World Soccer Presents - Rise of Ronaldo (2022)

withconsequentbadtemperand
impatienceamongdirectors,fansand
themedia.
Zidanehada tasteofwhatis to come
withinminutesofthe finalwhistleofthe
3-1 victory over LiverpoolinKiev,with
CristianoRonaldoandtwo-goalhero
Gareth Balebothtalkingaboutwhat the
futuremighthold.SotheFrenchman’s
triumphalpressconferencewas not
aboutcelebrationbutconsternation.
“That’snotwhat’s on my mind,” said
Zidanetersely whenaskedabouthis
starplayers.“We have to focussolely
onthislatestmajorachievementand
thenwe’ll seewhathappens.”What
happenedwasthathestolea march
onboth of thembytellingclubpresident
FlorentinoPerez thattheteamneeded
a changeofmanager.
Notthatthiswouldhavebeenobvious
toa strangerwhohad wanderedinoff
thestreetandwitnessedhow events
hadunfoldedonthepitch.
LiverpoolhadoutscoredRealMadrid
inthe tournamentpriortothefinal
by 40 goalsto 30 , butthere wasno
first-halfgoaltorewardexpectations.
Marcelodeliveredthefirstattempton
goalwith a long-range,angleddrive
whichscuddedsafelywide,after which
15 -goaltopscorerRonaldo,having
startedon theleftwing,suddenly
emergedatspeedonthe rightto
unleashanangleddriveoverthe
topof LorisKarius’goal.
ThenitwasLiverpool’s turn.Virgilvan
Dijkheadeda MohamedSalahcorner
overthebarbefore a low drive from
TrentAlexander-Arnoldwas superbly
heldbyMadridkeeperKeylorNavas.
However, the26th minute spelled
troubleforLiverpool.Thatwaswhen
Salahneededinitialtreatmentforan
injuryto hisleftshoulderafterhe had
beendraggedtothe ground,byhisright
arm,bySergioRamos.TheEgyptian

againandleftthe pitchintears,
substitutedbyAdamLallana.
MinuteslaterMadridwereforcedinto
a changeoftheirown.DaniCarvajalwas
injuredina counter-attackwhichwent
wrongandhadtobereplacedbyNacho.
Madridnowbegantoenjoy significant
periodsofpossessionwith Liverpool
standingoffthem,perhapsnervousof
beingcaughtoutonthecounter. One

suchspell endedwith KarimBenzema

poppingthe ball into thenetfromclose

range but,fortunatelyforLiverpool,

Ronaldohadbeenfractionallyoffside

withhisinitial headedgoalattempt.

Nachostormedinfromtherightto

hitthe sidenetandToniKroos skimmed

a shotnarrowlywideontheleftbefore

a half-timewhistlewhichcouldnothave

comesoonenoughforLiverpoolto

rethink,reorganiseandregroup.

Butthedangersignswerethere

foranyonewhowantedtoseethem.

Madridhaddroppedinto a pitch-wide

patternand shapewhileLiverpool,even

before Salah’s departure,lookednotably

shapeless.Tactically, Zidanehadalso

establishedanascendancyby giving

Iscolicencetoskipdisturbingly

betweentheLiverpoollines.

Whateveradvice Liverpool’s players

receivedfrommanagerJurgenKloppat

thebreakdidnothingtopersuadethem

torefocus.Theycarelesslyconceded

possessioninfrontoftheirownpenalty

boxtwominutesaftertherestart and

Iscohit thebar. Worsefollowedinthe

51stminutewhenKariussaw histhrow-

outricochetoff theextendedleg of

Benzemaandpopbackintothe net.

Madrid’s celebrationslasted only four

minutesbefore SadioManeequalised

fromcloserange afterforcing a corner.

Butthatwas thelastsightofLiverpool

asaneffectiveattackingforce.

