Cristiano Ronaldo – Real Madrid’s main man: UEFA Champions League
Step up to the queue to watch Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo in the semi-final of the UEFA Champions League. Step up to the queue to watch the world’s finest entertainer. Step up to the queue to watch the world’s most expensive footballer. Step up to the
queue to watch Ronaldo to continue haunting Barcelona, increasing his tally of goals against them? A story way too familiar for the Los Blancos in recent El Clasicos.
Last season was supposed to be a fairytale one for the Los Blancos as Florentino Pérez dished out cash in the summer transfer window of 2009 to bring in the likes of Karim Benzema, Ricardo Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo. Madrid’s fans considered last season’s
team as their finest in the past three years as the Men in White were struggling to meet the standards in Spanish football which were being set by the likes of Barcelona and their ace striker, Lionel Messi.
At the end of the 2009-2010 La Liga season, Madrid were once again trophy less. All the money in the world went to waste as they were knocked out of the UEFA Champions League in the Round of 16 after losing to Lyon at Santiago Bernabéu. Real Madrid were
also humiliated by Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona in both the El Classico’s as even a record breaking tally of 96 points was not enough to win the Spanish Primera Division title.
However, as the 2010-2011 club football season reaches its end, Real are once again at the crossroads. Eight points behind league leader’s Barcelona in the Spanish Primera Division and facing a tough semi-final tie against Barcelona, an all too familiar
El Clasico, Jose Mourinho’s team have to realize that it is now or never for them to win the European title.
There is one man who has to step up to the plate now as far as Madrid is concerned. He did it consistently for Manchester United in the English Premier League and the UEFA Champions League but as Real prepare to take on the might of their arch-rivals in
the European competition, Ronaldo now has to take up the number one spot at Real Madrid. The former World Player of the Year is well accustomed to Barcelona, scoring a goal each in the last two fixtures against them.
When Olympique Lyon took on Manchester United in the 2007-2008 UEFA Champions League round of sixteen, it was Ronaldo’s solitary strike in the second leg that fired the Red Devils to the quarter finals of the competition. With 30 goals and eight assists
in the La Liga season already, Ronaldo is heading the scoring charts for Real Madrid. It is crucial for them that he reproduces the same form in the UEFA Champions League. Currently, the former Manchester United forward only has four goals and two assists
to his name in the UEFA Champions League which is far less than what Lionel Messi has managed so far in the competition.
The Portuguese winger is in prime form already and a match winning performance against Tottenham over the two legs of the quarter-final tie will work wonders for Real Madrid. Nonetheless, it is not only crucial that Ronaldo performs against Barcelona once
again but also carries his goal scoring form forward in the later stage of the tournament where Ronaldo will possibly be pitted against his former club Manchester United.
It is about time that Ronaldo lives up to the hype. He has already shown that Spanish league’s defenses are no match for his skill and pace, winning the Copa del Rey, but now it is time for him to conquer top European back lines with his trickery and flair.
Simply put, Cristiano must become the main man and the difference maker for Los Merengues or Real Madrid may risk losing it all once again.
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