People say he isn't as good because he doesn't "work hard and track back to win the ball back" You all do realize he is an offensive player and is SPECIFICALLY told by Mourinho to conserve his energy and let the other players worry about winning the ball back, right? This is so Cristiano Ronaldo can make full speed sprints at the end of matches when the opposing team is worn down. It's quite effective really. Anyway, don't claim he isn't that good or that it is some kind of flaw just because he does what his coach tells him to do.
Not really Ronaldo's fault that Real's midfield went anonymous. Besides, Real made some good attempts to get back into it, but it became obvious as usual who the ref wanted to win. Ronaldo had a good run, and should have been given a penalty (plus Valdes could have very well been sent off). That moment followed by Villa scoring an offside goal really killed Real's chances to get back into it. Also Marcelo is bad at defending. Oh, and that was Mourinho's chance to lose a game that didn't mean anything, while he tinkered with his squad. Keep in mind Barca beat Inter in the group stages of the CL, and Mourinho completely had his team outclass them when it matters most. Barca are expected those points at Camp Nou, had they lost to Real there, they might as well not even had played the rest of the season. If Real win in Madrid, it may very well mean that it doesn't matter that Barca got some dodgy biased ref calls at Camp Nou(as usual) beat a Real side that was missing some starters
He is not paid to do that. His goal scoring record with Real is incredible. I think the knock on him is that he probably does not get the recognition because he comes across arrogant. Is he? I don't know because I don't really follow him nor do I know him personally. Oh yeah, and the big one; people say he disappears in big games.
Yeah CW that's my point. People act like it's some flaw in his game, when the truth is his coach is telling him to conserve energy in case they need him to make quick sprints at the end of the game. Real have pulled out quite a few results late.
It's not about the tracking back. Messi doesn't do that much tracking back either. But Messi does close down on defenders, limiting their passing options, which helps Barca win the ball back so quick, and sometimes even forces a mistake. I know Ronaldo's main job is to score, energy allocation is important, and obviously Mourinho doesn't want him to be Dirk Kuyt, but I highly doubt Jose tells Ronaldo to walk when Madrid are on defense. The only time he really tries to put pressure on is when he thinks he can score. The real knock on him, is that there are very few things Ronaldo does to help and make his teamates better. The lack of defensive urgencey is just one of the problems. He is basically a forward now, but even in his earlier days at Manchester United when he was an outside midfielder, he wasn't known for this. That is why I have a tendency to believe it is as much about the player than the coach.
Barca play possession football, and Pep admits his team is shaky when they don't have the ball. That's why every Barca player will try whatever they can to get the ball back(including cheap fouls if needed) Real and most teams don't play tika-taka possession football. Have Messi do what he's doing when your team doesn't have 80% possession, and he will find him self getting worn down quickly. For Ronaldo, it's more effective to have him save his energy, and use that energy on the attack, then it is for him to attempt to put pressure on defenders constantly.
There is some validity to that point. But in the WC, even where I though both men underachieved, Messi was still doing more to close down the space. Let me ask you, in what way do you think Ronaldo helps his teammates?
I agree with what you said. But I did not really see people complaint CRoanldo for that per se. In general, I think C.Ronaldo did an "excellent job" in a new league and new team. NOW: the ONLY thing that put C.Ronaldo down is "Portugal NT performance" ! While Messi is getting better (with new coach) I hope to see a new C.Ronaldo in Protuguese jersey roaming/scoring like he did for Real!
Some people struggle with the concept of prioritising a players energy. Not trying to get the ball back is often perceived as "not caring" about the club. Ronaldo's demeanor, both on and off the pitch, re-enforce this stereotypical view.
Ronaldo always talks about hard work and playing for the team in his interviews. This is the club he grew up dreaming of playing for. I'd say his 63 goals in 62 appearances shows how much he cares for this club. Even at times when his teammates are playing poorly, sometimes he just drives them forward by himself. JamesBH11, you say Messi had a bad coach for Argentina, but Portugal had a MUCH worse coach for the WC. Also, Argentina at least played an offensive setup, where as Portugal played a very defensive setup and only had a few attacking players. Hell, Portugal even had players who normally play defender as their midfielders. You say Messi is getting better with new Argentina coach, but did you miss the games Cristiano Ronaldo played with Portugal and their new coach? Ronaldo pretty much demolished Spain by himself, and has played well in every game under the new coach and tactics.
You must be the ONLY one to have said Portugal coach is worse than Maradona! Ask the whole world, even a kid would agree Maradona was the worst coach of last WC. At least C.Ronaldo was still playing his right position for Portugal, but NOT Messi under Maradona Yes I saw both playing under new coaches but I rated Messi still better than C.Ronaldo. SOmetimes , "demolish" the opponents did NOT mean you played better. Example, Robinho or Denilson has always "demolished" some opponents with their tricks but so what, no real output! Here I say ingeneral, not particularly that game vs Spain in which C.Ronaldo was very good.