The Extraterrestrial is in danger of a rapid demise
Ronaldo is a three times FIFA world player of the year. He is still only 29 years old and should be at the height of his career. So it came as a real shame to The Extraterrestial - fantastic nickname! - look so out of it in both performances against Arsenal.
His performances were so sluggish, and his physique so out of good conditioning, that it is hard to think that he is the same player who regularly made phenomenal slalom dribbles for Barcelona in the late nineties and was the figurehead for a Brazilian team that eased to World Cup glory in 2002.
Before the first leg he publicly said that he feels unappreciated by the Madrid fans despite a fantastic goal-scoring record of 93 goals in 146 matches. This massive indication of his general despondency was reflected in his demeanour on the pitch, and of course his disturbingly overweight physical appearance.
Ronaldo's ability - that has been so fantastic to watch since his arrival on the football scene - does not deserve to go to waste. He is, however, in danger of turning into a joke figure, and that would be a poor way for such a great footballing talent to finish his career. The World Cup should be used as an incentive to for him to turn things around; I hope he does.
posted by T at 3/11/2006 10:30:00 am
EFT match of the season for 2008/2009: Barcelona construct a masterclass footballing performance to defeat the reigning Champions League holders and current English champions, Manchester United, by a scoreline of 2-0 in the 2009 Champions League final in Rome
EFT player of the season for 2008/2009: Chelsea central midfielder, Frank Lampard
EFT player of the month for May 2009: Nicolas Anelka (Chelsea)
EFT player of the month for April 2009: Andrey Arshavin (Arsenal)
EFT player of the month for March 2009: Steven Gerrard (Liverpool)
EFT player of the month for February 2009: Phil Jagielka (Everton)
EFT player of the month for January 2009: Nemanja Vidic (Man Utd)
EFT player of the month for December 2008: Steven Gerrard (Liverpool)
EFT player of the month for November 2008: Nicolas Anelka (Chelsea)
EFT player of the month for October 2008: Dirk Kuyt (Liverpool)
EFT player of the month for September 2008: Frank Lampard (Chelsea)
EFT player of the month for August 2008: Amr Zaki (Wigan Athletic)
EFT match of Euro 2008: Turkey's amazing comeback from two goals down to beat Czech Republic 3-2 as captain Nihat Kahveci's two goals in the last three minutes sensationally put his country through to the quarter finals at the expense of their beaten opponents
EFT player of Euro 2008: Spain (anchor) central midfielder, Marcos Senna
EFT match of the season for 2007/2008: Liverpool win titanic Champions League quarter-final second leg 4-2 against Arsenal that also saw two of the best football moments of the season - Fernando Torres' top corner strike and Theo Walcott's thrilling run across the whole of Anfield.
EFT player of the season for 2007/2008: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
EFT player of the month for May 2008: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
EFT player of the month for April 2008: Ashley Young (Aston Villa)
EFT player of the month for March 2008: Fernando Torres (Liverpool)
EFT player of the month for February 2008: David James (Portsmouth)
EFT player of the month for January 2008: Ronaldo (Manchester United)
EFT player of the month for December 2007: Roque Santa Cruz (Blackburn Rovers)
EFT player of the month for November 2007: Steven Gerrard (Liverpool)
EFT player of the month for October 2007: Wayne Rooney (Manchester United)
EFT player of the month for September 2007: Francesc Fabregas (Arsenal)
EFT player of the month for August 2007: Fernando Torres (Liverpool)
EFT player of the month for May 2007: Carlos Tevez (West Ham Utd)
EFT player of the month for April 2007: Wayne Rooney (Manchester Utd)
EFT player of the month for March 2007: Carlos Tevez (West Ham Utd)
EFT player of the month for February 2007: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester Utd)
EFT player of the month for January 2007: Thierry Henry (Arsenal)
EFT player of the month for December 2006: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester Utd)
EFT player of the month for November 2006: Didier Drogba (Chelsea)
EFT player of the month for October 2006: Jussi Jaaskelainen (Bolton Wanderers)
EFT player of the month for September 2006: Andrew Johnson (Everton)
EFT player of the month for August 2006: Nwankwo Kanu (Portsmouth)
EFT match of World Cup 2006: Italy win a thrilling 'end-to-end' World Cup semi-final 2-0 against Germany courtesy of two late extra time goals from Fabio Grosso and Alessandro del Piero 
EFT player of World Cup 2006: Italy captain and centre-back, Fabio Cannavaro
EFT match of the season for 2005-2006: Liverpool win the FA Cup final 3-1 on penalties against West Ham after a Steven Gerrard-led fighback saw the Anfield side recover from 2-0 and 3-2 down to level the match in normal time
EFT player of the month for May 2006: Steven Gerrard (Liverpool)
EFT player of the month for April 2006: Jamie Carragher (Liverpool)
EFT player of the month for March 2006: Robbie Keane (Tottenham Hotspur)
EFT player of the month for February 2006: Aiyegbeni Yakubu (Middlesbrough)
EFT player of the month for January 2006: Jason Roberts (Wigan Athletic)
EFT player of the month for December 2005: Steven Gerrard (Liverpool)
EFT player of the month for November 2005: Robin van Persie (Arsenal)
EFT player of the month for October 2005: Frank Lampard (Chelsea)
EFT player of the month for September 2005: Danny Murphy (Charlton Athletic)
EFT player of the month for August 2005: Wayne Rooney (Manchester Utd)
EFT match of the season for 2004-2005: Liverpool win Champions League final 3-2 on penalties against AC Milan after sensationally recovering from 3-0 down to level the match in normal time
8 Comments:
Yes, it was one thing I noticed about Ronaldo, and you are right to mention his mazy dribbles that he seemed so difficult to outmuscle off. Ronaldo had been rather silly some time before off the field in his personal life, and again I sense a personal issue within himself is disturbing the Brazilian and effected his form. Arsenal showed that with character and determination, coolness and focus, you need not exert yourself against a side brimmed with excellent talent. Real Madrid require a harsh shake-up and talk has moved to suggest Ronaldo's imminent departure in the summer.
