Championship only way Ronaldo, Santos save face

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This article was published 09/12/2022 (1338 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Did he? Or did he not?

A report in Lisbon-based sports daily Record says he did. It’s the lone account that claims to be firsthand, and from which the necessarily viral story originates. It also seems to reveal he did not. Both, in this case, are probably true.

Yes, it’s likely that Cristiano Ronaldo threatened to leave Qatar with the Portugal team he captains still involved in the 2022 World Cup. And yes, it’s equally conceivable that he climbed down from that position almost as soon as he assumed it.

The conversation — heated, it goes without saying — may well have gone something like this:

Portugal manager Fernando Santos: “I’m going to start Gonçalo on Tuesday and bring you on in the second half.”

Ronaldo: “Well if I’m not starting I might as well go home.”

Santos: “Cristiano, you don’t mean that.”

Ronaldo: “Of course not, but I should be starting every game.”

The end.

Only, it mightn’t be the end. Not if Portugal lose to Morocco. Or if they go out to one of England and France in the semi-finals. That duality again. It’s an impossible situation for Santos—unless he wins the World Cup.

Such are the extremes when it comes to an aging superstar who is both among the greatest players in the history of the sport and not yet mindful of his own decline. Add in an all-time ego and an already damaged reputation and you get a scenario that can only go one of two ways: unmitigated disaster, or glory.

Ahead of today’s quarter-final, the odds are about 3 to 1.

Santos, Ronaldo & Co. have three chances to screw things up, what with a trio of matches between themselves and the trophy, which represents the “one.” To be clear, they’re in this pickle because of Ronaldo and no one else.

It was the 37-year-old, goalscorer in a record five men’s World Cups, who sulked after being substituted in the 65^th minute against South Korea. It was the five-time Ballon d’Or winner who strode off the pitch by himself while his teammates celebrated a 6-1 victory over Switzerland in the round of 16. It was football’s leading marksman who refused to train with the Seleção substitutes on Thursday, opting instead for light gym work alongside the first team.

Whether he intended it or not — and given his stature in the game it’s impossible to think he wouldn’t have foreseen the fallout — Ronaldo has made his country’s campaign in Qatar completely about himself.

For Santos, it means any defeat between now and December 18 will be down to whether or not he started Ronaldo. Lose to Morocco, for example, and he’ll be pilloried for either benching the forward or using too much of him. Ditto against England or France on Wednesday, and either Argentina or Croatia in the final.

Which means the only way for both player and manager to save face is to win the whole thing. But to do that, Ronaldo will have to demonstrate the same flexibility as the until-recently rigid Santos.

Famously defensive, and intractably so, Santos guided Portugal to the 2016 European Championship by playing it cautious. Having drawn all three group stage games, the Iberians then conceded just once in the next four en route to the title—their 2-0 semifinal ouster of Wales representing their lone normal-time victory of the entire tournament.

Six years later, he has a much more versatile, and frankly better, line-up than at any other point in his tenure, and he’s making sure to use it.

Granted, he’s stuck with the veteran Pepe in defense and stalwart stopper William Carvalho in the centre of the park, and, because of Nuno Mendes’ injury, left-back Raphael Guerreiro — all holdovers from the Euro 2016 final. But around them are elite, even world-class contributors blessed with equal parts ability and imagination, the result being a very good team and an eminently watchable one at that.

Bruno Fernandes, with a pair of goals and three assists to date, is very much in the Golden Ball conversation, and even the mercurial João Felix turned up with a pair of helpers against the Swiss. Bernardo Silva, wearing the number 10 shirt, can make something out of nothing, and Brazil-born midfielder Otávio has been a pleasant surprise, outperforming both Rúben Neves and Vitinha.

Then there’s Gonçalo Ramos, who replaced Ronaldo in the XI on Tuesday.

Having scored nearly a goal per game for the U21s, which he represented as recently as June, the Benfica striker announced his World Cup arrival with a spectacular treble in Lusail, surely making himself undroppable in the process. The 21-year-old fits this shifty, creative team perfectly, and even Ronaldo must’ve been impressed by the performance.

You’d think so, anyway. And if there was ever a time for the Manchester United and Real Madrid legend to simply keep quiet, smile and play the part of a supportive teammate, it’d have to be now. He could think of it like this: “If I play only a bit part in a World Cup-winning week, I’ll still end up with something Lionel Messi doesn’t have.”

That should be motivation enough. It also speaks to the quality of this Portugal outfit that Santos can afford to bench his skipper. Argentina certainly couldn’t. Internationally, Messi has never had a team around him like Ronaldo has right now.

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No, Ronaldo was never going to leave Qatar. He’s too conscious of his persona to seriously contemplate how that would’ve looked. Instead, he’ll have wake up Saturday morning fully expecting to see his name on Santos’ team-sheet, and fully expecting to reward the decision with a goal, two goals or more.

Should he start, that’s exactly what he’ll have to do. Should he not, Portugal had better win, anyway. Then win again, and again after that.

It’s three to one they won’t. Somehow, the odds seem even longer.

jerradpeters@gmail.com

Twitter @JerradPeters