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Cristiano Ronaldo and the Euro 2021

Cristiano Ronaldo and the Euro 2021
There is a cloud of doubt hanging over the fans' minds: Will Cristiano Ronaldo, one of the best players in the world and in Portugal, participate in Euro 2021?
by Academia   |   comments 0
Saturday, May 2 2020

What will happen to the Madeiran legend and its future in football?  Currently, at the age of 35, his numbers remain impressive, in this season he played 22 games, 1945 minutes in Serie A, materialized 21 goals and 3 assists. With these numbers, his call for the European 2020, would also take him to the European in 2021. But his presence at the European Championship does not depend on these values, but on his physical availability.

The world is going through a difficult situation, a world war against a virus, COVID-19. This pandemic that appears every day in the news since March 2020 to the present day, has already caused a huge loss in the world economy and in sports. This is the main reason that led FIFA to change the European 2020 date to 2021.

Will this be a bad sign for players in the final stages of their career, like Cristiano Ronaldo?

The pandemic is paralyzing football, putting in doubt the continuation of the great stars' careers, like Ronaldo, who is one of the persons who really needs for everything to return to normal.

What is certain, is that the player is taking advantage of the quarantine, focused on the future and on the present. The only thing that completes it is being able to smile in the company of his better half Georgina, his children and family.

Although, he does not hide the longing for his profession, as we can see in the training of Nacional da Madeira, where the player was present with his oldest son. This was the first Portuguese team to return to training during this chaotic period.

Ronaldo and the European tournaments:

It all started at Euro 2004, the player was already signed by Manchester United in 2003. This was the moment when the player launched his career and showed his experience acquired in England.  The speed, the technique, the explosion, the shooting with both feet, the dribbling, the stamina and his ambition, clearly show football fans that he had everything to be the best player in the world. And so it was, for several times.

At that time, he shared the locker room with idols like Rui Costa and Luís Figo (who were in the final stages of their careers). That was the beginning of Cristiano Ronaldo's history and it was here that he showed all his skills to be the best ever.

Cristiano's most desired European competition:

After many achievements at Real Madrid, his main focus was the 2016 European Championship in France, where Portugal won the European Championship for the first time. A feat never seen before, even after several appearances in the finals. They beat one of the best teams in the world and the host of that competition, France. Cristiano had a very important impact on the process, but it was a collective work. They were all in sync, the work was well thought out, organized and with a solid structure.

Cristiano Ronaldo was injured after a clash with the French player Payet, it was a chilling moment, as you can see in the video.


I believe that the player has not yet closed the doors to the football world, knowing that outside of that, he feels fulfilled and will certainly have other opportunities to continue to make History. Not only because he left a very big mark in football, being the player who statistically beat almost all the records he had to beat and because he clearly left a message: “I am a legend”.

And the reason is this:

Ronaldo numbers in 2017/18 for Real Madrid (last season):

- La Liga: 27 games completed, 26 goals and 5 assists, was replaced 7 times and scored only 3 penalty goals.
- Champions League: 13 games completed, 15 goals and 3 assists, he was never substituted and scored 4 penalty goals.
- Club World Cup: 2 games played, 2 goals;
- European Super Cup: 1 game only;
- Supercopa: 1 game and 1 goal.

Ronaldo's 2018/19 numbers for Juventus (Serie A debut):

- Serie A: 31 games completed, 21 goals and 8 assists, he was substituted only twice and scored 5 penalty goals.
- Champions League: 9 games completed, 6 goals and 2 assists, an expulsion and 1 penalty goal.
- Coppa Italia: 2 games.
- Supercoppa Italiana: 1 game and 1 goal.

Ronaldo's numbers in 2019/20 for Juventus (second year):

- Serie A: 22 games completed, 21 goals and 3 assists, has only been replaced once and scored 7 penalty goals.
- Champions League: 7 games completed and scored 2 goals and 1 assist, was replaced once
- Coppa Italia: 2 games and 2 goals, scored only 1 penalty goal.
- Supercoppa Italiana: 1 game

The player's average goal per season is kept in a linear consistency, which is very impressive. Maintaining focus, the concern with training and not slacking of with his body, can also make the player last longer in high competition.

His numbers in the national team are also gigantic, in the last 6 games in 2019 (during the qualifying phase for the 2020 European Championship) he scored 11 goals. That reveals his importance for his country, having a player of this magnitude, distributing his experience to the youngest and above all, transmitting a message like, for example, Michael Jordan did in his last season for the Chicago Bulls, a sort of “The Last Dance”.
 

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Ronaldo still doesn't know when he will finish his career, as he says “the focus is on the present”. But the player is super interested in his body and always continues to train to achieve his goals and targets. He is an abnormal person for most players who reach their peak age and are in the final stages of their careers. Ronaldo remains in one of the best Italian clubs, Juventus, scores goals and continues to give a spectacle.

I believe it will clearly be his last European in 2021, which is a pitty for the Portuguese people. But at the end of this chapter, hardly will exist another Portuguese player with similar characteristics to the great Cristiano Ronaldo.