RONALDO IN TEARS: THE PENALTY MISS THAT SHOOK THE FOOTBALL WORLD

Cristiano Ronaldo might now become a meme, perhaps even the meme of the century in football. Despite his undeniable greatness and the fact that it's impossible not to respect him, the way the great Portuguese player cried on Monday after missing a penalty kick will go down in football history.

In 2016, during the final of Euro 2016, I was sitting in the stands in Paris and saw Ronaldo live, broken and wet with tears. He had to leave the field in the first half of the match due to an injury. But then it was he, not the then-coach of Portugal, Fernando Santos, who directed the team from the sidelines. He conducted, waved his hands, and got furious. And then he cried again, this time out of happiness because his teammates won 1-0 and secured the coveted trophy.

Cristiano Ronaldo on the brink of breakdown

On Monday, Ronaldo wanted it all in the match against Slovenia at Euro 2024. He took all the free kicks, waved his hands again, motivated everyone, and finally went for the penalty in extra time. And he missed. The Slovenian goalkeeper, Jan Oblak read Ronaldo's intentions, dived where the ball was heading, and saved the shot.

Shortly afterwards, the referee called a break in extra time, and the 39-year-old Ronaldo cried like a baby. These were unprecedented scenes. Ronaldo is the captain of Portugal; at that moment, the match was not over yet, and everything was still possible. Meanwhile, the team had to comfort CR7, saving him from breaking down in front of hundreds of millions of viewers worldwide.

Cristiano Ronaldo as a great meme

It will be really easy to make fun of the brilliant Portuguese now. The internet was immediately flooded with memes; one can only imagine what will happen in the coming days.

But Cristiano Ronaldo is truly a great footballer, probably the greatest in history for many. It is the great footballer who, after such a blunder, takes the ball under his arm again, faces the same goalkeeper, takes a deep breath, closes his eyes for a moment, and this time scores. In an even more crucial moment, during the penalty shootout.

Portugal continues to play, and Ronaldo still has a chance to be the European champion again. That he is simply a master in football could never be doubted.

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2024-07-02T07:16:53Z dg43tfdfdgfd