Portugal 1-0 France
Cristiano Ronaldo wept tears of
despair then tears of joy as the Euro 2016 final took him on an emotional
journey from his lowest low to the high of lifting Portugal's first major
trophy.
The 31-year-old Real Madrid
superstar carried his country's hopes into the final against hosts France in
Paris not only as Portugal's captain but also the player who posed the greatest
threat to Didier Deschamps' side.
It looked like all the aspirations
of Ronaldo and Portugal would be shattered when he was taken off on a stretcher
after 25 minutes following two attempts to battle through a knee injury
sustained in a seventh-minute collision with France's West Ham United
midfielder Dimitri Payet.
And yet, as this long night at Stade
de France ended with an ecstatic Ronaldo lifting the Euro 2016 trophy, his
earlier heartbreak will surely have been erased.
He may have only played 25 minutes -
but such was the pure theatre of his presence on and off the pitch that this
was almost 'The Ronaldo Final'.
The agony
Ronaldo's focus was obvious from the
moment he walked out into the warm summer sunshine at Stade de France late on
Sunday evening.
He closed his eyes as he sang the
national anthem with feeling - although even his normally smooth appearance was
disrupted during his pre-match routine when he had to bat away several of the
moths that invaded the stadium.
He had made a quiet start when the
incident that changed his match took place in the 17th minute, Payet getting a
touch on the ball before crashing into Ronaldo, catching the Portuguese's left
knee with his right knee.
The sight of Ronaldo rolling around
while banging the turf did not receive instant or unanimous sympathy given
previous histrionics but it quickly became apparent he had sustained a
significant problem.
He received lengthy treatment on the
pitch and returned to the action, albeit clearly in reduced circumstances. He
made one run but not at any pace, waving a hand in the direction of the bench
to signal he was struggling.
He came off and went back on again
as this player of real physical courage attempted to somehow get through the
pain with his knee heavily strapped. It was to no avail as eventually he
dropped to the turf once more, one of the thousands of moths swirling around
the stadium landing on his face as he waited for the stretcher.
Ronaldo's exit was given a genuinely
sympathetic round of applause by France's fans, putting partisanship to one
side to share in the disappointment of one of the game's greats being carried
away from the biggest international game of his much-decorated career.
The leader
Ronaldo's reputation is not that of
a selfless personality who puts team before himself - indeed he has often been
accused of selfishness and petulance in dealing with his Portugal team-mates.
Euro 2016 has seen him gesturing
tetchily at colleagues who have not lived up to his own high standards, but
here he took on the role of inspirational leader when it was required.
Ronaldo's stature and influence,
even when out of the action, came into play at the end of 90 minutes.
Footage has emerged of him encouraging a reluctant Joao Moutinho to take a
penalty in the quarter-final shootout win against Poland, and
here he played the role of inspiration at a crucial time.
Ronaldo marched purposefully out of
the tunnel and out on to the pitch, walking among Portugal's players urging
them to one last effort, one that would end with the greatest moment in their
country's football history.
The manager
In remarkable scenes in extra time,
Ronaldo appeared to virtually assume the role of Portugal coach.
Ronaldo, it seemed, ordered Raphael
Guerreiro on to free-kick duties, a move that almost brought a goal as he
rattled the woodwork. Portugal's disappointment was short-lived as Eder struck
a fine winner seconds later, in the 109th minute.
It was then the Ronaldo show really
got into its stride.
As the seconds ticked away and
Portugal's great moment came within sight amid unbearable tension for their
supporters banked in a corner of the stadium, Ronaldo appeared to appoint
himself as, at least, joint manager.
He was offering just as many
tactical instructions as Fernando Santos, taking up position alongside him in
the technical area and beyond. It came mighty close to undermining the coach's
authority but by this stage anyone of a Portuguese persuasion was past caring.
Ronaldo, limping heavily, then
indulged in some celebratory bumping into the stone-faced Santos, who was
unmoved as he counted down the seconds to the result that guarantees him
sporting immortality in Portugal.
While Ronaldo will inevitably claim
the headlines and much of the glory, 61-year-old Santos' contribution must not
be under-estimated.
He produced an organised,
disciplined side of great resilience and spirit. It would have been easy for
Portugal to feel sorry for themselves after Ronaldo's injury, fearing the fates
were against them once more, but not a bit of it.
If anything, they grew once he went
off and were duly rewarded. Santos' side maybe be unspectacular, but he has
given them real backbone and deserves huge credit.
The ecstasy
Having broken down twice as he tried
to shake off the injury and when he realised his efforts were in vain, Ronaldo
shed tears for a third time when referee Mark Clattenburg blew the final
whistle to signify Portugal were European champions.
His journey up the steps should have
been painful given his injury but he looked as though he was floating on air as
he lifted the trophy amid jubilant scenes and pyrotechnics.
He was then front and centre of the
team photos, lying on the floor posing for pictures before leading the Portugal
contingent over to celebrate with their fans, giving the impression the silver
trophy might have to be surgically removed from his grasp.
Ronaldo has experienced the full
range of sport's emotions in his wonderful career - here he experienced them
all in one night.
The inspiration
Ronaldo had a mixed start to Euro
2016, drawing condemnation for criticising
Iceland's attitude in their opening 1-1 draw after refusing to
exchange shirts with captain Aron Gunnarsson at the final whistle.
Iceland bore no grudges and their
football association's official Twitter feed not only offered congratulations
to Portugal on their triumph but another account @icelandfootball tweeted when
he went off injured: "It doesn't matter what Ronaldo said about Iceland. This
is absolutely heartbreaking. We feel so sorry for him. Devastating for this
legend."
Ronaldo missed
a penalty in the goalless draw with Austria but then kicked into
gear.
He scored
two brilliant goals in the 3-3 draw with Hungary, helped created
Ricardo Quaresma's winner late into extra time in the last-16
win against Croatia, scored in the penalty shootout victory against
Poland in the quarter-final then broke the deadlock with a towering header in
the 2-0 triumph against Wales that put Portugal in
the final.
He is the player Portugal looks to
and he has led from the front - even when he only watching from the sidelines
in Paris.
Ronaldo has been criticised for
being hard on his team-mates, but did not hold back from the celebrations
The true great
Ronaldo can now be ranked with the
true greats of the game. He has finally added success in the international
arena, with a Euro 2016 win to add to his accolades and honours with Manchester
United and Real Madrid.
He has won the Champions League once
with Manchester United and twice with Real Madrid and victory in Paris closes a
big gap in his achievements and enables him to eclipse, in one context at
least, his great rival in La Liga at Barcelona, Lionel Messi.
Messi, who has also won the
Champions League three times with Barcelona, has struggled to repeat his club
successes with Argentina and the 29-year-old recently announced
his retirement from international football after a failed Copa
America campaign.
Ronaldo might have pondered his own
Portugal future and remained similarly unfulfilled had France won Euro 2016 -
now he has remedied that on a night of drama on and off the pitch.
(culled from bbc.com)
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