Ronaldo is similar to Romario, making a such a hit in football at a young age and then it wilters because there's a loss of focus. I sense that Ronaldo wont be featuring in the World Cup on this form. We know of Brazil's many midfielders, they can cope without Ronaldo if need be. Who can care for or speak to Ronaldo, get him into a better fitness regime and bring back that form that made him a World beater? I hope somebody can
RedsMan.
3/11/2006 1:33 pm
Extraterrestial?? I thought he was the phenomenon?? As far as im concerned...Extraterrestial is rivaldo's nick name...
3/11/2006 4:24 pm
Yes, anon. I think so, too.
T, in my opinion Romario was still providing huge impact for Brazil in 1994. He was 38 that time.
3/11/2006 6:01 pm
Thanks Redsman, Anon, and Lost Key.
Google may not be totally reliable, but I just did a quick search and found from a couple of reliable-looking sites that Ronaldo is good enough to have been given BOTH nicknames... plus some others. So its a case of taking your pick on the one you like most!
As for Romario, he was actually 28 years old at World Cup 94'. Amazingly he is still one of the most prolific goal scorers in the Brazilian championship for Vasco de Gama, and is less than 50 goals away from equalling Pele's feat of scroing 1000 goals.... this truly is phenomenal!
By the way, Ronaldo came on as a late sub against Valencia last night. With two minutes to go he played an excellent one-two that got him through on goal, and then was bought down by Canizares as he was rounding the Valencia keeper. Ronaldo got up to take the pen.... and he hit a weak side foot shot to the left of the goal which was easily saved.
This sums up Ronaldo right now!
3/12/2006 10:31 am
Thank you, T.
It was my terrible mistake about Romario's age. In 1998, he was 32.
Actually I was refering to 1998 (instead of 1994), when he was doing really well for national team only to miss the chance to play in France'98 due to injury.
3/12/2006 11:21 am
I don't understand why he is called Extraterrestial, unless his skills were considered so magical Ronaldo was assumed to be from anthor planet. Does he therefore now need to call home, or indeed call a friend??
You beat me to it, T. I watched that match with anticipation of Madrid's reaction from midweek but it was mediocre. They played Diogo but it seemed Raul was alone upfront, which was not appropriate against a structured defensive four of Valencia. Personally they packed the middle with Zidane, Guti and Baptista, though some will say Zidane was on the wing, where he is less effective. It seems the Galacticos have hit a tweak where they relied on star players to perform more on their status than through thorough training and strategy.
Ronaldo coming on made for more scrutiny and the moment he began to go through the defence was one not to be blinked at. I expected a more determined Ronaldo to finally emerge and perhaps win the game, and replays showed it looked a geniune penalty though I wanted a view from behind the touchline. Nonetheless the decision was made and it looked gilt-edged for the Brazilian to rescue the team, only for him to uncharacteristically weakly side-foot it to Canizares' left, as if it was the Valencia goalkeeping coach warming up the Spanish keeper in the pre-match warm up.
How Sr Martin must have wanted to hang his head. The fans may want Ronaldo's, unless he can get to sort it out.
The team in general, with it's roll call of players, reads like a renowned sports vehicle that has run down because of disgruntlement within its manufacturing. When that happens, then popularity wanes, production is ceased and a new idea is quickly assembled to win that popularity back. A number of those players should take heed. For some of them, the World Cup maybe a last salvation.
RedsMan.
3/12/2006 11:27 am
No problem Lost Key... and I agree with you about Romario being unlucky to miss out on France 1998.
To quickly digress, I must say that out of all the World Cups that I've watched since my first in 1990, I liked France 1998 the most. Owen's goal against Argentina, and the Arsenal combo of Vieira and Petit combining to score the third against Brazil... fantastic!
Redsman, I too was looking forward to seeing Madrid's reaction against Valencia. Madrid are so intriguing to watch because you never know what you are going to get from their star line-up. Your comment about them looking more to rely on their's players status rather than team playabilty is spot-on... and this must be due to the terrible lack of stability they have had in the coaching department. A galactic mess!
It will be fascinating to compare the team line-up on the opening day of next season with the one they currently have... there will probably be a big number of changes and new faces.
P.S. Having just come back from my regular Sunday morning run, I thought I should inform EFT readers that London's weather for this afternoon's Arsenal v Liverpool match is set to be: part cloudy, part sunny, and icy cold!
3/12/2006 1:11 pm
Extra-terrestrial or Phenomenon - one thing for sure is that this guy was the best striker in the world bar none up until 2002. His hat-trick at Old Trafford will live in the memory a long, long time.
It was really sad to see him stuggling at Highbury the other night. He announced his rejuvenation after injury at the World Cup in 2002. Hopefully, this summer will see yet another rebirth a legend.
3/13/2006 10:13 am
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