All about Ronaldo
Cup’s biggest name nets another winner
MOSCOW — Cristiano Ronaldo walked out for warmups at sun-splashed Luzhniki Stadium yesterday with diamonds affixed to each earlobe and a new goatee sprouting from his chin. Like a goat, get it? Greatest of
All Time.
Ronaldo sparkled, even before the opening whistle of Portugal’s 1-0 World Cup win that eliminated Morocco. And then he validated his flashy look with another glittering goal.
Gems removed, Ronaldo headed in Joao Moutinho’s cross after Bernardo Silva’s short corner kick in the fourth minute to become the career international scoring leader among European players, and followed with one of his look-at-me-me-me celebratory runs. Ronaldo’s tournament-high fourth goal stood up against a tenacious Moroccan team, putting the European champions in good position to advance to the knockout rounds.
Prolific scorer, pretty boy. Acrobat, diver. Winner, whiner. Goatee and goals are turning this into Ronaldo’s World Cup at age 33, past the age considered a soccer player’s prime, “He’s like a port wine,” Portugal coach Fernando Santos said. “He knows how to refine his capacity and age at his best.”
Ronaldo’s competition with Lionel Messi is soccer’s version of Ali vs. Frazier, Bird vs. Magic, DiMaggio vs. Williams.
They’ve split the past 10 FIFA Player of the Year awards. Ronaldo has won four Champions League titles in the past decade, Messi three.
Ronaldo covets attention. After the first of his three goals against Spain in Portugal’s opener last week, Ronaldo stroked his chin as he ran in celebration. Adidas is running an advertisement featuring Messi with a real goat.
Ronaldo’s 85th goal moved him one ahead of Ferenc Puskas into sole possession of second on the career international scoring list, trailing only Ali Daei’s 109 for Iran. He broke free of defender Manuel Da Costa and leaned low for a header from the top of the 6-yard box.
His celebration was a ballet. Ronaldo ran toward a corner flag, and pounded the number 7 on his jersey twice, not the team crest. He jumped and twirled his right hand three times before landing with arms spread like a seagull’s wings, mouth open.
“It was beautiful for me,” Ronaldo said after receiving his second straight man of the match award.
If Portugal wins its group and Argentina is second — or if Portugal is second and Argentina first — Ronaldo and Messi could even face each other in the final.
Could Ronaldo keep playing at a high level long enough to participate in a fifth World Cup in 2022?
“His physical capacity, his technical prowess, his strategy, he’s always evolving,” Santos said, “contrarily to the regular players.”