Stageset forron’shomedebut
Excitement builds up in Turin as forward gears up for his first match at Juventus Stadium
MILAN: Cristiano Ronaldo often scores goals. In Turin, Cristiano Ronaldo always scores goals. The Juventus forward, who will be making his home debut for his new club on Saturday, is still looking to score his debut goal for the Italian champions. And as luck would have it, the team is finally ready for their home opener. Ronaldo has played in Turin three times, and he has scored in every match.
He scored for Real Madrid at Juventus in the group stage of the 2013-14 Champions League, as well as in the semi-finals the following year. He also scored twice in the 2018 quarter-finals, including a spectacular overhead kick which earned him a standing ovation from the Italian team’s fans and supposedly played a part in his decision to join the Bianconeri.
“The small details make the big difference at the end of the day so I would say what I saw in the stadium helped, to be honest,” Ronaldo said recently. “(It) was in my opinion the best goal in my career so far. And, of course, when the people start to applaud me in the stadium I was like, ‘Wow.’ (It) surprised me a lot because this has never happened in my life, so was unbelievable moment.”
Ronaldo made his Juventus debut last weekend in a 3-2 victory at Chievo Verona, but he didn’t score.
Still, there were positive signs in Verona when Ronaldo appeared to link up well with his new teammates, especially attacking full back Alex Sandro. The five-time Ballon d’or winner also had eight shots on goal — twice as many as any other player.
“I feel really good alongside him,” Sandro said. “He is a really great footballer. I understand him, he understands me. We did a good job. We need to continue like this.”
However, it will take even Ronaldo some time to settle into his new team after nine years in Madrid. At times in Verona, he made a clever run only for the pass to arrive too late or not at all. “Cristiano is a great player and has added notable quality to the team,” Juventus goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny said. “Unfortunately he didn’t score on his debut at Chievo, but he will score his first goal in a match very soon, I’m sure of that.”
Whether that comes against Lazio remains to be seen. Lazio beat the Bianconeri in the Super Cup and also was one of only two Serie A teams to win at the Allianz Stadium last season.
TV TIMINGS
Juventus v Lazio,
9:30pm
Napoli v AC Milan,
12:00am
ALLEGRI WILL NOT SHY AWAY FROM ROTATING
Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri said he would not hesitate to leave Cristiano Ronaldo on the bench if he felt the forward needed to save energy.
“He has to understand that there will be times when he starts on the bench and then just plays half an hour,” Allegri said. “Even he will need a break at some point. At Real Madrid, he was excellently managed.”
MANCHESTER UNITED
August 16, 2003
RESULT: United beat
Bolton 4-0
Then an 18-year-old, he came on as substitute for Nicky Butt in the 61st minute.
Not many knew about him then but by the final whistle he had won over the Old Trafford faithfuls. In 30 minutes on the pitch, Ronaldo won a penalty that Rudd van Nistelrooy missed and was involved in Ryan Giggs’ second goal.
REAL MADRID
August 29, 2009
RESULT: Real beat
Deportivo 3-2
The Portuguese star made his first competitive appearance for Real against Deportivo at Santiago Bernabeu and opened his account in the 3-2 victory.
Ronaldo scored Madrid's second goal from the spot and since then has never looked back, scoring numerous goals for the Los Blancos.
He added: “Ronaldo trains very competitively, he takes nothing for granted and is a champion, building his own success over the years through hard work and sacrifice.
“He is a great example for the younger players and he raises our overall quality... Ronaldo is bringing a great enthusiasm to Italian football.”
Italian champions Juventus won their opening Serie A fixture 3-2 at Chievo last Saturday.
Borivali Premier Football League Results - Fleetfooters SC 2 (N Shetty, G Murzello) bt Milan Club 0.
Third Place: Maryland United 3 (C Pereira, B D’mello, C Fernandes) bt ND2 Soccer Starz 0; Player of the Match: CC Fernandes; Individual awards: Golden Boot: D Waghela (ND2 Soccer Starz); Player of the Tournament: T Poojary (Fleetfooters); Best Goalkeeper: V Tiwari (Challengers FC); Best Defender: N Shetty (Fleetfooters); Best Forward: A Bhatkal (Milan Club).