Former footballer Chris Sutton expressed his view that Ronaldo is hindering rather than helping the Portuguese team at Euro 2024. Ronaldo faced heavy criticism following his performance against Slovenia, with some labeling him selfish for always taking free kicks and showing off.
However, the real issue seems to be coach Roberto Martinez’s surprising lack of bravery, standing passively with his arms crossed in the technical area.
Martinez seemed afraid of eliminating Ronaldo, even though he was given full authority to make professional decisions and arrange personnel on the Portugal team.
A manager must realize that when a player does not benefit the team, no matter who they are, they must courageously make a decision.
No one denies Ronaldo’s great career. But on the night of July 1, he was like a child who brought a ball to the park and, when bored, stuffed it into his sweater and went home, not letting anyone else play with him.
It was a performance full of selfishness. It was even more embarrassing when Ronaldo missed a penalty kick in extra time, while Bruno Fernandes just stood there watching.
Tears after CR7’s unsuccessful penalty are proof that pressure can affect even the most outstanding players.
In the end, Ronaldo also scored an accurate 11m, contributing with Diogo Costa to bring Portugal to the quarterfinals after the penalty shootout. But to be fair, the Al-Nassr striker is hindering the team rather than helping. Of course, coach Roberto Martinez bears part of the responsibility.
He has Goncalo Ramos, who scored a hat-trick against Switzerland in a 6-1 victory at the 2022 World Cup, when previous coach Fernando Santos decided to push Ronaldo to the bench.
He has Diogo Jota, who has an impressive scoring performance, recently scoring a penalty against Slovenia. In addition, Joao Felix is very eager to express himself.
Roberto Martinez does not want to eliminate Ronaldo, showing even more weakness on the coaching bench.
