THEY CAME. THEY SAW. HE CONQUERED
Ronaldo turns on the style as fans flock to see debut
THE queues began to form four hours before kick- of f . Outside a tired, old stadium, a legion of fans in a uniform of black and white shirts had gathered.
For a football match in Italy, this scene was out of the ordinary. Fans don’t travel in the numbers you associate with English teams but here in Verona an army had descended from Turin. They had mobilised for one man: Cristiano Ronaldo. This, clearly, was going to be an occasion to savour.
It was also an occasion of great significance. On one of the walls of Chievo’s home, which staged four matches of the 1990 World Cup, there is a fading picture of
Ciao, that tournament’s mascot. Looking at it made you think back to when Serie A was the greatest league in the world with all the best players.
After many years in decline, the £105million arrival of Ronaldo has changed the landscape. To give an idea of this event’s size, counterterrorism units were deployed while the Juventus team coach arrived to the clattering sound of a police helicopter overhead.
What would really put this league in the spotlight, though, is meaningful success.
Italy has been without a European trophy since Inter Milan’s Champions League triumph in 2010 — the Europa League drought stretches back to when it was the UEFA Cup in 1999 — and that is why Ronaldo is here.
The colossal investment to take him from Real Madrid has been made to take the Spanish giants’ European title, too. The challenge plainly excites him. He could have disappeared to the Far East or America, somewhere he wouldn’t be on the end of the kind of crude, scything tackle that led to Chievo captain Ivan Radovanovic being booked in the second half.
But his hunger to keep achieving is insatiable and the fact he has chosen Turin has left these supporters in disbelief. The roar that followed when he converted a stunning volley in the warm-up, wrapping his right foot around his left leg, was on par with the noise that greeted each of Juve’s goals later. For all his efforts — he had eight shots, including one of those whipping, dipping freekicks — he didn’t score but he was always involved.
Considering he has only trained with the squad for seven days, it was remarkable to see him running so hard so late in the contest, as Juventus turned a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 victory with Federico Bernardeschi’s 93rdminute winner. He was even central to an 89th minute incident that led to the video assistant referee being used to rule out a Mario Mandzukic effort.
An hour or so later, he darted out of the arena without stopping to give his thoughts but if Ronaldo can inspire a third different club to win the Champions League — and it is no pipe dream, given the squad they have assembled — it would be his greatest achievement yet.
‘He is a great player and has already added a lot of quality to the team,’ goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny told Sportsmail. ‘Unfortunately he didn’t score but he will score his first official goal very soon, I am sure of that.
‘To have a good year in the Champions League, we need to play well in the league first. If you do that, it gives you confidence.’
And that is what Juventus have: confidence. When you mix that with the talent of men such as the metronomic midfielder Miralem Pjanic and defensive rock Giorgio Chiellini, the blend has the potential to be blistering. Already his magic is working.