Can Cristiano Ronaldo help Portugal win the world cup
Portugal has all the players and talent to be a great team. But the post-Figo, post-Rui Cost generation are having difficulties confirming, even with Cristiano Ronaldo.
On paper, Portugal an be compared to a Formula 1 racing car. For the past 10 years, the Portuguese national team have been playing well in World competitions. In 2010, Portugal passed Italy and Germany in the FIFA World rankings and is currently 4th. Finalist of EURO 2004, semi-finalist in the 2006 World Cup, Portugal has the resume of soccer superpower and they are led by a king, Cristiano Ronaldo. Cristiano embodies the Portuguese school of soccer: mixing speed and creativity on the wings. Four years ago, Portugal dominated France but lost to a Zinedine Zidane penalty kick at the 31st minute.It then lost to another eventual finalist, Germany, in the EURO 2008 quarter final. Their 2010 World Cup qualifiers were the least to say dramatic. Portugal had to fight to finish second in their qualifying group and had to beat Bosnia in a home and away playoff game. Qualifying through the back door has put a cloud on the Portuguese national team.
Always present for the national team, ready to play injured, Cristiano Ronaldo has frustrated many Portuguese fans with his lack of scoring during the qualifying campaign. Shining in Spain's la Liga, the Real Madrid star did not score one goal in 7 games. The most expensive player in the world (over 90 millions euros) had to face a media bashing about his patriotism, where he was accused of caring more for Real Madrid than the homeland. Cristiano Ronaldo is young but not foolish and took the critisicism without complaining. Also, the heavy legacy of last golden generation is pressing hard on this young Portuguese generation. The shadows of Luis Figo and Rui Costa are always present to remind them of a little country's dream: their first world title.
Talking about pressure, you can look at Manchester United's Nani. He was sold to the world as Cristiano Ronaldo's clone but the young winger has been mixing the good and the not so good with Portugal for the last 3 years. There also the MIAs (Missing in Action) like Helder Postiga and Ricardo Quaresma. The dissapointing younger generation left no choice for Portugal's manager Carlos Queiroz. He has turned to less flashy but efficient players like Duda, Malaga's midfield player.
Carlos Queiroz, the ex-right hand man of Sir Alex Ferguson, is trying to fill the blanks thanks to a Brazilian cousin. After Deco in February 2003 and Pepe in August 2007, Liedson has been naturalized Portuguese in September 2009.Sporting Lisbon's number 9 completes Portugal's attack. Portugal always seems to suffer from a lack of a true striker. Not since Pauleta that Portugal was able to produce a decent striker.
The recent performances of Portugal have not given more hope to its fans. When you do not score goals, you always try to console yourself by saying that you at least had scoring opportunities and all that is needed is to rekindle with a lost efficiency. Carlos Queiroz must be telling himself the same thing after a 0-0 draw against Cape Verde. Liedson, the ''savior'', was not able to convert two headers in the 17th and 26th minute and Nani wasted a great chance to score after a great play by Deco, at the 31st minute. This burst of creativity was a positive sign for the team but still saw Cristiano Ronaldo under the weather, not being able to muster much during the game. He woke up from his torpor late in the game but was wide on both tries he had.
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