Cristiano Ronaldo: Legend and Limitation for Portugal – Martinez Continues at the Star’s Side

Cristiano Ronaldo was greeted with boos by Colombian fans in Miami. The flight time from Bogotá to Miami is more or less the same as New York. The proximity to home, plus the Colombian diaspora living in Florida, helped make the Group K decider against Portugal the most coveted of the group stage. Ronaldo was another factor; the main attraction for the Portuguese and their millions of followers. Except when he came in to warm up and his face appeared on the big screen, the boos reverberated around the stadium. It was as if Colombia were playing at home.

Coach Martinez can count on one of the best midfields in the tournament. When he spared Joao Neves from the start, he placed his namesake, Ruben, alongside Vitinha. Vitinha finished the match with a pass completion rate of 100%. Portugal's best player on the night was goalkeeper Diogo Costa, who was voted man of the match. Colombia attempted 24 shots, their most in a World Cup, surpassing the 23 they had against the United States in 1994. Had it not been for Costa and assistant referee Andrew Lindsay, who, arguably, made the best call of any referee in this tournament when realizing that Davinson Sanchez's added-time goal was, in fact, offside due to a big toe, Portugal would have lost.


For Martinez, the fact that Colombia finished first in the group is not a big problem, even if it means that Portugal will now have to face Croatia in the round of 32 instead of Ghana, and, hypothetically, Spain instead of Switzerland or Algeria. The coach suggested that he used the group stage as preparation for the knockout stages. He made half-time substitutions in each game, using 22 members of his squad, rotating all but one. Ronaldo played every minute. Against Colombia, he was in an offside position in his best chances. He didn't drop back to help with the defense, he just started running when a corner needed to be saved. His first action after initial hydration was to lose the ball. A look-alike in full kit was waiting for him at the side of the tunnel before kick-off. At the end of the match, an influencer in the mixed zone extended his hand for a greeting. When Ronaldo arrived and reciprocated, the influencer collapsed on the floor and started crying. For some, it is difficult to distinguish whether Martinez is a coach or one of these people.

He continues to support Ronaldo, not just because he scored twice against Uzbekistan in the second group match, but because the memories of last summer, when the now 41-year-old scored against Germany and Spain in the UEFA Nations League semi-final and final, are still fresh. Asked if he thought about resting Ronaldo here, Martinez was unequivocal. “Obviously we don't compare players on our team with others to make decisions,” he said. "That would be quite childish and very unethical. I can say that we monitor all the information we receive live during games and obviously what we do between training sessions. There is always an opportunity. Today, we used the energy of Joao Neves for 45 minutes and Ruben Neves for 45 minutes. We used Diogo Dalot and Joao Cancelo. It's more about being mentally strong and always disciplined in your position, making room for ouroffensive patterns. Therefore, there is no physical or mental problem for Cristiano in today's match to play the 90 minutes. Maybe in the next game we need to make a change, but that's like any other player. We follow the information.” Nobody was singing that at Hard Rock. There was no clamor for Goncalo Ramos, the only striker on Portugal's bench, to replace Ronaldo. Four years ago, at the previous World Cup in Qatar, Ramos appeared to have retired Ronaldo from international football. This week, Milan broke their club record to sign him, committing to an even bigger fee. Although he is now a double Champions League winner, Ramos was not exactly a protagonist in those victories, even though he scored PSG's first penalty in the shootout that decided the final against Arsenal in May. This week, Milan broke their club record to sign him, committing to an even bigger fee. In this tournament, Ronaldo continues to oscillate between legend and limitation amid a lack of competition or serious consideration from Martinez regarding the other option he has at his disposal. The Spanish coach promised to review Portugal's group stage performances and make the necessary adjustments as the knockout stages begin. For now, if you were to bet on one of these two sides to go further in the competition, I would listen to the Hard Rock fans.

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