cristiano Ronaldo's dribbling ability

The feedback that I always give for such videos, is that I think videos of that type are always better, when you include the complete play -- what I mean by that, is not necessarily that you include the complete play pre-CR7 (before CR7 touched the ball), but at least, you should include the complete play post-CR7 (after CR7 finished his run and produced whatever he produced), that way one has a clearer or more realistic perspective of the actual end product.

EDIT:

Great video, by the way. Just finished watching it a couple minutes ago.

EDIT:

If possible, I would like to watch a version of that same video, but in chronological order, that is, without jumping from 2007-08 into 2009-10, and then from 2009-10 to 2007-08, etc. Chronological order will probably make the video more boring, but at least it would offer a more realistic perspective. You could have 2 versions, a chrono version, and the version as it is right now.

 

^ EDIT:

If possible, I would like to watch a version of that same video, but in chronological order, that is, without jumping from 2007-08 into 2009-10, and then from 2009-10 to 2007-08, etc. Chronological order will probably make the video more boring, but at least it would offer a more realistic perspective. You could have 2 versions, a chrono version, and the version as it is right now.

 

I think he is a very good dribbler but not fantastic or legendary.

I saw many players better than him.

 

He was a counter attacking kind of dribbler, extremely effective in an open game. In fact, CR7 in his physical prime was probably the best counter attacker ever. He relied on his physical presence (very difficult to knock off the ball) and shear athleticism (sprinting past opponents) to beat players. One of my favorites (Kaka) used to have a similar dribbling style.

However, I feel that in congested games against teams parking the bus, he's not as effective. Not like Messi and Iniesta.

 

Cristiano could have been one of the greatest dribblers ever. He was unbelievably elusive, quick, agile, powerful and possessed an arsenal of masterful footwork. Usually, players with Ronaldo's level of freestyle ability don't simultaneously have all those other qualities. He did. It's a shame that he lacked the sticktoitiveness that Messi has. Post '08 too many of Ronaldo's dribbles culminated in him looking for free-kicks at the first hint of contact coming his way creating his diving reputation by going to ground so easily. Cristiano mercilessly fought off challengers and was able to leap over defenders, spin away from danger, trick his opponent or just out muscle would be dispossesors all at break-neck speeds when he was up to it. With his raw abilities and technical prowess he could have had an endless portfolio of brilliant solo plays. Most times he settled for mediocrity which was completely self inflicted considering his spontaneity and creativity. He also lacked the composure and confidence to take on that final defender in most situations opting for ill-advised shots on goal rather than attempting the "goal of the century" type runs.

Ronaldo was a fearless magician early in his career and whether it was the result of compensating for uncalled fouls, saving his body or lack of interest in being among the greatest dribblers of all time he completely overhauled his style becoming simply above average rather than legendary. I can't count the times Ronaldo was on an amazing run humiliating defenders in his path and either chose to shoot from awkward angles, off balance or from far distances simply because he didn't make the effort to beat that final man as Messi and Maradona shaped their careers on the back of.

His goal against Villareal in '09/'10 is a prime example. Ronaldo collected the ball deep in his own half, blew by a couple defenders with his insane acceleration, dribbled 40 yards, cut inside beating a 3rd defender and shot from 20 yards out to score the goal. There was one man in the box left to beat and if he would have kept his run into the box and performed a skill to beat him and scored he would have had his version of Messi's Getafe goal. This scenario played out countless times in his career. Most often not ending in a tangible result. Though strictly speaking to ability, Ronaldo was up there with Best, Garrincha, Maradona, Messi etc. His problem was consistency, composure and courage, he definitely wasn't mechanically deficient.

 

The very first dribble in this video from @carlito86 is exactly what Ronaldo's problem was that my previous post addressed. It starts out with brilliant footwork and explosiveness to easily beat a couple defenders then he beats a third in the box. Rather than hopping over the defender's outstretched leg to stay on his feet and continue on to beat the 4th defender he chose to dive for a penalty. Had he stuck with his dribble he had the momentum to beat the last defender and give himself a good look at goal. If he continued and beat the last man it would have been a Puskas Award caliber goal and a career highlight but instead it becomes a cheap look for a penalty that his resume is plagued by. This displays that physically and technically he was as gifted as anyone but mentally he lacked the making of a legendary dribbler. Ultimately he is giving up on himself. For all of his confidence in other areas of the game his dribbles suffer from being unsure of his ability.

 

I agree absolutely that is was a foul and legitimate penalty. My position is that he usually appears content that it was a foul and assists himself to the ground rather than trying to hop over the leg and continue forward. His approach became to use these instances to his advantage by selling the contact instead of not relying on a call and doing everything he can to finish the play himself. Maybe a foul is called if he immediately turns it over due to the contact. This happens often. He would have done the same thing at midfield, outside the box or out on the wing. In these cases, I think if he stayed on his feet making an effort to fight the challenges and continue forward he'd be more highly regarded as a dribbler and player. 20 year old Ronaldo probably would have hopped over the defenders leg and dribbled directly at the coming defender and performed a chop, step-overs or spin to create a shot. He lost that relentless drive where he was always moving his feet, twisting, pushing, bumping, cutting and jumping in an effort to extend his run. He became too willing to fall and take the set piece rather than believing he could most likely exploit a weakness and capitalize.

