Ronaldo’s tears
July 4, 2004, in front of more than 62,000 fans present at the Stadium of Light in Lisbon, a 19-year-old boy – with shiny hair, sparkling earrings, a blank face, tears streaming from his eyes. fell in pain when the final whistle sounded. Ronaldo understood that he should have finished better in situations facing the opposing goalkeeper, before Charisteas’s header engulfed everything. The world’s top superstars like Figo, Rui Costa, Nuno Gomes… ran to comfort their juniors, but that could not ease the pain – that the golden generation of Portuguese football had suffered a painful loss to a Greek team. Pragmatic play to “anti-football”, right on the threshold of paradise.
Ronaldo’s tears of defeat at EURO 2004.
12 years later, at Stade de France, also in a EURO final, Cristiano Ronaldo shed tears again, this time tears of fear. The young talent has become the backbone of the one-man team called Portugal. He left the field without being able to break the record of the legendary Michel Platani. He left the field when the entire football community with millions of hearts was waiting for his personal brilliance. Ronaldo is afraid that his absence will once again cause pain to Portuguese football…
However, football borrows and repays. At the Stade de France in the 1998 World Cup, the French were able to smile victoriously against Brazil on the day when one Ronaldo (the “alien” Ronaldo) had a seizure before the match, now another Ronaldo (Cristiano Ronaldo), It is the “other Brazil” (European Brazil) who has the ultimate joy. After more than 100 minutes of tension between the two teams, just when many people were starting to think about a penalty confrontation, Portuguese substitute Éder made the French hate him with a decisive and decisive tackle. A powerful low shot.
2 extremes: Ronaldo’s anxiety when injured and tears of happiness in the EURO 2016 final.
When the French cried, Ronaldo also shed tears – but they were no longer of unhappiness or fear. Grief, fear or disappointment are already constant emotions for Ronaldo at the Portuguese national team. This time, he also understood the feeling of bursting with joy of victory, on the day Portuguese football made history.
Ronaldo’s final match images truly touched viewers. The corners of his eyes were red because of his emotions. Ronaldo continued to run close to the piste to direct and encourage his teammates. It makes people think of the image of a national team coach, not a star player. Is there anyone in the Portuguese national team who feels pain as much as Ronaldo?
“Witch” Fernando Santos
Portugal’s success would not have come without this handshake between Cristiano Ronaldo and coach Fernando Santos.
As you know, the 62-year-old coach’s career includes a long time with Greek football. Otto Rehagel’s departure leaves Fernando Santos with a legacy that needs to be preserved and promoted, the style of play that has helped them succeed since EURO 2004. Then, in 4 years of leading the team of the gods, with modest strength, Fernando Santos made certain impressions when helping Greece reach the quarterfinals of EURO 2012 and the 1/8 round of World Cup 2014 thanks to his extremely tight and scientific counter-attacking style. And it was that factor that made him catch the eye of the Portuguese Football Federation and then be chosen to replace coach Bento after the disappointing 2014 World Cup.
Looking back at Portugal’s journey at the EURO 2016 finals , it can be said that the success of coach Fernando Santos’ team was partly due to the changes in the tournament – when the 3rd ranked team still had a 66.66% chance. chance to advance (4/6 teams ranked 3rd in the group stage won the right to enter the 1/8 round). However, we cannot deny this strategist’s talent.
The bright spot in coach Fernando Santos’ tactical thinking is the ability to use people. Santos has built a Portugal that does not depend on the main trigger Cristiano Ronaldo. Coach Fernando Santos boldly made Renato Sanchez the record holder in Portugal with the youngest achievements and this player even played very well every time he was given the opportunity. He turned the “golden trash” Quaresma into a fearsome spearhead on the offensive line. He knows how to turn an attacking superstar like Ronaldo into a defender and an intercepting midfielder when facing Wales. Besides, coach Fernando Santos’s changes never seemed to betray him. The clearest proof is Éder’s exemplary finish in the just- concluded EURO 2016 final.
While ball control play is popular due to the success of Spain and Germany, Fernando Santos points out that pragmatism still has a place. Football – all-or-nothing – and Fernando Santos deserves praise for helping Portugal win the championship despite 7/8 draws after 90 minutes of official play.
History rewritten
The Tiqui-Taca era of the Spanish “Red Storm” ended with a defeat to the Italians. It was Spain’s first defeat against the Azzurri in an official tournament after 22 years. However, that was not the only surprise at EURO 2016.
“Weak little” Iceland even made history when it first appeared in the quarterfinals of EURO 2016 by crushing the British’s ambition to be crowned even though the Three Lions had never lost to the “Viking” team before. This.
A similar case can be mentioned that the German team has never defeated the Italian team at a major tournament for more than half a century, but everything ended after a crazy penalty shootout between the two teams.
Even the French team made history when they won against Die Mannschaft in the semi-finals and then became “victims” of history. Right at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, they shed tears watching the Portuguese lift the trophy. Portugal has never won against France, but Éder’s decisive finish changed everything. The first time a team ranked 3rd in the group stage like Portugal was crowned champion, the first time a team drew 7/8 matches within 90 minutes of being crowned, the first time for Ronaldo and his teammates, and for the coach. Fernando Santos … EURO 2016 ended with countless pages of records in history being torn apart.
