If World Cup tournaments were decided based on just one individual player, then Portugal would probably win the trophy because of Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese superstar has been on the highest level of competition for the past few years, but his national team did not manage so far to take advantage and do something worth mentioning in any recent major event. Can South Africa be lucky for Ronaldo and his team? It seems hard but on a good day the Portuguese captain can definitely win games almost single handedly.
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (as is his full name) was born in 1985, so at just 25 years old he has already accomplished almost everything. Except on the national team level. The most expensive football player in the world is also a winner of a Champions League title in 2008 with Manchester United, while being the only Premier League player in history to be awarded the World Player of the Year title. Ronaldo is currently playing for Real Madrid and has scored 18 goals for his team in just 21 official games this year.
With a minimum of 10 great years as a player ahead of him, Cristiano Ronaldo seems to already have everything under his belt (or on his jersey to be precise). After Portugal failed to win the Euro 2004 when hosting the tournament Ronaldo burst into tears, possibly knowing this was the last big chance to accomplish something great with his country. The older players like Luis Figo are gone, and while Portugal is still up there in every World Cup they are just not good enough to go all the way.
Cristiano Ronaldo and his team are starting the 2010 World Cup in South Africa playing on probably the toughest group of the tournament. Right of the bat things are getting competitive going against tournament favourites Brazil for the first place of Group G. The second position of the first round will guarantee a spot in the knock out stage, but most likely against the best football team in the world right now Spain. Portugal will most likely have to climb both of these mountains before moving on or even thinking to go any further in the competition. Even if Ronaldo leads his squad past the two superpowers, there are 3 games left before reaching greatness.
Despite all odds against Portugal, Cristiano Ronaldo remains confident. In a recent interview he said that “Now is our time to shine, it doesn’t matter who our opponents are in the beginning of the World Cup. If we want to win the trophy for the first time, that automatically means we would have to beat everyone”. That’s definitely the case most of the times, but a little bit of luck and a good schedule is also very important, especially when you are the - at least in theory, weaker team.
No matter the result for Portugal after the 2010 World Cup, Cristiano Ronaldo will come and leave on the top of the world. The sky is the limit for this young and talented football player, and we should expect to witness some amazing performances in every game.
Cristiano Ronaldo Photo Gallery
Cristiano Ronaldo Videos
A video tribute to Cristiano Ronaldo with some amazing plays and goals
Cristiano Ronaldo video made from a photo montage of different pictures
Cristiano Ronaldo video playing for Manchester United
Cristiano Ronaldo’s first goal for Manchester United at 18 years old
Video of Cristiano Ronaldo scoring goals for Real Madrid
