FIFA World Cup: Cristiano Ronaldo still the talk of the town | Football News – Times of India

Ronaldo‘s absence from Portugal‘s starting line-up & his conversation with Santos on the issue dominate proceedings ahead of Morocco clash
DOHA: ‘Conversation’ was the buzzword for Portugal ahead of their quarterfinal against Morocco. And predictably, all conversation revolved around Cristiano Ronaldo and the dialogue his manager Fernando Santos had with his star player and captain.
Joao Felix would squirm in his seat, take a question, essay a reply, then avert his eyes, look down and away, as if this was the last place he wanted to be.
Body language said a lot, because seated next to the prodigious Felix, his seasoned manager Fernando Santos would instinctively stroke his nose, scratch his chin in an unconscious attempt to conceal his face. They would lean towards one another after Felix would have answered yet another question on Ronaldo, smile uncomfortably and probably tell each other, “When does this end then?”

“No, it is not mandatory to pass the ball to Cristiano,” Felix would try to be as emphatic as cordial World Cup press conferences go.
He would be asked the one question on everyone’s minds, probably his own too. “There seems to be greater joy and freedom in Portugal’s play without Cristiano in the lineup, what do have to say about it?” The cat had been set among the pigeons, as it were, with former Portuguese defender Jose Fonte saying Portugal are playing better without Ronaldo: “I don’t feel that,” Felix would say, “We try to do (our) best on the pitch, to pass to the player best placed. I don’t think it’s necessary to pass it to Ronaldo. I don’t agree with Fonte. We possibly played differently. The team always evolves and it doesn’t matter if he is on or off. . . . He has skills others don’t have (but) we have our identity.”
Santos would sigh inwardly and rub his palm over his forehead, knowing that the same question was soon headed his way too. The entire narrative is around the immediate future concerning Portugal’s star player: will he play, or continue on the bench, since Santos and his team seem to have cracked that winning combination. Did he actually threaten to leave the squad midway?
It seems to matter little that Morocco, Portugal’s rivals on Saturday, are proving to be giant-killers here in Qatar, having consumed Spain in an unshakeable, indefatigable style. Santos painfully remembers what Morocco can do. It was an early Ronaldo goal in 2018 that helped the Portuguese prevail in a tough game. In 1986, the north Africans had actually beaten them 3-1.
“I don’t care if they are lesser than Switzerland,” Santos would say, “It’s an extremely organized team with a lot of potential. If you didn’t watch the game with Spain, you don’t realise how good this team is. They play in a small part of the field, just 20 metres. There is one of the best players in this World Cup, that player from Bayern Munich (Noussair Mazraoui). The teams of the African continent, particularly the north African ones, have a lot of creativity. These teams have a stronger culture about playing as a group, they play for their grandparents, great grandparents. It is intimate and deep, their culture. Of course, we also have our grandparents to play for…,” he would say.
But who really was in a mood to listen to all that. The topic of the day was Ronaldo. Santos would thus decide to take the bull by the horns.
“We did have a conversation and it would be very bad if we didn’t have it,” Santos would begin. “When I took the helm, we needed to talk and forge a relationship with the players. We don’t (have to) do it for all players. But he’s the captain. You know what he represents for Portuguese football, for people, so I naturally needed to talk to him. We had this conversation on match day after lunch.
“That was the only conversation I had with him, and I explained to him why he wouldnot start. Told him in terms of strategy, that it would be better if we didn’t start him and use him in the second half. Of course, Cristiano wasn’t happy on hearing it. No player would be, especially one who’s always been in starting. And he even asked me if it was a good idea. . . Whenever a player is capped for the national team and is on the bench, they’re not happy. (There are) Players who think they will play every game. In my time we used to have stomach pain when we were dropped,” he would say.
“Ronaldo has never told me that he is leaving the national team,” Santos would clarify. “It’s high time we stop this conversation, to stop all the polemics. He was the one who warmed up even if he wasn’t starting. He celebrated all the goals. In the end, heinvited the players to thank the fans, so it’s high time to leave Ronaldo alone in acknowledgement for what he’s done for Portugal football.”
And then, Felix would be asked about the difference between playing for Atletico Madrid, where he has been given rather meagre playing time by manager Diego Simeone, and for Portugal, where he has begun finding playingtime, freedom and space.
“It’s different when we play for the national team and when for my club. Here, I’m playing with players with whom I’ve been playing for a long time. We speak the same language. Representing Portugal is a joy.”
Funny, but that question should have been put to Cristiano Ronaldo, and we would have seen the fireworks.