At the age of 39 (Ronaldo turned 39 in February, currently 39 years and 130 days old), the captain of the Portuguese team will participate in his 6th Euro finals when he steps onto the field in Germany this year. This is a record, but it is also something that makes Ronaldo subject to criticism.
Many people believe that the Portuguese superstar is very “power-hungry”, “loves vanity”, and that his presence in the A Selecao das Quinas squad will create pressure and “block his path to development”. development” of young players.
However, coach Roberto Martinez still needs the Madeira Warriors in the upcoming German Campaign. The 50-year-old Spanish coach (only started being associated with the Portuguese team in early 2023, after leaving the Belgian team) gave explanations…
“When talking about Ronaldo, I think, we better talk about statistics. A player who has scored 42 goals/41 matches for his club shows continuity, physical fitness and quality in front of goal, something we really like and need.”
Of course, if talking about Ronaldo (as well as Lionel Messi), statistics are always out of date. This player born in 1985 has played 206 times for the team, scoring 128 goals. At the club level alone, he scored 33 goals and assisted 11 goals for Al Nassr in the Saudi Pro League last season.
However, what people are always skeptical about is: Ronaldo likes to chase records. And for that reason, there is a view that he always “beautifies” his profile at all costs by… winning penalty kicks, asking his teammates to always pass the ball to him (!? ?).
But coach Martinez continued to explain to Goal: “We do not make squad selections based on where the players are playing. We want to create the best team and have summoned 26 players to create such a best team.”
“We followed the players’ individual performances and their roles in the dressing room. There are players whose role is secondary in the dressing room and other players whose importance in the dressing room is less. We have had a lot of information since March 2023 until now.”
By calling Ronaldo, the Portuguese team also called up more strikers to play in Euro 2024. In addition to the 39-year-old superstar, coach Martinez also called Bernardo Silva, Diogo Jota, Francisco Conceicao, Goncalo Ramos, and Joao Felix. , then Pedro Neto and Rafael Leao.
Before the Euro takes place, Portugal will have two final preparation matches against Finland, Croatia and Ireland in June. After that, they will play against the Czech Republic (June 18), Turkey respectively. (22-6) and Georgia (26-6) in Group F
