Roberto Martinez and his staff have calculated everything carefully. It is clear that this is Cristiano Ronaldo’s last European crusade and he wants to leave not just a winner, but a winning star. That is why we need to somehow integrate him into the team’s game. This is problematic on several levels. Firstly, even Ronaldo, who lives obsessively in the gym and eats well, cannot overcome age and loses his explosion, and with it his dribbling and passing. This means that using Ron closer to the flank or as a false nine is almost useless.
Secondly, Krish, even in his prime, was not known for his zeal in defence, but now he is openly resting while nine other outfield players breathe in their own half. The selection for highlights that occurred with Slovenia, although it made the whole stadium admire and looked really spectacular, but: a) it only led to one save for the opponent; b) it was overall Cristiano’s first successful selection attempt in four matches of the tournament.
Lots of doubts
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So Martinez had a difficult problem to solve. The team must build attacks with ten men and defend with ten men – obviously, this is not the easiest thing to do. To solve the problem of the lack of a man in defence, the Portuguese coaching staff does not force the ball forward. This allows him not to get lost in the centre, so that players who are already receiving an extra workload do not have to work backwards in sprints. Thus a truly numbing style of the Portuguese emerged, who keep the ball just to the right on one side of the field, sometimes organising six-man squares to safely reach the final third.
The second problem is that we need to somehow integrate Cristiano into the finishing phase. We’ve already said about dribbling and playing as a third: Ronaldo really tries more than usual to play for his teammates, but it works out so-so. The space behind the Portuguese “seven” is also difficult to attack, as sharpness disappears, so Cristiano gets false runs from Bruno Fernandes, Rafael Leau and Bernardo Silva. They push back the opponent’s defensive line, allowing Ronaldo to come out to play. Of the truly supernatural qualities, Cristiano only has from start to finish with a touch and a jump. Watching him take off against the Czech Republic, it’s truly amazing.
Ronaldo heads a cross to the far post
Photo: Transmission frame
In this situation, Cristiano hits the post with his head and his teammate puts the ball into an empty net. The problem? Whether consciously or not, Ronaldo and his body understand that he is already lacking a bit of sharpness and therefore in such situations he is forced to take risks, stepping forward more often than the defenders. He has always liked to play on the edge – just remember the famous double offside against Bayern in the Champions League seven years ago. But now, too, an impartial VAR plays against Cristiano: any slightest push forward results in offside, as in this episode in which João Cancelo saved the ball.
Ronaldo is caught offside when Cancelo crosses
Photo: Transmission frame
But Martinez and the staff really approached the tournament very pragmatically. They also understand that the players themselves are ready to play for Ronaldo, and therefore attempts to find the main star’s breakthrough will continue. The Portuguese are by far the best in this tournament in terms of the number of crosses into the box, and the coach does not care if someone considers it outdated or ineffective. He understands that: a) Cristiano’s main outstanding quality among the others is taken into account; b) a cross, unlike attempts to open the penalty area from below, is less likely to result in an instant counterattack. But Portugal needs to conserve its strength, as the team defends with ten men.
That’s why positional attacks can look really monotonous: a lot of passes in the initial stage, occupying one side of the field with a large number of players, preparing a clear situation for a cross into the box. And in the penalty area itself, one of the Portuguese will surely follow Ronaldo himself in the form of a shadow, as everyone understands: either the legend will move two opponents away, as in the case of the goal against the Czech Republic, or he will open up space at the far post, behind the opposing full-back.
Let’s remember the iconic episode.
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The guardians of beautiful football (who, by the way, defines what it is?) are outraged and annoyed by so much monotony, but Portugal will have no other plan. Diogo Jota, who could have brought more variety to the attack, has been frankly self-sacrificing in this tournament. Portugal will believe in Cristiano until the last second, and if there were still doubts about that before the 77th minute of the match against Slovenia, there were none afterwards.
That’s what happened then. First, Nuno Mendes received the ball in his own half after a Portuguese challenge. Ronaldo in this situation is directly under the centre circle.
The beginning of the Portuguese attack
Photo: Transmission frame
Nunu ran across the field with a tractor. In six and a half seconds he covered almost 60 metres with the ball, passing through his opponents. And now he is already in the penalty area. A teammate runs nearby to whom you can pass the ball. You can pass across the entire penalty area to a completely lonely teammate, and a moment later a teammate will appear to shoot, opening up at a second pace. What does Mendes do, who has just run 60 metres at the speed of the wind? Naturally he stops and stands up.
Mendes stopped after passing by the flank
Photo: Transmission frame
The screenshots don’t explain it, but two seconds pass, an endless amount of time for the ball to be in the box, before Nuno makes the cross. What was he waiting for all this time? Of course, Ronaldo’s movements towards the far post from the very centre of the area, where he was guarded by a defender. In the far area, his defence will no longer be as safe: first, because there, when moving, the jump is more important, the same one that Cristiano still has; and second, because the defender must take into account the second Portuguese, who follows Ronaldo from a distance.
Mendes shoots into the penalty area after standing still for two seconds.
Photo: Transmission frame
This is a scandalous episode. After an incredible surge, there is a huge slowdown. And all so that a specific player finds where and how to perform a specific action. It is almost impossible to imagine this in any other team than the current Portugal. Cristiano has already attempted 20 goals in this tournament, more than the whole of Scotland has scored in three group games. About 20 more times he missed the shot, ran over the tip of the ball, went offside or jumped too early – the same compensation for the loss of sharpness. And he still hasn’t scored. And he annoys everyone.
Surprisingly, however, this parade of missed chances by one man could play in Portugal’s favour in the remaining matches, including against France. The opponent knows that the whole team is playing for one person who cannot complete anything. And slacking off can come even among the best defenders: one might think that if this has not happened in four matches, it will be overlooked.
Ronaldo never relaxes in the box. Both he and his shadow partner will be ready to take advantage of the first situation, when the defenders decide that one of the best jumpers in the history of world football is no longer dangerous at all.
