Ronaldo’s year just not going to plan!
IT was supposed to be the stuff of dreams, but Cristiano Ronaldo’s year is suddenly transforming into a nightmare after his latest setback.
At the start of September things were very different.
United looked as if they might finally have the ingredients to win the Premier League title while Ronaldo was celebrating after he became the highest goalscorer in men’s international football.
Two months later it is safe to say the mood has drastically changed, with the Reds’ season in turmoil and his World Cup plans up in the air.
Ronaldo, 36, will have relished the latest international break as an opportunity to escape uncertainty at club level, but after Portugal’s dramatic defeat to Serbia on Sunday night there is now even more pressure on the veteran to perform another escape act in the play-offs next year.
While the Portuguese ace might be performing at an impressive standard as a solo artist, there can be no ignoring the wider misfortunes of his club and country, two teams failing to live up to the flawless expectations of their star man.
Those intense demands of Ronaldo only add pressure to the managers blessed with him at their disposal and it is no surprise to see Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Fernando Santos both under huge scrutiny given recent under-achievements.
Despite his age-defying attacking output there is a general consensus next year’s World Cup in Qatar could be the final one of his playing career, to not even qualify would be a huge failure of a nation which is blessed with some of the finest individual talent around.
Ronaldo’s visible frustration at fulltime after defeat to Serbia was another powerful image which highlighted his importance as a figure which goes beyond the rest of his team-mates and even elevates him to a position of authority beyond that of most managers. It speaks volumes that his reaction to defeat is newsworthy in itself, but it is part of the package which United signed up for when they sanctioned his unexpected return late in the summer window.
After his official deadline day unveiling, Ronaldo stated he hoped to have ‘a very successful season’ at club level, it might sound like typical rhetoric after signing for a new club, though, it was certainly not a hollow statement by his standards.
Ronaldo is a fivetime Ballon D’or winner who has won five Champions League titles, seven top-flight league titles and the European Championship with his beloved Portugal, for him there is no alternative but to be winning trophies. While his summer return to Old Trafford signified his clear belief in Solskjaer’s side to match his lofty ambitions this season, it also signalled United’s own commitment to granting their half of the bargain with a serious Premier League challenge the minimum. At such a decisive stage of the season United are still clinging on to the belief they can find form and match those expectations in the months ahead, but any further drop in standards will force a drastic rethink regarding their long-term vision under the Norwegian boss.
In past years such an inconsistent start to the season wouldn’t have sent alarm bells ringing quite so loud at Old Trafford, but back then they didn’t have Ronaldo.
UNITED WOE IS COMPOUNDED BY WORLD CUP BLOW
Next year’s World Cup in Qatar could be his last, to not even qualify would be a huge failure for his nation