Mourinho Backs Ronaldo
Real Madrid manager, Jose Mourinho, has backed Cristiano Ronaldo to bounce back from the disappointment of his World Cup campaign with Portugal.
Portugal were knocked out after a 1-0 defeat to Spain in the second round and it seems that the Portuguese media have chosen to blame Ronaldo for the exit as he did not have the impact on the World Cup that many were expecting.
However, he is not alone because there have been a whole host of players who played well domestically and then failed to show up for their countries. For example, Wayne Rooney was the leading scorer at Manchester United but he did not manage to score one goal during four matches for England.
Mourinho has said that nothing will change in relation to Ronaldo's role at his club side or in his national side and that any attempts to try and make him the blame for Portugal's performance at the World Cup are pathetic.
Under Performed
There is no doubt at all that Ronaldo greatly under performed during the World Cup. He went as one of Real Madrid's top scorers and he still holds the record for goals in a single season at Manchester United.
Therefore, there was a great deal of pressure on him to do well. He is a human being and it seems that the pressure got to him because he was not able to step up when it was necessary and produce the goods that would have helped Portugal reach an even later stage, which they were tipped to do.
It's important to remember that Ronaldo is only one man and there were a number of other players in the Portugal team who also under performed. These players deserve to be the focus of negative attention just as much.
Sometimes the pressure of playing for your country on the biggest stage is something that just gets to players and mutes their influence. On this occasion it seems to have happened to the so-called greatest player on the planet.
Blessing in Disguise
Mourinho has suggested that Ronaldo's exit from the World Cup after the match from Spain could be a blessing in disguise. Had Ronaldo scored the goal or goals that knocked Spain out of the World Cup then he would have been forced back to Madrid as somewhat of a hate figure in the country.
Mourinho is no stranger at all to having to go around grounds and confront fans and media who are constantly hostile towards him because of the way he goes about being a manager. He says it is not a nice feeling and Ronaldo has ironically done himself a favour because he will not be targeted for abuse whenever Real Madrid play away next season.
Ronaldo is too good a player to let this effect him any way but the point is that he can breathe a sigh of relief and launch himself into Real Madrid's season when it starts up again as they'll be trying to win everything this season.
Advice
Portugal should not have a problem in qualifying for their next major competition, regardless of the group that they find themselves in. Therefore, bet now while you can get some good odds on them because they will shorten with every win.
Ronaldo will be a key figure at Madrid next season and you should act as soon as you can if you want to get some money on him being the top scorer in La Liga. Again the odds will shorten every time he scores a goal so don't waste any time.
Tags: