World Soccer Presents - Rise of Ronaldo (2022)

Manager...CarlosQuieroz

C

ristianoRonaldosmiles

whenhetriestojustifywhy

hedidn’tscorein qualifying

bysaying: “I am savingmy

goalsfor theWorldCup.”

There is no doubtthatthemost

expensiveplayer on theplanetneeds

torediscover hisgoalscoringtouchwith

thenationalteamiftheystanda chance

ofadvancingfroma challenginggroup

phase.

Ronaldo’s droughtworriesPortugal

fans, many of whomdon’tunderstand

whyhe hasstruggledsomuch with the

SelecaodasQuinas. Somehaveeven

criticisedtheircaptain,goingasfar as

accusinghimofnottryinghardenough

whenheplaysforhiscountry.

Thisisunfair. He huffedandpuffed

duringthe sevengameshetookpart

inontheroadtotheWorldCup – and

perhapseventriedtoo hard.Ascaptain,

heaimstoleadbyexampleandmaybe

theconstantpressurehe hastodeal

withaffectedhisperformances.

Anotherfacttoconsideristhatwhen

heplaysfor Portugal,Ronaldoseldom

hasthe spaceortimetoshine.Assoon

ashegetstheball,heissurrounded

bytwo,sometimes threedefenders,

and– let’sfaceit– he maybean

exceptionaltalent,butthe Real

Madridstaris notSuperman.

GettingthebestoutofRonaldo

isone of thechallengesfor Carlos

Queiroz.ManyinPortugalbelievethe

coachalso hastoshoulder part of the

blamefor hisforward’s struggles.He

insistsonplayingRonaldoina central

rolewhenthemajorityoffansbelieve

hehasbeenmore effective on thewing.

NOPOPULARAPPROVAL

Queirozhasnever enjoyedpopular

approvalinPortugalsincehis

appointmentin2008.Eventhough

thenationalteamwon five consecutive

matchesatthe endofqualifying,many

still believeheisnottherightman

toleadtheircountryintothelatter

stages of theWorldCup.They

haven’tforgottensomepoorrecent

performancesandresultseither, namely

a 0-0homedrawwithAlbaniaanda

6-2awaydefeatbyBrazilina friendly.

ABOVE:Skills...

NaniandRonaldo

inPortugal training

OPPOSITE:Friendly...

Ronaldoagainst China

TACTICS

Portugalmanagershaveprioritised

the 4 -3- 3 formationforovera

decadeandthatwillnotchange

atthissummer’sWorldCup.

Consideringthe adventurous

natureofboth wingers, thefull-

backswillbeaskedto defendfirst,

andonlysupporttheattackingplay

ifitisnecessary.PauloFerreiraand

Miguelwillgetforwardat times,but

theirprimary rolewillbemaking

surethattheteamholdsits shape

atall times.

Justinfrontofthebacklinewill

bea player whowasnurturedas a

centre-backbuthas been moved

forwardby CarlosQueiroz andPepe’s

ball-playingskillsmeanhecan hold

hisownasa defensivemidfielder.

Theuncertaintysurrounding

Portugal’s best playerandtheircoach

meansa largesectionofthe nationdo

nothavehighhopesforSouthAfrica.

A repeatperformance of thelast World

Cup,inwhichPortugalreachedthe

semi-finals,looksunlikelyandmost

peoplewouldalreadybehappyto

seethemgetasfar as thelast eight.

Thenagain,ifCristianoRonaldo

isathisbestanythingcan happen...

“IfCristianoRonaldoisathisbest

anythingcanhappen...”

TheRealMadridstarwillbe

protectingRaulMeirelesandDeco,

withthelatterbeingentrusted

withtheroleofplaymaker.

INDIVIDUALSKILLS

Furtherforward,Portugalwill rely

onthe individualskillsof Cristiano

RonaldoandSimaoorNanito

createandconvertgoalscoring

opportunities.TheRealMadrid

tricksterwillalsodriftintothecentre

insupportofthestriker, butheis

mosteffective on thewingwhere

hehasthespacetocreate havoc

amongtheopposition’s defence.

Liedsonwillgetthe nodtolead

thefrontlineandhismobility and

finishingskillswillbe keytohow

successfultheteamis in attack.

RISEOFRONALDO 43