Ronaldo’s century

Ronaldo’s century

Cristiano Ronaldo’s claim to greatness has never been in question. His halo is brighter than ever, now that he has become the first player with a century of goals in the prestigious Champions League competition. It’s an incredible personal achievement. When you weave in the significance of the goals, it’s an even more glittering feat — 44 of those goals have come in knockouts, including 10 in semi-finals and two in the four finals he has featured in.
While the Portuguese has pipped his great rival Lionel Messi to this landmark, this is not the time for the “who’s the best player” debate, which shall continue to rage. Ronaldo’s Champions League career can be divided into two halves: The Manchester United sojourn and the Real Madrid days. With United, he scored 16 goals in 55 matches, that is, one goal in nearly three games. With Real Madrid, he has netted a whopping 84 goals in 87 outings. He took both those clubs to Champions League glory, but it was in Madrid rather than Manchester that the legend of Ronaldo was born and propagated. At Old Trafford, he was a spectacularly gifted, though at times erratic, wunderkind. At Santiago Bernabeu, he has been a relentless goal machine.
Tellingly, Ronaldo has sustained this goal-scoring habit, despite losing some of his power and speed over the years. From a left winger to an out-and-out striker, he has now evolved into the best penalty box player in world football, thus extending his playing career at the highest level. His twin strikes against Bayern Munich testified to his poaching skills rather than his dribbling verve. Under coach Zinedine Zidane, he has showed considerable positional flexibility too. These days, from wide on the left side, he frequently cuts in to create chances. At times, he is deployed in the conventional number nine role. For Portugal, he remains an out-and-out striker as it maximises his incredible aerial ability. At 32, Ronaldo is in the autumn of his career. But the sharpening of cerebral powers, even as his physical prowess wanes, will continue to make him a lethal proposition.