There are rumors that there is discord within Portugal’s camp and that there is pressure on coach Roberto Martínez to remove Cristiano Ronaldo, but Ronaldo will have another chance to prove his doubts wrong.
Ronaldo has a chance to redeem himself against Uzbekistan (Image: Joao Bravo/Sports Press Photo/Shutterstock)
Roberto Martinez refuses to bow to pressure and will keep his faith in Cristiano Ronaldo as Portugal take on Uzbekistan in a tense World Cup clash.
The debate has raged both inside and outside the Portuguese camp since Ronaldo’s disastrous performance in the opening game against the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Martínez faces constant calls to sack his captain and talisman in favor of recalling Gonzalo Ramos.
But Martínez has no intention of letting his favorite son of the Portugal international go and will give him another chance to prove he is still a player to be reckoned with once the team returns to the scene of the incident in Houston.
Portugal narrowed their ranks around Ronaldo. Martínez, Rubén Diaz and Francisco Conceição all did their best to ignore the crisis and the rumors that Ronaldo was the cause of it.
Portugal’s largest media outlet, Record, staunchly defended Ronaldo while attacking those who criticized him.
Andre Villas-Boas, former Chelsea and Tottenham manager and current Porto president, called for players to remain calm and focus on the bigger goals beyond single-game results.
“Ambitions remain limitless, because we are now in a golden generation,” he said. “Because we want the greatest talent in world football, a man who has given so much to Portugal, who also leaves with the World Cup trophy in his hands, as Messi did in Qatar.”
Given the current evidence, this seems like a courageous decision. Ronaldo’s lackluster performance against Congo came within hours of Lionel Messi’s stunning hat-trick against defending champions Argentina in the opening game.
Ronaldo made matters worse by sneaking down the tunnel, leaving his teammates to thank Portuguese fans at Houston Stadium.
His sister Katia Aveiro then fanned the flames by bluntly, but not inaccurately, criticizing the performance of the entire team for mistreatment of her siblings.
Ronaldo endured a tough night in draws with Portugal and Congo (Image: Leslie Plaza Johnson/Getty Images)
She also liked a social media post criticizing Bruno Fernandes for failing to carry his Manchester United form into the national team.
This sparked rumors that Portugal was embroiled in a civil war, with the players embroiled in a civil war in which Ronaldo and the players turned against each other, while publicly claiming there were no serious problems.
Even among supporters, opinions seemed to be divided. Some placed all or most of the blame for the poor result on Ronaldo, accusing his teammates of feeling pressured to pass to him. However, some say the Portuguese players were not trying hard enough to find Ronaldo.
A three-hour visit to the beach near the team’s Florida home base during the build-up to the game went from just a traditional downtime to a sign that the players were not focused on the task at hand.
Mr Díaz challenged the Portuguese journalist on the story. He also insisted that Ronaldo and other players are used to dealing with criticism and are not distracted by the noise.
Coach Conceição praised the standards Ronaldo continued to set and his goal-scoring ability, but rejected ideas given to Ronaldo simply because of who he is, not because he was a teammate and was in the best position to receive the ball.
Meanwhile, French legend Thierry Henry was among those who accused Ronaldo of playing for himself rather than the team. Well, it all boils down to a date with the midget Uzbek – as Ronaldo tries to prove his doubters wrong.
As he has done countless times before.
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