RONALDO GOES FOR NO.20
Mighty Juve stand in way of Real legend and his next trophy
CARDIFF was not exactly where it all began for Cristiano Ronaldo but it was in terms of major finals, big goals and trophies. The FA Cup here in the principality in 2004 was major club honour No 1. Tonight, under the closed roof of the Millennium Stadium, he hopes the Champions League will become No 20.
The world has changed much in the 13 years since Manchester United beat Millwall, Ronaldo scoring the first goal of three with a header. Yesterday, for example, the police were lifting manholes in the centre of Cardiff to check for explosives.
Watch footage of Ronaldo from that day, however, and much is instantly recognisable.
His goal, for example, was to become classic Ronaldo, a dart off the shoulder of a startled defender followed by a powerful downward header. Then the shirt came off. His physique is better these days but we shouldn’t be surprised. His football is not the only thing he has worked on over the years.
Later in the game came a ‘Rabona’ cross, one leg crossing the ball from behind the other. It’s important to note that, had it not been for a Paul Scholes miskick from six yards, it would have led to a goal. Not much of Ronaldo’s extravagance has been merely for show.
Millwall’s Robbie Ryan had to mark him that day. It was like trying to trap smoke in a jam jar.
‘I just wish he had played on the other wing,’ was Ryan’s subsequent assessment.
And so to tonight. Ronaldo is 32 now and showing no signs of slowing. For a man who has achieved almost everything there is to achieve in the game, tonight’s meeting with Juventus offers rare opportunity for the World Player of the Year to step into new territory.
Real Madrid are defending champions, Ronaldo’s shootout penalty clinching victory over neighbours Atletico in Milan last year. No team have retained the trophy in the competition’s modern form. Real, meanwhile, have not won La Liga and the European Cup in the same season since 1958.
So opportunity knocks for Ronaldo. As strange as it sounds, he has not always reached his expected levels in this fixture. In last year’s final and indeed the 2014 success, Ronaldo contributed the finishing touch but it masked what was, by his high standards, an evening of indifference on both occasions.
‘He always wants more,’ said Real coach Zinedine Zidane. ‘Even in a training session he wants to win. What he offers us is that he always wants to win. He has something inside. He is a born leader, especially on the pitch.
‘He scores goals and that’s most important. I used to play quite well but scoring goals was not my speciality. I was better at assists. I scored some important goals but not as many as him.’
Tonight against Massimiliano Allegri’s obdurate, resilient Juventus, Zidane will hope that his talisman produces something more consistently effective. Juventus, unlike Atletico, will not allow themselves to be emotionally suffocated by the occasion. They have already seen off Barcelona in this competition.
No, this will have to be a final hard won by Madrid against a side looking to achieve something special themselves, namely an Italian treble.
Appearing at their team’s prematch press conference yesterday, Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon and full back Dani Alves were asked several times about Ronaldo. It must be wearing.
Buffon described the Portuguese as a ‘sporting model’ and Alves said he wouldn’t dream of putting himself ‘on the same pedestal’.
All very nice but what will concern both — and indeed Allegri — is Ronaldo’s form coming into this game. Hat-tricks in the quarterfinal and the semi-final of the Champions League. Fourteen goals in his last nine games and a staggering 49 for club and country this season.
Buffon will remember bitterly how Juve were a goal down after only four minutes against Barcelona in the 2015 final in Berlin. If that hap- pens again here it will be a long night.
The great goalkeeper, 39 now, said last night that he fears boredom but it’s fair to say he would welcome some tranquillity tonight.
The possibility of great contrast is certainly one of the most intriguing aspects of this match. Juventus are capable of explosive attacking thrusts but the fact that they conceded just one goal in six Champions League knockout games against Porto, Barcelona and Monaco points towards traditional Italian strengths.
‘In 2015, we deserved to be in the final but we didn’t have the conviction we have now,’ said Allegri. ‘We have grown a lot. We have got to win. We are here to try to take the cup home.’
Premier League followers will hope for an appearance from Gareth Bale. He is expected to start on the bench behind the Spaniard Isco, and it is a shame Bale’s return to his home city serves as a mere sub-plot.
This has not been a vintage season for the 27-yearold. Injuries have restricted him to just seven La Liga goals and he has not played at all since late April.
Ronaldo’s attacking threat will instead be supplemented by the hard running of Karim Benzema and the contest between those two and Juventus’s two central defenders Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini will be fascinating. Last night Real defender Sergio Ramos sug- gested that Zidane and his players were fully aware of what stands before them tonight. ‘We have an appointment with history,’ said Ramos. ‘We are extremely motivated and excited about the possibility.’ Madrid trained late at this magnificent stadium last night. As always, Ronaldo was front and central. Thirteen years ago here he wore gold boots against Millwall at the age of 19. It looked premature and one wonders what teammates Scholes and Roy Keane thought. They wore black. That cup final goal was only Ronaldo’s sixth of his debut United season. It turns out that he was just warming up.