Cristiano Ronaldo out, Goncalo Ramos in: This change from coach Fernando Santos was instrumental in Portugal's furious 6-1 World Cup Round of 16 win over Switzerland. Youngster Ramos scores three times and is celebrated, superstar Ronaldo is silent.
A video is circulating on Twitter that best summarizes Cristiano Ronaldo's situation. When his enthusiastic teammates beat Switzerland 6-1 in the World Cup round of 16, they celebrated with the fans in front of the curve - without Ronaldo. After all - that's also part of the truth - he cheered ecstatically at the goals. But not at the end, when he hurriedly made his way to the dressing room. Nothing was known about a possible engagement in the catacombs. Tuesday night was one that Ronaldo personally ran counter to. The 37-year-old had not contributed to the moment of glory of his national team. Even the opposite was the case: The great hour was (only?) possible because the superstar did not play until the 74th minute.
By that minute things had settled on the field. With 5:1, the Portuguese turned relaxed into the home stretch when Ronaldo was finally allowed onto the field. The stadium grotesquely grotesquely (as colleague Stephan Uersfeld wrote here), but the team didn't need the ailing superstar. Because she had Goncalo Ramos. The 21-year-old could well be the next big thing in Portuguese football. FC Bayern, among others, should be interested. A talent with a big body, an even bigger finish - and a lot of self-confidence.
After 74 minutes, a three-pack was in his vita. He has scored four goals in four international matches. But much more impressive than the stats was the way Ramos played that game. Always playable, always dangerous - the shadow he had to step out of seemed so surprisingly small. Ramos got Ronaldo's place. For sporting reasons, as national coach Fernando Santos was keen to understand. After the angry departure of his superstar when substituted in the group final against South Korea, it was speculated that there could also be disciplinary reasons for the decision. "I select the players who best suit my strategy," said the coach, praising his young striker for his dynamism, tackling ability and goal-getting ability.
Ramos himself, who is having a strong season at Benfica under German coach Roger Schmidt and only made his senior national team debut shortly before the World Cup, doesn't want to worry about ousting Ronaldo permanently. "We don't have to take today's result into account in the next game," said the 21-year-old, for whom a dream had come true: "Not even in my wildest dreams did I think that I would be in a World Cup competition. o. round would be in the starting XI."
Well, so be it. Santos does well to boil things down to the sporty. The Portuguese don't need an ego debate about the superstar. And on the core business level, the coach has a number of arguments in its favour. Ronaldo has not played a good tournament so far. The footballing decline of the 37-year-old continued at the World Cup even after his time at Manchester United, which culminated in a tough interview bill and resulted in the separation. Ronaldo is desperate for his ninth World Cup goal, which would put him on a par with the legend Eusebio, and for bonding with his team.
However, it plays better anyway, more fluidly, more unleashed. Things that you could not have imagined in the past decade and a half. But also things that had announced themselves. During the last international matches before the World Cup, the actually forbidden question was raised at home as to whether the national team would not be better off if Ronaldo was no longer a regular. Tuesday night at Lusail Iconic Stadium impressively answered that question. But as clear as the situation is now, it is explosive for Santos. Because there really is no way back. And how does the superstar's ego take it? His fits of rage in recent months after substitutions or denied substitutions raise at least slight doubts as to whether team loyalty is paramount.
Definitely on Instagram, where Ronaldo has been living a parallel life for years: "An incredible day for Portugal with a historic result," he wrote that night. The selection has excellent talent and young players, one can only congratulate her on that. "The dream is alive." that of his country. And of course his own. The world championship title is still missing in an otherwise almost complete trophy collection. And nothing would make Ronaldo, currently without a club (who might be moving to Saudi Arabia and signing a monster deal there) and his career any bigger should he deliver crucial moments along the way. Perhaps the last for the Seleção, for which he played 195 times and scored 115.
For now, Santos strives for emotional warmth. He confidently avoided the question of whether a new section in the national team was about to begin. "We have to see that," said the 68-year-old. "I have a very close relationship with him. But we are coaches and players. I told him he was a very important player, he knows that." And even the team that Ronaldo led for years sought words of support for the ailing legend. "It's not easy for any player to be on the bench," said Bruno Fernandes. "But the most important thing is the answer he gave when he came in. He helped the team." Ronaldo apparently saw it differently. He went - and said nothing.
