‘OH, THE MOVIE NEVER ENDS …’
When Jorge Jesus replaced Roberto Martínez, the reverse-alchemist of golden generations, as head coach of the Portugal national team, it was thought his appointment could spell the end of Cristiano Ronaldo’s international career. Aged 41 and having selfishly kiboshed his nation’s otherwise excellent chances of winning several recent major tournaments, Ronaldo promptly materialised for the Nations League opener against Wales, vowing to keep holding Portugal back at least until he’d reached the magic number of 1,000 career goals for club and country. “It doesn’t matter if I play tomorrow,” he honked. Still 21 shy of his tally, Ronaldo failed to put a dent in it during his side’s narrow victory and was an unused substitute in their follow-up win against Norway. Having previously stated that he would have no objections to being “rested” by Jesus, Ronaldo flounced out of the Parken Stadium before training on the eve of Thursday’s game against Denmark, having apparently spent the previous two days sulking in a hotel gym with only some kettlebells and squat racks for company.
In a back catalogue of petulance that includes throwing a hack’s microphone in a lake, throwing former Portugal head coach Carlos Queiroz under a bus and throwing his captain’s armband to the ground in a fit of pique, it remains to be seen where the throwing of this tantrum will rank among Ronaldo’s Hall of Famers while representing his country. “In time, I will tell all the Portuguese people the truth,” the five-time Ballon d’Or-winner revealed, having departed on the private jet he had summoned to Copenhagen airport. While Ronaldo clearly thinks, for now at least, his compatriots can’t handle the truth, he is believed to have left following “clear the air” talks between himself, Jesus and Portuguese Football Federation president Pedro Proença that apparently succeeded only in creating an even denser fog. “Preparation for the matches against Denmark and Norway, the latter to be played at the Estádio do Dragão, will continue as planned with the remaining 24 players called up,” droned a federation statement, having confirmed its ageing showpony’s departure.
During media duties conducted shortly before the hissy fit, Jesus denied any suggestion of a rift between himself and a player he had previously coached at Al-Nassr for a year. Suspicion abounds that Ronaldo’s exit may have been related to his coach’s confirmation that his mini-tour of Scandinavia might end with yet another 90 minutes pouting sullenly on the bench. “If I need him, he’ll come on,” Jesus had parped. “If I don’t need him, he won’t.” With Ronaldo no longer available for non-selection, uncertainty prevails over his future (or lack thereof) in a Portugal shirt. It is not yet known whether his teammates greeted news of his latest paddy with sadness, the popping of champagne corks or a combination of both. While his legacy as Portugal’s second-best ever player will no doubt endure, this is hardly the kind of glorious send-off he had envisioned when he won the first of his 233 caps against Kazakhstan 23 years ago. He started on the bench then too.
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QUOTE OF THE DAY
“There is absolutely no reason to pay attention to these people. You won’t get my thoughts on this. I have little time in every day life for idiocy – and even less on social media. The great crux of our lives is that everyone is allowed to express their opinion … it’s insane when something like that exists. The world could learn a thing or two from a sports changing room … There, everyone is respected based on the facts and not discredited based on false opinions. Full stop” – Jürgen Klopp rightly reacts with disgust after being questioned about whether the Germany team he is in the process of forming are “white enough”.
FOOTBALL DAILY LETTERS
It’s easy to criticise the Manchester City owners and senior management (albeit that’s no reason not to), but some of us are old enough to remember when they first came in, revolutionised everything and yet they were still getting flak for not respecting the history of the club. However, turning City into a winning machine for more than a decade, letting everyone think they’re a ‘superclub’ but then having it all ripped away, being told afterwards that none of it actually happened and that they would potentially be relegated would be the greatest act of ‘Cityitis’ in history. So, a doff of the cap to the owners and senior management for an act (well, 114 of them) that even surpasses Steve Lomas holding on to the ball in the corner when they desperately needed a goal to avoid relegation because of duff information” – Noble Francis.
If we could extend the investigated timeline of impact caused by City’s shenanigans, may I suggest that Manchester United be stripped of their 2024 FA Cup? The reasoning being that if The Irrefutables had not been able to so expensively put together a star ensemble, they would not have been able to beat the more noble and honest clubs of English football on their way to the final, who surely would have given a better showing against a disastrous United, who finished eighth in the league. Instead, United would have faced … checks notes … Chelsea. Oh” – Yannick Woudstra.
All this debate regarding what the FA will do in the case of City’s infringements is pointless. True to form it will deduct 10 points from Everton and Forest. Case closed” – Trevor Wastell.
If you have any, please send letters to [email protected]. Today’s prizeless letter o’ the day goes to … Noble Francis. Terms and conditions for our competitions, when we run them, are here.
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