The Battle For Cristiano Ronaldo’s Soul & Other, Less Significant Club v Country Standoffs.
Who needs actual footballing playoffs when you can just watch the bureaucratic battle that is club v country?
Whilst Portugal v Bosnia – Herzegovina is titillating the football purist and Russia v Slovenia has forced Jonathan Wilson into euphoric bouts of nervous bowels, the real battle lies behind the scenes, in the board rooms, between those who cut the checks and those who require international glory.
The big issue is, of course, Cristiano Ronaldo and that pesky little ankle of his. Yet as ever with international weekends, there is gladiatorial sparring befitting of Rome itself.
(Mostly because Roma’s involved.)
The Portuguese Man O’Oil has been out since September after taking a hit to the ankle against Marseille. What would’ve been a standard few weeks off turned into an affair when, against the wishes of the great Real Madrid, he played in Portugal’s must-win against Hungary. As is always the case, he reinjured the ankle and has been unable to feature for the team which cuts those boffo paychecks weekly.
Understandably, Real do not want him to feature in the playoff against Bosnia & Herzegovina despite Carlos Queroz’s insistence that he spend a few minutes matching goals with Edin Dzeko. They’d rather he spend 90 minutes doing battle for plaudits and points with Lionel Messi at the end of the month during that moderately sized derby something or other.
This one has all the hallmarks of a 15 round epic prizefight, with the decision dependent on the final blow of the final round. And much like that epic title fight, it’ll probably finish with a trip to the hospital, a ruling by judges and plenty of tears from the losing party.
Over in Rome, meanwhile, things are getting truly gladiatorial. Dunga called up both Juan & Doni for the upcoming Brazil friendlies against the likes of Oman and England. Neither played this weekend against Inter, and neither would play next weekend were there a game. So, with both players made of glass anyway, Roma refused to released them for international duties. Brazil refused their refusal. Swords at the ready.
Were this a do-or-die game such as the one instigating the battle for CR9’s soul, it’d be understandable. Were these friendlies directly before the World Cup and necessary for such intangibles as squad integration, it’d be understandable. But there should be some sort of rule which stipulates that players, particularly those like Juan whose hamstrings inexplicably manage to pull themselves at the mere mention of ‘international break’, who are not fully fit for friendlies more than three months from a major tournament cannot play. Call it the Juan Club, Juan Country Rule.
But there is hope, you see. Rafa, polite man that he is, requested to Fabio Capello that an injured Steven Gerrard not be included in those very same friendlies. (The very same Steven Gerrard buzzing about the pitch on my live television feed right now.) Fabio Capello, honorable man that he is, obliged. And they all lived happily ever after.
It can happen. It won’t, but it can.
 |
Soccer Forums | International Results |  |
 |  Travel |
Related Posts
Subscribe
|
Print
|
Share        |
Comments | Add your comment
By Daryl | November 9th, 2009 at 3:33 pm 
Re: Ronaldo, I think he absolutely has to be allowed to play if Portugal think they need him. If it was just a consequence-free friendly like Brazil’s then the club has a point.
But for World Cup playoff? It’s all or nothing. Surely Real Madrid have no case to make here.
By bookmakers | November 9th, 2009 at 4:14 pm He cant play, really, he shouldnt even travel…
By Daryl | November 9th, 2009 at 4:46 pm I guess that’s the other side of the argument. If Ronaldo is not fit enough to contribute anything, then maybe Portugal should just leave well alone.
By Ryan McManus | November 9th, 2009 at 6:13 pm I think given the fact that Real Madrid already got screwed by Portugal, they have a case. Things happen, players get injured, but should Real Madrid never get to play the player they spent a record fee on because he keeps getting injured in international games? I don’t think that’s fair.
Posted from 
United States
By Tommy Wong | November 9th, 2009 at 8:15 pm I can’t help but think that Ronaldo’s ankles might end his career prematurely. He’s a very tall guy for the way he moves and does tricks. He constantly gets kicked out at, and I think his ankles have been bothering him for a while now. I hope he recovers fully, and it’s the end of it, because the world of football is ever-so-slightly less exciting when he’s not on the field week to week.
By Miguel | November 10th, 2009 at 2:26 pm It’s only natural that Portugal wants to see for themselves what the case is with the ankle. We knew he would most likely be unavailable for the first match but some hope remained he would be fit for the second. And then there is the fact you want to hear it from the horses mouth instead of from someone who naturally wants CR away from any match that could hinder his return to a team that desperately needs him. Anyway he was let go this afternoon and is back in Madrid.
Posted from 
Portugal
By Cristiano Ronaldo | November 10th, 2009 at 3:15 pm We are tired of the battle between countries and clubs. FIFA should make a unique worldwide calendar to avoid problems, allowing players to rest many weeks before facing crucial tournaments… I hope Portugal can make it to the World Cup, but we cannot be sure that will happen.
By Pedro | November 11th, 2009 at 7:44 am It’s not REALLY like he “keeps getting injured at international plays”.
He keeps getting kicked everytime he plays, already for some years, and like all he plays far more for club than country.
He’s got a nasty tackle while playing for Real. He played minutes against Hungary after that. It’s very debatable whether that made him worse or not.
And the only think the FPF was asking NOW and Real was denying, was to let the portuguese FPF doctors have their say and evaluate him, while Real was holding CR in Spain.
Arguably one can say CQ really wanted him to play for PT. But the whole thing was cos Real wasn’t letting him leave Spain. Not even to see the match in the stadium, saturday… It might br difficult for Real to understand this concept, but not everything is for sale…
Personaly, and I’ve said this in other posts, I currently prefer PT to play without CR. In the Selecção he’s needing to warm up his ass in the bench. Still, t’s should be crossed and i’s should be dotted. More… FPF and Real already have these things for a long time, in Scolari’s time was the same and there was no CR at Real. We never really hear big stories when it came to ManUtd or other top teams…
Posted from 
Netherlands
By RZ | November 21st, 2009 at 6:43 pm Here is a list of his accomplishments off the field
http://www.muffslap.com/cristiano-ronaldo-girls-dating/
