Cristiano Ronaldo cannot rage forever against the dying of the light

For a moment it seemed as if Cristiano Ronaldo was on the verge of tears. Then, suddenly, no, he was over the edge. The floodgates had opened and he was now crying. In front of a large crowd in Frankfurt and a huge global television audience, perhaps the world’s most famous athlete was in tears.

And there was still a game to win, to secure a place in the Euro 2024 quarter-finals.

It was amazing to witness that. The Portugal captain had endured another frustrating evening, still chasing his first goal of the tournament, and having been given the chance to break the Slovenian resistance, he had seen a penalty brilliantly saved by goalkeeper Jan Oblak. The tension and fear that had been building inside him suddenly boiled over.

Ronaldo had missed penalties before, sometimes in high-pressure conditions. He had cried on the field before: tears of sorrow, tears of joy. But this was different because the game wasn’t finished yet. At the age of 39, playing in what he believes will be his last European championship, he was crying not for a lost match but, it seemed, for the waning of his strength. They resembled the tears of a matinee idol who realizes he is facing his final curtain.

For once, he looked so vulnerable, so fallible, so… human. As the Portuguese players huddled together at halftime in extra time, they looked up and saw what appeared to be a broken man. One by one they tried to raise him. His former Manchester United teammates Bruno Fernandes and Diogo Dalot grabbed him, as if to remind him who he was – who he still is. Fulham midfielder Joao Palhinha and Manchester City defender Ruben Dias did the same.

Remarkably, Portuguese coach Roberto Martinez kept him out given the circumstances. Ronaldo looked ready. He barely touched the ball for the rest of extra time as Slovenia, for the first time all evening, looked more likely to take the win.

It came down to a penalty shootout. What if Ronaldo were to miss again?

He didn’t. This time he hit his shot to the other side, Oblak on the right, and looked immensely relieved when the net bulged. That took courage, but there was no bravado in his response. It was not the time for his signature celebration. Instead, he shook his hands apologetically at the Portuguese supporters.

Within three minutes, the Portuguese players and supporters were celebrating the victory. Their goalkeeper Diogo Costa was the hero, saving all three Slovenian kicks, while Ronaldo, Bruno Fernandes and Bernardo Silva converted theirs. It was an extraordinary performance from Costa, who had also made a crucial save late in extra time to deny Slovenian striker Benjamin Sesko. Ronaldo, overcome with relief, hugged and thanked him.

“There was sadness initially – and joy at the end,” the five-time Ballon d’Or winner told Portuguese TV channel RTP afterwards. “That’s what football entails: inexplicable moments from the eighth (minute) to the 80th. That’s what happened today. Have I had a chance to lead the team? I couldn’t do it.”

Ronaldo apologetically celebrates his goal in the shootout (Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

He referred to his penalty record over the course of the season – “I haven’t failed once” – but he must know deep down that there is more than just penalty taking that will be under scrutiny at the 2024 European Championship. Excluding the penalty shootout (as the record books always do), he is yet to score in his four appearances at the tournament. Apart from a penalty against Ghana in Portugal’s opening match at the 2022 World Cup, he has now gone eight games without scoring in a major tournament.

Last season, Ronaldo scored 50 goals in 51 games in all competitions for Al Nassr. He also scored ten goals in nine appearances in the Euro 2024 qualifying campaign, but half of those came against Luxembourg and Liechtenstein. He is the record international goalscorer in men’s football, with a somewhat ridiculous record of 130 goals in 211 appearances – but the highest-ranked teams he has scored against in the last three years are Switzerland (19th), Qatar (35th), Slovakia (45th) and the Republic of Ireland (60th).

Yet he takes so many photos. So many shots – a total of twenty so far in this tournament, which is at least seven more than any other player. So many promising attacks and dangerous free kicks are sacrificed on the altar of self-indulgence. There was one free-kick against Slovenia where, even in a stadium full of die-hard Ronaldo fans, he must have been the only one who thought he would score. Sure enough, his shot sailed well past the far post.

Then there are the shots he can’t make because, as formidable as his physique may seem, his acceleration, speed and power aren’t quite what they used to be. There was a point in the first half when Bernardo Silva drifted in from the right flank and produced what was, for him, a most delightful cross at the far post. Ronaldo jumped but couldn’t reach it and, not for the first time at this tournament, you thought he would have buried such an opportunity in his prime.

But his peak was long ago. Longer ago than he might want to imagine. He won the last of his Ballons d’Or in 2017 and even at that point, at the age of 32, he had become a much more economical player than the unstoppable, unstoppable force of his mid-to-late 20s.

Ronaldo beats Jan Oblak from the spot in the shootout (Harriet Lander – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)

Some will suggest this is a tournament too far for him, but the same was said 18 months ago at the World Cup in Qatar, where he made little impact and ultimately lost his place to Goncalo Ramos. It now feels like two tournaments too far – or two tournaments where Ronaldo might be better used as an option, sometimes coming off the bench and swapping places with Ramos or Diogo Jota, rather than as the fixed point where everything else must be avoided. turn.

It was almost surprising to hear Ronaldo describe this, in the mixed zone after the match, as his last European championship. “But I’m not emotional about that,” he said. “I am moved by everything that football means – by the enthusiasm I have for the game, the enthusiasm to see my supporters, my family, the affection people have for me.

“It’s not about leaving the football world. What else can I do or gain? It will not come down to one point more or one point less. Making people happy is what motivates me the most.”

What else can he do or win? That didn’t sound like Ronaldo, especially considering the scenes we witnessed earlier in the evening. He’s right, of course – his legacy and place among the game’s immortals were secured long ago – but his reaction to that missed penalty was not that of someone who feels immune to the pressure to prove himself again and again.

“He is an example for us,” Martinez said afterwards. “Those emotions (after missing the penalty) were unbelievable. He doesn’t really need to care after the career he’s had and everything he’s accomplished. After missing the penalty, he was the first penalty taker (in the shootout). I was sure he had to be the first and show us the way to victory. The way he responded is an example and we are very proud.”

Nice words, but Martinez has a big decision to make before Portugal’s quarter-final against France in Hamburg on Friday.

Over the years, Ronaldo has often been the player who has pulled a team back from the brink, but on Monday night he looked defeated not only by Oblak’s penalty save, but also by the only opponent to eventually overtake every athlete. : time.

GO DEEPER

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(Top photo: Alex Grimm/Getty Images)