Ronaldo and Co lose Portugal the crowd
Posted by DavidM in Portugal, Ronaldo, World Cup | 7 July 2006
There’s no denying the skill Ronaldo showed again against France. But after his alleged encouragement for the referee to red-card Rooney and a disgraceful dive in the French penalty area, it’s no surprise the crowd whistled whenever he touched the ball.
France were the favourites on paper but have had a lacklustre tournament and were there for the taking. Neutral fans often like to back the underdogs and Portugal could have expected to have had the support of most non-French fans.
But the fans in the stadium and watching on TV didn’t seem so much pro-French as anti-Portuguese, and especially anti-Ronaldo.
He’s always been a confident player but it’s transition into arrogance has been very visible. That’s turned a lot of people off and could yet cause him problems. It’s not wise to try and get a club team-mate sent off in a crucial world cup game (especially if he’s known for having a short fuse). It’s plain stupid to act so arrogantly when taking the winning penalty against a nation whose fans you will be playing in front of every week.
As the game against France went on the Portuguese made it worse – Samuel injured himself with no French player touching him and his team-mates surrounded the ref demanding cards. Ronaldo continued to fall with the slightest breeze and there were numerous innocuous challenges resulting in Portuguese players rolling around in agony.
It would be such a shame if Portugal didn’t have a decent team. Four Portuguese stars have been named in FIFA’s World Cup ‘squad of the tournament’. Notable absences were Ronaldo and any Portuguese strikers – but that’s probably because they didn’t seem to take any to Germany with them.
Portugal have a chance to redeem themselves against Germany. If they don’t, and attempt to cheat their way to third place, the hostility from the German crowd should be something to hear.
