If this is to be the end for Cristiano Ronaldo at international level, at least it can be said that he left the stage as he bestrode it: with monumental self-regard. Ronaldo has always been a preening, self-absorbed player, but for a time, when he was one of the best in the world, it could be tolerated. For the past four years, though, he has actively and obviously held Portugal back.
There is a great generation of technical talent here weighed down by the monstrous albatross of his ego. To recap the basic details of the past couple of weeks. Ronaldo played 67 minutes of Portugal’s scratchy 1-0 win over Wales.
Portugal coach Jorge Jesus, who replaced Roberto Martínez after the World Cup, said he had a verbal agreement with Ronaldo that he would not start the following game against Norway but would perhaps come off the bench. Early in the second half, Ronaldo went to warm up – although whether that was on his own initiative or because Jesus had told him to is unclear. The game was tight, Portugal ultimately winning 2-1, and Jesus did not bring Ronaldo on.
To Ronaldo and his army of apologists, Jesus was guilty of an unacceptable provocation. Jesus’s view was that winning the game took priority over the extremely delicate feelings of a 41-year-old forward. Ronaldo walked out on the squad, and perhaps on his international career, although only three days later, seemingly after Jesus had refused to pay penance for his blasphemy.
Which is sad, although perhaps not quite in the way Ronaldo thinks it is. It’s possible Jesus, who also coached Ronaldo at Al Nassr, could have handled the situation differently. He is not, it’s fair to say, a diplomat.
After Martínez’s soft-pedalling, that is, though, perhaps exactly what was needed. His vision of management is old-school, which is to say that he is a dictator and he takes orders only from the club president, and then only if he feels like it. His career has been characterized by rifts with players who have resisted him.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