 

i just saw this, and needs to share

810835168885899264 is not a valid tweet id

 

Cristiano ronaldo was a decent dribbler at his peak which is why I selected that. If the topic was about Cristiano's current ability, I would have chosen option 3. The reason why Cristiano could never make the transition from decent to legendary was because he relied only on his pace to beat players. So as he lost his pace, his dribbling was almost nonexistent. And thats why you seldom saw him dancing circles against teams with pacier defenders during his peak.

 

You are right, I am not going to watch a Cristiano clip for that long but in reality I wont watch such a long clip for anybody.

That being said, I did see one of your earlier clips which had some 'clapping' background music - that was a good clip which had Cristiano's solo goal runs. That was a good clip and I had feedback about his dribbling in then and I forgot about replying i believe. But in terms of a player - that video was solid. I didnt know Cristiano scored this many solo goals before watching that clip.

This video I saw bits and pieces -(like from when 4:20 seconds is remaining) the goal against Leverkusen near the end where he goes by two players is good but at the same time you have diluted the clip with cristiano time waste dribble moves too. Your clips are great - just make one 10 minute clip with genuine dribbles with great production. That could look as good as a Messi comp. during Messi's peak, (he is still at almost at peak level but some seasons he has been out of the world) there was a time people created monthly clips for Messi games played in that month. So you cant really compare against Messi by volume. If you put a clip where Cristiano dives or loses the ball after a dribble - people will focus only on that part of the video. also, the parts I saw, many of the runs - he was dribbling using pace including some in which he would pass the ball front. Thats pretty much using his pace - you use pace for dribbling but moves like pushing the ball forwArd, you are relying solely on pace. So for a thread like this, you kind of want to remove those moves as the good non pace dribbling moves get lost in between.

Cristiano Ronaldo is an exception in that he used solely his pace to dribble past opponents and in that he has had a lot of success in doing so. So, when playing against teams with faster defenders, he kind of becomes ineffective. But anytime he came across a slower defender, he will be more effective. So his dribbling during his peak is a bit overrated because of the sheer volume of his dribbles but at the same time, how many dribblers with better ball control have actually dribbled past that many players - let alone score that many goals. So fair credit - his production has been very very good. And this is kind of where the Messi - Cristiano Ronaldo comparison becomes more evident. If Messi's production is on par with Cristiano, then Messi wins every time unless Cristiano starts taking heading to an alltogether different dimension. Its why now Cristiano has morphed into a poacher entirely because talent is not an argument he is going to win.

 

This isn't true. Ronaldo still had speed faster than anybody a few years ago and his dribbling had noticeably declined. In reality, it was transforming his body into a muscle which didn't hinder his speed but affected his agility and quickness. It was his explosive first step and ability to sharply change direction that made him great. He could stop and start, cut or step around people before they knew what hit them. To this day he can dribble down a wing and beat anybody in open space.

 

Well said and nice compilation. I remember an interview where they asked Ronaldo why he doesn't just perform all of his freestyle maneuvers in game and beat every defender he wants. He said that if he brought those skills to a match they would all be out to break his legs for embarrassing them. I believe him as I haven't seen Ronaldo perform 1/3rd of his skills he's capable of. There are so many demonstrations of Ronaldo dribbling like Futsal players utilizing skills I've never seen him attempt in a competitive match. He has intentionally not performed them out of respect. I remember when he put on a display against Eboue when he was running out the clock against Arsenal back in 08-09 and he never did a similar stunt. From a showmanship and entertainment perspective, it was great to watch and I wish he still had fun like that.

 

And all on the same day. This is evidence for the obvious! Thanks for sharing. Good stuff.

 

Nobody could ever isolate moments of Messi dribbling himself into turnovers right? Watch the Copa Final against Chile, Messi was abysmal.

 

Hey @carlito86 ...

I didn't know you were actually making compilations. Do you have all his matches archived? If you could ever get around to it, we desperately need a complete video of Ronaldo's greatest passes. Every playmaking video I see of Ronaldo leaves out many of his finest passes. They focus on either assists or the passes that created a shot on goal. He has a lot of long range and cross-field passes that fell directly to their target and other passes that were pre-assists or deeper in a buildup. Like his pass to Benzema in Germany against Bayern that Benzema passed to a teammate for a goal.

I think a video of Ronaldo's best end to end plays and counter attacks would be cool to see too. Like his goals against Ajax & Fiorentina and when he hit the post after running 96 meters in 10 seconds or whatever.


3:55 in this video is an awesome leaping 20 yard header pass by Ronaldo for Higuain that leads to a goal for Raul. This is one of Ronaldo's genius moments that never makes the cut in compilations. He times and positions himself perfectly to receive a long ball from Pepe then plays a headed through ball up for Higuain while leaping.

 

Messi vs Espanol is the most recent example of his current form and his dribbling. It wasn't an isolated moment since we all know he was MoM that day and did great every time on the ball that day. On the other hand, CR7 vs Kashima Antlers was his most recent example of his current form and how inferior his current dribbling looked relative to that of current Messi. Any one thinking that the current CR7 dribbling is competitive to that of current Messi's could consult with what took place on last Sunday the 18th and compare these two for refreshment of the mind. Hence, your "vs Chile" comment is irrelevant to this discussion.

Pay attention to the recurrent use of the adjective "current" here above since this underpins my argument

It's well established in the mainstream that Messi's dribbling ability has always been substantially superior

 

This is so lolable. So if at any point in January Ronaldo puts together some nice dribbles in a match you will disregard your findings here and say that he is currently an amazing dribbler? Don't be foolish. Judging by these same two games Ronaldo scored a hat-trick and Messi one. So currently Messi is a much weaker goal scorer relative to Ronaldo. Your logic.