HAMBURG, Germany With his hands on his hips, his lips pursed, and his gaze fixed on the Portuguese crowd behind the goal, Cristiano Ronaldo stood surrounded by his teammates.
Leading the cheers were Rúben Dias and Nuno Mendes, the fighters who had stopped France's Kylian Mbappé. After joining in, Ronaldo turned to embrace Pepe, his partner in many fights, the elder brother who was about to have his curtain call at 41 years old. Ronaldo whispered in Pepe's ear as he sobbed.
Ronaldo appeared to be disappointed at that moment, much like the rest of his Portugal teammates. He didn't resemble GOAT contender Cristiano Ronaldo. We may have a different story if Portugal manager Roberto Martinez had noticed this earlier.
With the exception of the final 25 minutes against Georgia, it appeared as though Martinez was more focused on providing Ronaldo with the best chance to write another amazing chapter in his illustrious career than he was on giving Portugal the best chance to win this tournament.
The numbers are ruthless and icy. Ronaldo attempted the second-highest number of shots throughout this tournament of any player who has failed to score in the Euros since the group stage format was instituted in 1980. His 3.51 predicted goals without a goal are the highest since 1980 in a major men's event.
Perhaps Martinez saw this, thought back to the five World Cups and five European Championships that Ronaldo had been in, and thought to himself, "Hey, he's clearly due." That man is akin to the one who places a wager on the Washington Generals defeating the Harlem Globetrotters on the grounds that "they're due."
It's true that Ronaldo was coming off of a successful Saudi Pro League season, and regression to the mean does occur. It's also plausible that, with time, he would have caught up to his XG. But timing is crucial. You make a mistake in this knockout tournament, and there's no turning back. Even the greatest of all time have off-seasons.
Furthermore, Martinez's eyes and brain were telling him—or ought to have been telling him—something more than just the statistics.
Indeed, he had constructed a system around Ronaldo that made the most of his advantages and did a good job of hiding his disadvantages. There was always a speedster available for the "out ball" if necessary since Rafael Leão, who plays on the left wing, stayed high while Portugal defended. It was allowed for Bruno Fernandes to shadow into the box, thus acting as a second striker. João Cancelo and Bernardo Silva would provide crosses from the right. Even the corner kicks that saw Ronaldo and Pepe tying up the opposition center backs appeared to be made just for him.
It worked in qualifying; in fact, Portugal created the better opportunities and it worked against France for the majority of the match (although this may have been largely due to Didier Deschamps' prudence). However, Martinez must have seen eventually how much Ronaldo's inability to move out of possession was hurting his midfield and how many chances he was missing to score.
Ronaldo might have realized it as well. Francisco Conceição cut it back for himself at the near post after tearing past an opponent early in the first extra time period. A calm Ronaldo would have met the ball and headed it into the upper corner when he was younger. It went over the bar like a sail with old Ronaldo.
A few moments afterward, he suddenly went on an all-out manic press spree, conjuring up energy from the ether and lunging toward Dayot Upamecano, who easily shrugged him off and booted the ball away. Ronaldo would have reached the ball ahead of Upamecano, whirled around him, and buried it beyond Mike Maignan in the old days. Furthermore, rather than the other way around, Upamecano would have bounced off him in the improbable event that they arrived at the same time.
But in the words of "The Wire"'s Slim Charles, "the thing about the old days is... they the old days."
The peculiar aspect of this situation is that there was already one boil that was lanced. Just eighteen months prior, during the World Cup in Qatar, Ronaldo had been benched by Martinez's predecessor, Fernando Santos, for the knockout stages. Why couldn't Martinez succeed if Santos, the Portuguese coach for eight years, including during Ronaldo's prime, could? Santos stood beside him during their first (and only) major tournament victory at Euro 2016 (with Ronaldo, who had been injured in the final, standing next to him like an assistant coach).
especially in light of Martinez's personal history. He is not Portuguese, and he was not raised in the psychodrama of Ronaldo as the savior. As a manager and player, he learned his lessons the hard way and is an educated coach. He was the outsider who was brought in to provide a different viewpoint.
Rather, he appeared to be a guy who had drunk Kool-Aid. It appeared like Martinez was keen on not just getting over France, but also doing it with Ronaldo in the lead on a night when Portugal were the better team—and credit for that has to go to Martinez too, since he was outcoaching Deschamps and his usual counterattacking schtick.
Did he not think Diogo Jota or Gonçalo Ramos could take him off the bench, even for a little period of time? Did he feel that Ronaldo deserved a chance to make up for his missed penalty and missed opportunity against Slovenia? If that's the case, it gets worse.
mainly because Ronaldo's 120 minutes of play in that Slovenian match should have served as a warning about what can happen to a 39-year-old player who is fatigued. Ronaldo doesn't need anyone to give him anything, much less a chance at atonement, which is the main reason for this. He's well beyond that, considering all he has accomplished.
Was he expecting Ronaldo to signal to the bench and say "Boss, I'm exhausted, it's not happening for me today, let's make a change?" That would be delusional. Elite athletes thrive on self-confidence and self-belief. Ronaldo spews it from every pore. Expecting him to take himself out of the game is just silly.
In contrast, Mbappé, who scored his first-ever European Championship goal vs. Poland via a penalty, asked to be substituted after feeling too tired to continue in extra time.
Portugal is still in the Euros despite Ronaldo's 120-minute performance. Let's get this clear. João Félix's penalty against the post allowed everyone else to score, and that's why they lost on penalties. Additionally, they failed to convert every opportunity they had, starting with Leão in the first half and continuing through Fernandes, Vitinha, and Mendes at the very end of extra time, after the break.
However, the manner they ended this European Championship leaves one with a bitter taste and a strong impression that Martinez had tunnel vision, thinking that centering Ronaldo would somehow protect his reputation.
Ronaldo's reputation is safe. It is not in need of preservation. Portugal would have advanced to the semifinals if Martinez had recognized it sooner and had treated him like any other player, as he did at the end when he was cheering on the supporters and comforting his teammates.
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