Ronaldo Wins European Crown

Wednesday, 3rd December 2008 at 12:10pm

As widely expected, Cristiano Ronaldo became the 4th United player after George Best, Dennis Law and Sir Bobby Charlton to be crowned European Footballer of the year. After a season when he hit peaks of true greatness it is a fair reward for a player who was simply unstoppable for the 2007/2008 campaign, both in the Premier League and in Europe. His only disappointment will have come in Portugal's failure to win Euro 2008, but let's be honest he had to lose something didn't he!

As a Liverpool fan, I have a strong dislike for all things that are associated with Manchester United and Ronaldo is no exception, but I don't believe for a second that there isn't a single member of the Anfield faithful who wouldn't have the Portuguese superstar in Rafa Benitez's first eleven. Forty two goals in a single season would be an incredible achievement for a striker at the very top of his game, but for a midfielder it is a remarkable achievement. Players are widely expected to peak at about 28/29 years of age. Ronaldo is only 23. He has come a long way from his cheeky debut at 18 against Bolton Wanderers with all the tricks but little penetration to become a true world star. This is largely thanks to Sir Alex Ferguson, who knows how to develop young talent and also how to get the best out of players, but also to some of the experienced players around him. Ryan Giggs in particular, got Ronaldo to think less about tricks that looked good but did little and to focus his energies on hurting his opponents, which last season he did to devastating effect.

Ronaldo is never going to be the most popular player in the world. He moans frequently which winds up opposing fans and has been known to dive on numerous occasions. The "wink" captured after Rooney's dismissal in Germany 2006 will never sit well with England fans, but the dislike of Ronaldo is borne out of respect for his ability and the knowledge that he can hurt your side in just a few seconds with the ball at his feet. An overtly confident individual, it is hard to imagine anything phasing the young Portuguese star and even the negative publicity he received over the summer as he pined for a move to Real Madrid did little to dissuade his belief that the United faithful would still love him and so far he has been proved right.

By staying at United (not that he had much say in the matter, Ferguson made that quite clear), he now has the chance to go on and become a true legend of the Old Trafford club. If he had left in the summer, he would have been remembered with fondness but there would have been a bitter aftertaste. He now has the opportunity to go on a become an iconic player for the Red Devils and sit in the same company as Denis Law, Sir Bobby Charlton, George Best and Ryan Giggs and help create a lasting dynasty in the Red half of Manchester as this current Ferguson team looks to evolve even further.

So there you have it, 23 years old with all the talent in the world and the accolades to go with it. It still pains me to say it, but it's something I may have to live with. I read recently that whilst Gerard Houllier was in charge of Liverpool he passed on the opportunity to sign Ronaldo as a sixteen year old, which, if true will be a decision that will come back to haunt Liverpool fans for many years to come. Oh well, I guess we can just dream of a forward line of Torres, Gerrard and Ronaldo...

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