Cristiano Ronaldo hits the field during the Portugal vs. Poland match on Wednesday (February 29) in Warsaw, Poland.
The 27-year-old Real Madrid star spoke to reporters after the game ended in a 0-0 draw.
“We have to have ambition, both in football and in life, to always be
the best. We will go to Euro 2012 with the ambition to win,” said Cristiano.
“We know it will be difficult, but we have to think logically. The
group stage will be difficult, but nothing is impossible,” he added. “I
hope people come to the stadiums and assist us, as it was in 2004 –
putting flags on homes, chantings songs of encouragement for us. We are
all pulling in the same direction.”
Record-breaking goal-machine Cristiano Ronaldo is at the peak of his
career but the world's most expensive player still has one unfulfilled
ambition - to win a major international trophy for Portugal.
The
27-year-old Real Madrid forward's trickery, pace and ferocious shots
will be a highlight for soccer lovers at Euro 2012 where he hopes to
captain his country to a long-awaited success.
Like his nemesis,
Argentine Lionel Messi of Barcelona, Ronaldo has chronically
underperformed at international tournament finals.
His
determination to do well will be stronger than ever after Real Madrid's
failure in the Champions League this season despite their almost certain
title success in La Liga.
At Euro 2004, when Portugal still
relied on the declining powers of Luis Figo and Rui Costa, Ronaldo came
agonisingly close to glory but Greece shocked the hosts in the final.
A
young Ronaldo was left in tears and, though he was picked for the team
of the tournament, he scored only twice. If that was a personal
disappointment, it was deepened in the three major tournaments that
followed when he scored just once at Euro 2008 and at the World Cup
finals in Germany and South Africa.
His critics say this is the
main reason that Ronaldo, like Messi, cannot be compared to past greats
like Pele, Diego Maradona or Eusebio, all of whom are remembered for
stunning tournament performances.
"Cristiano has always had a lot of responsibility since he was 18," Madrid and Portugal team mate Pepe has said.
"People
put a lot of pressure on him. The squad needs to give support to
Cristiano so Cristiano can be calm and play his football."
Ronaldo's club record with Manchester United and Real Madrid speaks for itself.
Last
year he added Spain's Copa del Rey to his Premier League, Champions
League and FA Cup titles at United. This year he hopes he can add La
Liga to that list as Madrid fend off Barcelona.
He won the FIFA World Player of the Year award in 2008 and two European Golden
Boot trophies, including last season when he grabbed 40 league goals, a
figure already surpassed this term with 43, exactly the same total as
Messi.
GOAL MACHINE
His success is as much a product of his own hard work as his talent as he has improved himself, and his goal ratio, steadily.
He
is close to averaging a goal in each game during the last two and a
half seasons at Real Madrid compared to 0.5 goals per game in six
seasons at United where he developed from a winger into an all-round
striker.
For Portugal coach Paulo Bento one key task will be to bring out the best in Ronaldo, enabling him to repeat his club form.
Since
succeeding Carlos Queiroz in September, 2010, he appears to have found
the right approach to this challenge, Ronaldo's form for Portugal having
improved along with his integration into the team.
Ronaldo was
Portugal's top scorer in the qualifiers and it was one of his trademark
tomahawk free kicks that inspired a memorable 6-2 aggregate victory over
Bosnia to secure their passage to the finals.
His combination of
speed and stepovers may be thrilling, but it will be his part in
Portugal's collective effort that matters as they bid for success.
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