Fernando Santos' side relied heavily on the
Real Madrid forward's goals in qualification
and it's made them dull and one-dimensional
With nearly 150 million followers across
Facebook and Twitter, Cristiano Ronaldo
isn't
just the most popular footballer in the world
– he can claim to be the second-most
popular person on the planet full stop. Only
pop star Katy Perry sits ahead of him in the
social media standings and the next
footballer, Lionel Messi, lags over 60 million
fans behind.
You'd think such a huge fanbase indicates
that Ronaldo provides the excitement to
match his reputation. After all, the Real
Madrid forward's goalscoring record over
the last seven years is unrivalled, and he is
the beating heart of his club and country's
attacks.
But when it came to playing for Portugal in
Euro 2016 qualification, the statistics
suggest Ronaldo isn't able to entertain
neutrals the same way he does in La Liga
fixtures. In fact, focusing their gameplan
around the No.7 has made them one-
dimensional and dull.
Portugal languish in 47th place out of 53
nations in Goal's Thrill List – a ranking of
European national sides powered by Opta
which calculates the excitement of teams
using a shot-based algorithm.
Only four teams going to the Euros –
Ukraine, Albania, Wales and Romania – were
more boring during qualification, according
to the Thrill List, and none of those are
expected to challenge for the trophy. Just
getting out of the group stage will be a
terrific achievement for the quartet, two of
whom had never qualified for the finals
before.
In sharp contrast, Portugal have reached at
least the semi-finals in three of the last four
European Championships. That status as one
of the favourites belies their sleep-inducing
efforts to reach their ninth major
tournament in a row.
Ronaldo missed the first qualifier last year,
in which a shock defeat to Albania cost head
coach Paulo Bento his job. His replacement,
Fernando Santos, then selected the Ballon
d'Or holder in every competitive game until
the final one, when Portugal had already
sealed a spot at Euro 2016.
All seven victories after their initial stumble
were won by just the one goal, highlighting
just how cautious the Seleccao were.
Portugal had 95 shots in their eight Group I
games – compare that meagre figure to
world champions Germany, who registered
nearly double (181) in their 10 qualifiers.
Some of the profligacy on show elsewhere
demonstrated why Portugal struggle – Nani
took 18 shots to get a single goal, and fellow
forward Danny failed to score with all 10 of
his efforts. Without their skipper Ronaldo,
Santos' side tended to look rudderless – as
demonstrated by their friendly defeats to
Euro 2016 rivals Russia and African minnows
Cape Verde Islands, neither of which he was
present for.
“Cristiano always wants more,” Seleccao
veteran Ricardo Carvalho has said of his
superstar team-mate. However, that selfish
streak that runs through Ronaldo – and most
of the best goalscorers in history – has a
tendency to make Portugal predictable. The
Monaco centre-back, capped 86 times by the
Iberians, added ominously: “We expect a lot
from him at Euro 2016.”
Expectation certainly isn't a stranger to an
idol of hundreds of millions, but World Cup
2014's group exit suggested that the three-
time Champions League winner is
shouldering too much pressure alongside
mediocre team-mates. "Any team that has
Ronaldo has to be dependent on Ronaldo,"
coach Fernando Santos said in defence of his
tactics. But whereas Madrid usually have a
Plan B – Karim Benzema or Gareth Bale –
Portugal would be lost without him.
Nobody disputes that Ronaldo is desperate
to win the Euros – the former Manchester
United man said himself that "to win a major
title with the national team would be the
culmination of my career". Desire doesn't
win titles alone, though, and Ronaldo instead
could find himself stranded on the border of
two great Portuguese generations and never
at the core of one. France will certainly
come too soon for most of the Under-21s
who conquered Europe last year.
Worryingly for Portugal and Ronaldo, a one-
man team has never won the European
Championship. Michel Platini scored a
phenomenal nine goals in five games for
France as they triumphed at Euro '84, but he
was part of a legendary midfield that
included Bleus greats Jean Tigana and Alain
Giresse. Ronaldo will have to up his game to
have any hope of making history - his shot
conversion rate of 23 per cent in
qualification was well below Robert
Lewandowski's 38%, and the Poland striker
is facing a similar task of hauling along his
team by the laces of his goalscoring boots.
The closest Ronaldo has come to
international silverware so far was at his
first major finals, Euro 2004, when hosts
Portugal were beaten 1-0 by underdogs
Greece in the final. The winger was just 19 –
the youngest to ever compete in the
tournament's showpiece – when he was
reduced to tears by a team with odds of
100/1 to win the finals before the opening
match.
It's a peculiar twist of fate that, 11 years on,
it is Portugal who could be set to inherit
Greece's mantle as the most boring team of
the Euros.
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