended to falter in the really big matches.
For Manchester United fans there are few doubts now after his extraordinary goal haul this season which has seen them land the Premiership — he scored the penalty that set them on their way in the final match against Wigan to take his overall total to 41 for the season including 31 in the league — and to the Champions League final where they play Chelsea next week.
However, Euro 2008 will present a new challenge for the twinklytoed winger, as the spotlight will be firmly on him and whether he can step up to the plate and inspire the Portuguese to go one better than last time and win the title.
With the “golden generation” of Luis Figo, Rui Costa and Pedro Pauleta finally retired and despite their nickname not having won one senior trophy, the weight of a nation’s hopes will fall on the 23-year-old from Madeira.
It seems rather unfair given that there remains a more experienced bunch of players who have been around the block, not least in Deco, Simao Sabrosa and Ricardo Carvalho but that is how high Ronaldo himself has raised the bar over the past few years.
For Portugal’s fiery coach Luiz Felipe Scolari there are no doubts about Ronaldo’s standing in the soccer ladder.
“According to me, Ronaldo is the best player in the world,” said “Big Phil,” who is certainly not a man to be argued with.
“And I hope that he will not just be the best with Manchester United, but also with the national side during Euro.
“Ronaldo has come on a lot as not only a player, but also and especially as a human being.
“However, the national side is not just dependant on Cristiano Ronaldo. If that was the case it would hardly be worth playing in the finals,” added Scolari, who gave Ronaldo his first cap back in 2003.
While Scolari may be a hard taskmaster and not afraid to discard top players — he left experienced midfielder Maniche out of the final squad — then Ronaldo’s club manager Sir Alex Ferguson is the maitre d’ of team chiefs who have no fear in tearing strips off the “stars.”
‘SOURCE OF PRIDE’: Newspapers rushed out special editions and the government sent their congratulations as Shohei Ohtani became the first player to enter the 50-50 club Japan reacted with incredulity and pride yesterday after Shohei Ohtani became the first player in Major League Baseball to record 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a single season. The Los Angeles Dodgers star from Japan made history with a seventh-inning homer in a 20-4 victory over the Marlins in Miami. “We would like to congratulate him from the bottom of our heart,” top government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters in Tokyo. “We sincerely hope Mr Ohtani, who has already accomplished feat after feat and carved out a new era, will thrive further,” he added. The landmark achievement dominated Japanese morning news
When Wang Tao ran away from home aged 17 to become a professional wrestler, he knew it would be a hard slog to succeed in China’s passionate but underdeveloped scene. Years later, he has endured family disapproval, countless side gigs and thousands of hours of brutal training to become China’s “Belt and Road Champion” — but the struggle is far from over. Despite a promising potential domestic market, the Chinese pro wrestling community has been battling for recognition and financial stability for decades. “I have done all kinds of jobs [on the side]... Because in the end, it is very
No team in the CPBL can surpass the Taipei Dome attendance record set by the CTBC Brothers, except when the Brothers team up with Taiwanese rock band Mayday. A record-high 40,000 fans turned out at the indoor baseball venue on Saturday for Brothers veteran Chou Szu-chi’s first farewell game, which was followed by a mini post-game concert featuring Mayday. This broke the previous CPBL record of 34,506 set by the Brothers in early last month, when K-pop singer Hyuna performed after the game, and the dome’s overall record of 37,890 set in early March, which featured the Brothers and the
With a quivering finger, England Subbuteo veteran Rudi Peterschinigg conceded the free-kick that sent his country’s World Cup quarter-final into extra-time before smashing his plastic goalkeeper on the floor in frustration. In the genteel southern English town of Tunbridge Wells, 300 elite players have gathered to play the game they love. “I won’t say this is the best weekend I’ve ever had in my life, but it’s certainly in the top two,” said Hughie Best, 58, who flew in from Perth, Australia, to compete and commentate at the event. Tunbridge Wells is the “spiritual home” of Subbuteo, which was invented there in 1946