NO SITTING ON THE FENCE WITH REAL’S GOAL MACHINE
THERE were a few moments in the Madrid derby on Tuesday night when a small section of supporters in the Bernabeu whistled as Cristiano Ronaldo touched the ball.
It was noticeable to a visitor like myself and I had just assumed it was the travelling 6,000 Atletico Madrid supporters giving Ronaldo the sort of stick he has come to expect from opposing fans.
It wasn’t until I got back into Dublin in the early hours of Wednesday and read the full story, that I learned that a small minority of Real Madrid supporters are responsible for jeering their superstar player. And I just can’t believe it.
What more does he have to do for his club and the supporters? His goals record is incredible. He has scored 399 goals for Real Madrid. Tuesday’s first-leg victory saw him score his 47th hat-trick, his seventh in the Champions League and his 103rd goal in the competition. It took his record in the knock-out stages to 52, 13 in semi-finals alone, proving he scores in the big games, too.
Ronaldo is a divisive character and you either love him or hate, or you just prefer Lionel Messi, his great rival from Barcelona. But you could never imagine the regulars in the Nou Camp turning on Messi, or Chelsea fans booing Diego Costa because they don’t like the way he behaves, or plays the game.
There were moments on Tuesday night when he was the Ronaldo of old. He had that spark in him to run at his man and get crosses in to Karim Benzema and he showed off some brilliant wing play, particularly in the second half when he switched to the left.
Equally, there were longer periods when he just did not touch the ball and didn’t make great efforts to get into positions, until there was a sudden burst of pace. If the ball didn’t come to him, he might wave his arms around, and then go back to the walking pace again.
Now, Ronaldo is no slouch but as soon as the ball is dead, or they have missed a chance, he walks as slowly as he possibly can to get back into play, so Real are playing with nine men until he’s ready. If he is in the vicinity of the ball, he will work hard, but if not, he ambles around, looking disinterested.
But for his part in the first goal, can’t that selfishness forgiven? No one else could score a goal like that from start to finish.
When the first cross came in, he was clearly in an offside position, but because he made no demand for the ball, he was not offside. As soon as the ball came back in for the second phase, he was there.
From a standing position, there was this burst of pace to have some involvement in the play, and he was across Stefan Savic and through on goal before the defender knew about it.
You can see what type of player Ronaldo has become. He used to drift from the left, and then to the right, and many considered him a show-pony who liked to trick opponents. Now he just wants to get into goalscoring positions and score goals.
Ronaldo got the hat-trick, but Toni Kroos was the outstanding player in an outstanding team performance.
Manchester United have made several inquiries for the German international, but I cannot see Real Madrid selling him to anyone. He is one of those players you truly appreciate when you see him in the flesh.
The midweek game in Madrid was my first visit to the Bernabeu. It was a privilege to see that wonderful stadium full, a Ronaldo hattrick and comfortable home win in the Madrid derby.
The Bernabeu is a colossus of stadium. Unlike the new grounds around England at clubs like Arsenal, Manchester City and even West Ham, it feels like a traditional, football ground. It has a dynamic, different feel to it and with the shallow terracing and the five-tier stand, you feel you are right on top of the pitch.
To ensure we had no problems with accreditation, we arrived early and sampled the atmosphere around the ground and then in those immense stands.
The police presence was huge, but it had the feel of a good-natured Merseyside derby, with plenty of banter and chanting. Some opposing fans could be seen walking to the ground together.
We got up to our press seats about an hour and a half before kick-off and there must have been around half of the travelling support high in the stands by then, making a lot of noise.
Over the years, I have praised Diego Simeone for his team selections and tactics and his players for performances they have put in. This week they were totally dominated by their cross-city rivals and they couldn’t cope with the pace of Real Madrid from start to finish. The tie looks over at 3-0.
The home side caused so many problems, particularly down the Atletico right where Koke started. With Ronaldo roaming down the Real right, backed up by Marcelo, poor Lucas Hernandez, who is not a natural full-back, was exposed at left-back.
A year ago, I was in the first leg in the Nou Camp, when Barcelona beat Atletico Madrid 2-1 in the Champions League semi-final. And after Fernando Torres had been sent off, they gave a master-class in the art of defending. On Tuesday night, they were exposed too often and picked apart.
Atletico did have their chances but didn’t really create a great deal and in the second half they tried to stifle the game and sneak a 1-0 defeat by breaking the play up and conceding a lot of yellow cards.
Once Ronaldo got the second, it seemed almost inevitable that Real would get the third, and that he would be the man to score it. And with Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane such a formidable partnership at the back on the night, Atletico never looked like seriously troubling Keylor Navas.
It is difficult to see Atletico overcoming the first-leg margin and this week I’ll be in Turin to see if Juventus can defend their two-goal lead in their second leg, or if Monaco can pull off the unexpected.