Towards the end of an increasingly frustrating and goalless first half for Portugal against Czechia at Euro 2024, AC Milan winger Rafael Leao looked across the penalty area and aimed a pass at no one in particular.
It was not the first time, in a display of dazzling pace and cunning, that Leao’s final product disappointed him. Even so, Cristiano Ronaldo applauded the idea.
Portugal aimed 18 centers into the area during the first half. At the beginning of the second, Bernardo Silva pushed his marker back into the Czech area. Manchester City’s playmaker uncharacteristically took the selfish option, going into the far top corner and missing completely.
At the far post, Ronaldo grimaced briefly before offering more applause.
It seemed time to offer a penny for the thoughts of Cristiano’s former Euro 2016 teammates, a team he propelled to glory with a steady stream of goals and regular verbal attacks on Ricardo Quaresma and Nani. Cedric Soares had it worse than those attackers, as Ronaldo repeatedly lashed out at him during the 0-0 group stage draw against Austria in Paris. CR7 missed a penalty, the Austrian fans chanted “Messi” all night and poor Cedric took the brunt of it.
But that was a very different Portugal. Under veteran coach Fernando Santos, Ronaldo was the talismanic figure. The alpha and the omega with a little more alpha added for good measure. When it worked, everyone got ready for the trip and when it didn’t, existential angst was the order of the day.
As the Santos era came to an end at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Ronaldo’s record-breaking international career appeared to be dying out. He was replaced by Gonçalo Ramos, who scored a hat-trick in the 6-1 thrashing of Switzerland before Morocco ousted the Selecao.
The appointment of Roberto Martínez, a coach who values an expansive and collective attacking approach, did not exactly improve the mood. But the former Belgian coach retained Ronaldo despite his move to the Saudi Pro League and scored 10 goals in a dominant Euro 2024 qualifying campaign.
Portugal Euro 2024 tactics with Cristiano Ronaldo
This is perhaps a vague and inevitable comparison, but the two will be linked for eternity, so let’s move on. Martínez’s management of Ronaldo’s international autumn echoes the stellar work Lionel Scaloni has done with Argentina for Lionel Messi.
During their peak years, asking Messi and Ronaldo to be superheroes in every game produced mixed results for international teams that were not as formidably complete as the Barcelona and Real Madrid teams that underpinned each man’s day-to-day work.
As these champion players shine and decline with age, the question is simple: What can they do even better than everyone else, and what should we do for them? With Argentina, Messi is surrounded by Julián Álvarez, Rodrigo de Paul and Alexis Mac Allister pressing like crazy. It means he runs less and sees the ball higher up the field more.
During Tuesday’s emphatic 2-1 victory over the Czech Republic in Leipzig, we saw what Martínez’s version of this is like. Firing crosses into the box for his sneak goal was part of the plan. However, the effectiveness of this depended on the phase of the game.
If Portugal were testing a packed Czech defense, a searching ball to Ronaldo was a good way to spread panic, never more so than when he met Joao Cancelo’s deep ball from the right with a trademark leap. The ball bounced off the post and Diogo Jota converted, but Ronaldo’s new opponent (semi-automatic offside) saved Ivan Hasek’s team.
However, in the type of counterattack in which Ronaldo terrorized his opponents during his breakthrough at Manchester United and his heyday at Real Madrid, he typically stayed back and saw crosses aimed at his teammates or out in the open.
At 39 years old, 40-yard sprints are understandably not his strong suit. Within a couple of yards, Ronaldo remains as sharp as they come. He was at his best on Tuesday operating within the width of the penalty area, taking advantage of passes from Cancelo and Bruno Fernandes to make precise saves from Jindrich Stanek.
On the other hand, when he ventured to Leao’s flank to try out some of his old moves before handing anything into the box, it felt a little like Hans Moleman dressing up as Bart Simpson and saying “Cowabunga Dudes.” As expected after an opening match, there are things to smooth out.
Overall, however, there were more positives than negatives about Ronaldo’s performance in his record-setting sixth European Championship. Portugal had to be patient and his new placidity helped that. It’s easy to stay calm when players like Diogo Jota and eventual match winner Francisco Conceicao are on the bench as reserves.
Conceicao was 18 months old when Ronaldo appeared at Euro 2004, shortly after having replaced his father Sergio Conceicao as Portugal’s right winger. Without the plays and tricks, but also without the latent anger, Ronaldo showed that he can still be an asset for his country.
