Cristiano Ronaldo’s face was stone cold when he led his team onto the pitch of the National Stadium in Brasilia named after legend Garrincha. He left the pitch in the same mood. The only difference was that there was a glimpse of hope in the beginning but at the end there was frustration.
The Fifa world player of the year failed to steer Portugal to the second round of the World Cup and now has to experience the agony of seeing his rivals Lionel Messi and Neymar shining for their respective countries.
Ronaldo probably knew his destination as he commented beforehand that his team was an average one and Portugal did not produce any electrical performances till date to change that tag. He might have taken his team through the rigours of the qualifers but failed to spark in the ultimate stage.
In Portugal’s final Group G game against Ghana, Ronaldo was not trying anything special. He simply appeared confident, was willing to wait for his chances and started in his favourite left flank as Portugal tactician Paulo Bento deployed a 4-3-3 formation.
His first touch was a typical inside-out movement and a quick sidefooter to his attacking partner Eder. Ronaldo did not show much frustration when his cross-cum-shot kissed the Nigerian crosspiece but wore a demoralised look after seeing his powerful header from a Joao Pereira cross from the right flank cleared to safety with a reflex save by the Ghanaian goalkeeper Fatawu Dauda in the 19th minute.
He was quite at ease when Dauda fisted away his free kick for a corner earlier.
Ronaldo’s excitement though was clearly evident when Portugal went ahead courtesy an own goal by John Boye.
Only a flurry of goals coupled with a defeat for USA against Germany would have been enough for Portugal to progress to the round of 16.
And so Ronaldo ran inside the post in desperation and collected the ball before kicking it towards the centre spot. Whilst doing this, a Ghanaian defender was seen hurling some words towards him.
Although Ronaldo was also involved in some defending acts when Ghana earned a series of corners in both the flanks, he was never seen in the commanding role that he was duly expected to take up as the captain of the team.
It was clear that Ronaldo failed to transform his club form to the national frontier.
Who knows if he was suffering from the after-effects of his latest injury. He skipped training more than once and a Spanish newspaper claimed that the doctors advised him not to take part in the World Cup in fear of aggravating the injury further.
Ronaldo has so far scored only three goals in the three World Cups he has participated in. Three goals in 14 matches does not do justice to his extraordinary talents. In 2006 against Iran, he scored from the penalty spot in a 2-0 win. In 2010 against North Korea, it was the sixth goal in a 7-0 rout and on Thursday his left-footed winner came courtesy of the suicidal effort of the Ghanaian goalie.
With very little time to go to the end of the game and with Portugal requiring more goals to go through as USA were losing 1-0 to Germany, Ronaldo did not celebrate the strike as he stood firm before his teammates surrounded him.
After the final whistle was blown, it was Germany and USA who went through as their game ended in a 1-0 loss for the Americans. And despite Portugal’s 2-1 victory over the Black Stars, the Iberian side’s run ended in the group stage.
Ronaldo took off his captain’s armband from the left hand, waved it in the air and was staring towards the bright blue sky. He is 29 now and will be 33 in the next World Cup in Russia. Is it then the last World Cup for the lad who grew up in the modest surroundings of Madeira? A burning question indeed that can only be answered with the passage of time.
