Thierry Henry is probably the best foreigner to ever serve as prime minister and he is definitely the most exciting. He scored many great goals and even more crucial goals for Arsenal as they became the top scorer in club history.
The first major criticism made of him that has ruined his career is his tendency to miss out on big games. He has done it so many times for Arsenal and France and at Barcelona, most of his good performances and there have not been many have been against weak rivals.
The first time I saw Ronaldo in action was when he walked in for his Manchester United debut against Bolton Wanderers and his impact was immediate and incredible. I was so impressed that I called a friend of mine, who is an avid United supporter, to tell him that a star was indeed born.
Even though Ronaldo had his critics in England with many people saying that he looks too much and his case was style over substance, I never felt this was true as I have always been a fan of those players who bring something more to the game. playing field.
He impressed not only against modest opposition, but, as he demonstrated with Portugal at Euro2004, he was quite capable of taking up the mantle of Luis Figo and producing excellent exhibits regardless of the opposition.
This trend continued until the 2006 World Cup, where he was impressive before Kahlid Boulahrouz of the Netherlands brutally kicked him in the thigh.
Then came the 2006/2007 season in which he conquered everything that lay ahead and I was totally convinced that he was the best player in the world with magnificent performances in the league and his performances against Roma, especially in the first leg. , when United played. 10 men, they were just excellent. He then started to change a bit as he was ineffective against AC Milan in the semi-finals, but I attribute that to the amount of respect Milan paid him by putting Gennaro Gattuso on his case.
He continued with that in the FA Cup final against Chelsea, but I put it down to exhaustion and gave him the benefit of the doubt. But I started to be skeptical this season because even though he has scored 30 notable goals in his last 31 games for United, Ronaldo has been anonymous in all the big names this season.
He was not as effective against Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool and in the Champions League he was invisible against Lyon in both heats.
His critics have long said that he only performs well against modest opponents, but before this season, he did not believe it, as he always played well for Portugal and looked like their leader.
To be the best in the world, you have to show up in the big games and, as Thierry Henry discovered at his expense, you don’t win the individual grand prizes by being the Premiership big shot shining against modest defenses and then disappearing onto the field. great occasions.
Let’s face it, even if the premier league is the most popular and most watched league in the world, it’s the really big games that fans are glued to their TV to watch and not everyone would be as interested in Manchester United versus Sunderland as partial. observers, so if Ronaldo or Henry before him do not shine in the big televised games, it is not surprising that the best European and world footballer of the year does not win.
Ronaldo may have to go to Spain or Italy to prove his worth playing against much tougher defenders than he faces in the Premier. You also need to leave to become a better player. Players like AC Milan’s Kaká find defending in the Champions League much easier than in Serie A, as his Champions League goals attest.
It would be a great shame if Ronaldo was seen as a player who only shines against weak opponents, as he is so much better than that.