RISEOFRONALDO 23ning,andhe wasa
atedman. Calderonwas
hetruth whenhesaid
anttotalkaboutit.
ig to say;he could
fceonevents.Even
isionthathewanted
dasnoconsolation.
lahadbadlybackfired.
e hadtoldhisboard that
r s done.Alltheyneeded
torRonaldotospeak
nxit.Itwasafamiliar
esuccessfully by former
rninoPerez:first,speakto
t,usethe mediatoleak
ite playerandcreatethe
saryfora sale;then,get
iclytodeclare hisdesire
b;andfinally, negotiate
y now backedintoa
ttleoptiontosell.
ron spoketothe
d,heinformedthemthat
kn to Ronaldo’s agent,
aoutsigninghisclient.
ws close,nowallthey
ait – andbriefthe
hofosteredaclimate
onduciveto hissigning.
happilyclaimedithad
tofexcitement” that
hplayer andtoMadrid”.
avepaidoff when
eduringEuro 2008 that
toMadrid.ButCalderon
e was a thirdpartyto
hsterUnited.Breaking
lve asa differentmatter.
ekhamandRuudvan
cmetoMadridbut,as
gsoinsisted,Unitedhad
ausetheywantedto.
differentmatter – all
adrid’s courtshipof
ingerhaddoneso
atUnited.Fergusoneven
arid’s supposedlinksto
, hilehisPortuguese
s Queiroz,bizarrely
eland’s oldborder
pin.
gmeofwills,anexercise
f t against losingface. With
tf theSpanishsports
emedtohavebadly
irhand.Negotiatingwith
enlypublicconditionwas
aridmatchthe dizzying
adedabout,bothin
, asnevergoingto
iaingwith a furious
olenedbythe perceived
ygoingtoprove difficult.
r te prone,woundedprey
hae likednor thewilling
countedoninthepast.
Infact,negotiatingwith Ferguson
wasnotdifficult,itwas impossible.He
answeredthe threatofbeinglumbered
withan unhappyplayer by insistingthat
ifnecessary he wouldleaveRonaldo
inthe stands.United’sattitude,he
revealed,was oneof“screwyou!”.
WithoutMadrid’s “lack of morals”,
asUnitedputit,maybeitwouldnot
havebeen.Nor,crucially, wasRonaldo
preparedtopushashardasMadrid
needed:henever openlydefied
Ferguson.For allCalderon’soptimism,
henevercontrolledthe situation.
Sensingwhichway thewindwas
blowingandstungbytheferocityof
United’sattacks,Calderontooka step
backatonestage– perhapsawarethat
hehadmadelife harderfor himself.
Heevenwentsofaras to insist that
“notsigningRonaldowouldnotbea
failure”.Butthatisexactlywhatitwas.
EspeciallyforCalderonhimself.
Losingout on Ronaldowas thebitterest
ofblowsfor a Realpresidentwho had
alreadyfailedtolandthepromisedKaka
andCescFabregas,andwhosecured
ArjenRobbena yearlate.The
consequencescouldbe severe.
Alreadydistrustedandlacking
inpopularlegitimacyaspresident,
Calderonwasthecentreofcriticismin
thewakeof Ronaldo’sannouncement
thathewas staying.Fanforums,Success...RonaldocelebrateswiththeChampionsLeaguetrophynewspaper messageboardsandthe
mediaberated himforfailingtobringin
a star name,breakinganotherpromise,
andonceagain demonstrating thathe
lacksthe aptitudetobringintheworld’s
best players.Atthepresentationof
Rafaelvan derVaart,Calderonwas
whistledandbooedandfanschanted
“Ronaldo!Ronaldo!”.
Nowonderthepresidentdid
notwanttospeakuponarrivalin
Colombia;hecouldsay littleinhis
defence. Theonlyployleft to him
wasto keepquiet.Instead,itwasleft
toMadridcoachBerndSchusterto
passcomment,buteventhatdidnot
help,with theGermantakingthe
opportunity to takeyetanothershot
atthe club’s transfer policy. “We’ve
alreadytalkedaboutthe factthatif
wefocusedtoo muchonCristiano
Ronaldoandhopedforalotthen
wecouldhavea problemifhedidn’t
come,”Schustersaid.“Weneednew
facesbutI am alwaysthe last to
knowroundhere.”
Withno Plan B in placeasCalderon
insistsMadrid’s summerspending is
overandwithWesleySneijderinjured,
Madridcertainlyhavea problem.With
thesupporters,coach,mediaandeven
someplayersagainst Calderon,irritated
bythe handling of theRonaldoaffair,
hisproblemsare greaterstill.Persuasive...RealpresidentRamonCalderon Vocal...FIFApresidentSeppBlatter