Madridreturnedtothe attackwith

devastatingeffect.Iscohadashotsaved

fora corner by Kariusandwasthen

surprisinglysubstitutedfor whatproved

a masterstroke by Zidane.The newly

arrivedBalealmostimmediately

restoredMadrid’s lead by meeting

Marcelo’s left-wingcrosswith a

sensationaloverheadbicycle-kick.

Ronaldoshouldhaveincreasedthe

leadinthe 7 2ndminute but,whenclear

throughthe middle,hehesitatedjust

couldstretch outa leganddeflecthis

shotforacorner. Notthatitmattered.

Balestruckagain,decisively, in the

83rdminute.Thistimehedrifted in

fromtherighttostrikea lofted drive

thatslippedthroughthe handsof

thehaplessKarius.

Zidaneknew it wastime to go.Will

Ronaldo,at 33 , and28-year-oldBale

followhim outofthe doorthissummer?

“Zidane knew it wastimetogo.

WillRonaldo,at 33 , followhim

outof thedoorthissummer?”

RISEOFRONALDO 75

1 v 1

2016 CHAMPIONSLEAGUEFINAL

Milan,Italy

REALMADRID*

(Ramos 15 )

ATLETICOMADRID

(Carrasco79)

*RealMadridwin5-3onpenalties

HT:1-0.Att:71, 9 42.Ref:Clattenburg(Eng)

• Nas


• 
  

  Obak

  
  


• 
  

  Marcelo

  
  


• 
  

  Juanfran

  
  


• 
  

  Kroos

  
  


• (Isco 72
  Ram


• 
  

  Savic

  
  


• 
  

  semir

  
  


• 
  

  Torre

  
  


• 
  

  Ronaldo

  
  


• 
  

  Saul

  
  


• 
  

  Vara

  
  


• 
  


• odin
  Modr


• 
  

  Koke
  (Partey1 16 )

  
  


• 
  

  enma
  (Vazquez77)

  
  


• 
  

  abi

  
  


• 
  

  Carvajal
  (Danilo 5 2)

  
  


• 
  

  FilipeLuis
  (Hernandez 10 9)

  
  


• 
  

  Bale
  (Asensio 8 8)

  
  


• 
  

  ernandez
  (Carrasco46)

  
  

Coach:ZinedineZidane Coach:DiegoSimeone

RealMadrid AtleticoMadrid

• rzmann

4 v 1

2017 CHAMPIONSLEAGUEFINAL

Cardiff, Wales

REALMADRID

(Ronaldo20, 64 ,

Casemiro61,Asensio90)

JUVENTUS

(Mandzukic 27 )

HT:1-1.Att:65,842.Ref:Brych(Ger)

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• 
  

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  Marcel

  
  


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andzuki

• Ronaldo


• 
  

  Alves

  
  


• 
  

  Vara

  
  


• 
  

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• 
  

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• 
  

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  (Asensio 8 2)

  
  

hedi

Coach:ZinedineZidane Coach:MassimilianoAllegri

RealMadrid Juventus

3 v 1

2018 CHAMPIONSLEAGUEFINAL

Kiev, Ukraine

REALMADRID

(Benzema 5 1,

Bale,64, 83 )

LIVERPOOL

(Mane 5 5)

HT:0-0.Att:61, 5 61.Ref:Mazic(Ser)

• Na


• 
  

  Kaus

  
  


• 
  

  Marcelo

  
  


• 
  

  Alexander-

  
  


• Arnold
  Kroos


• 
  

  Salah

  
  


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  Varae


• 
  

  ovren

  
  


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  s iro Fir•n

  
  


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  Ronaldo

  
  


• 
  

  Milner
  (Can82)

  
  


• 
  

  Rams

  
  


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  Modr

  
  


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• 
  

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• 
  

  Carvajal
  (Nacho36)

  
  


• 
  

  Robertson

  
  


• 
  

  enzema
  (Asensio 8 8) •
  Wijnaldu

  
  

Coach:ZinedineZidane Coach:JurgenKlopp

RealMadrid Liverpool

• Mane


• 
  

  Dybala
  (Lemina78) •u