For a moment, Ronaldo looked like he was about to cry. No, suddenly, he was in tears. The floodgates of tears opened, and he began to weep. In front of the Frankfurt crowd and the global television audience, the world's most famous athlete burst into tears.
There is one more game to win and a place in the quarter-finals of Euro 2024.
Such a scene is shocking. The Portugal captain had another frustrating night with no start to the game, and he had a chance to find the back of the net against Slovenia only but his penalty was brilliantly saved by goalkeeper Oblak. The tension and anguish in his heart suddenly exploded.
Cristiano Ronaldo has also missed penalties in the past, sometimes under pressure. He used to cry on the pitch, with tears of sadness and tears of joy. But this time is different because the game is not over yet. The 39-year-old also knows that this is the last time he will play in the European Championships, and he is not crying about the possibility of losing, but seems to be crying about his own diminishing ability. His tears are like the tears of an idol star when he realizes that he is about to close the curtain.
This time, he seemed so vulnerable, so vulnerable, so ...... Sensibility. At half-time in extra-time, the Portuguese players gathered in a circle and looked up to see a man who looked like he had collapsed. One by one, they tried to lift him up. His former Manchester United team-mates Fernandes Fernandes and Diogo Dalot grabbed him and seemed to remind him that he was and still is Ronaldo. Fulham midfielder Paglia and Manchester City defender Ruben Dias made similar moves.
It was not easy for Portugal coach Roberto Martinez to keep him on the pitch under the circumstances. Cristiano Ronaldo looks finished. He barely touched the ball for the remainder of extra-time, and Slovenia looked to finally have hope of winning.
The game went to a penalty shootout. What if Ronaldo mistakes again?
He didn't. This time, he shot the ball to the other side, to the right of Oblak, and when the ball went into the net, he was relieved. It took courage, but his reaction was unassuming. Now is not the time for Siuuu. Instead, he apologized to the Portuguese fans with his hands folded.
Less than 3 minutes later, the Portuguese players and fans began to celebrate the victory. Their goalkeeper Diogo Costa was the hero, saving all three of Slovenia's shots, while Cristiano Ronaldo, Fernando Fernandes and Bernardo Silva converted penalties. Costa's performance was extraordinary, as he made a crucial save late in extra-time to keep out a solo effort from Slovenian striker Sheshko. Ronaldo was relieved, hugged and thanked him.
"There is a fine line between joy and sorrow," the five-time Ballon d'Or winner told Portugal's RTP television after the match, "and that's the charm of football." From the 8th minute to the 80th minute, a lot of inexplicable things happened and that was today's game. I had a chance to put the team ahead? I didn't. ”
He referred to his penalty stats from last season, "I never missed", but he must know in his heart that it is not just his penalty that will be put under the magnifying glass at Euro 2024. Not counting penalty shoot-outs (always), he has scored 0 goals in four appearances at this European Championship. Since scoring one penalty in the first round of the 2022 World Cup, he has scored zero goals in eight consecutive matches in the tournament.
Last season, Cristiano Ronaldo made 51 appearances for Riyadh Victory in all competitions, scoring 50 goals. He also scored 10 goals in nine appearances in Euro 2024 qualifying, but half of those came against Luxembourg and Liechtenstein. He is the leading scorer for the men's national team, scoring 130 goals in 211 appearances, which is a real statistic, but his top scorers in the last three years have been Switzerland (19th in FIFA rankings), Qatar (35th), Slovakia (45th) and Ireland (60th).
And, he shot a lot, really a lot. Since the start of the tournament, he has shot a total of 20 shots, ranking first among players in the competition, seven more than second. Many dangerous attacks and free-kicks were swept away by him.
There was a free-kick against Slovenia, and even though Ronaldo was full of die-hard fans, he was the only one who thought he could score. Sure enough, his shot grazed the far post and flew off the line.
There were also some shots that he couldn't take at all. Now, although he still looks strong, his explosiveness, speed and strength are not as strong as before. At one point in the first half, Bernardo Silva burst into the box from the right flank and whipped in what looked like the most brilliant cross towards Cristiano Ronaldo. Cristiano Ronaldo leaps high but can't touch the ball. This is not the first time that Cristiano Ronaldo has been in such a situation in this tournament.
He was long out of his prime, earlier than he thought. When he won the Ballon d'Or for the last time in 2017, he was no longer as unstoppable as he was when he was younger, but had switched to a more practical style of play.
Some people will say that at his current level, he will not be able to play in the European Championship at all. Something similar was said at the World Cup in Qatar 18 months ago, when he barely played a role and ended up giving up his main position to Goncalo Ramos.
The feeling now is that with his level of one and a half years, he can't play in the World Cup or the European Championship at all. In other words, in these two tournaments, Ronaldo is more suitable to change roles, either as a substitute wonder, or rotate with Ramos and Jota, rather than as the only arrow of the whole team's attack.
After the game, in the mixed mining area, Ronaldo said that this was his last European Cup, which was quite surprising.
"But I don't have any emotions in my heart," he says, "and I'm only moved by things related to football, like my love for the game, for the fans, for my family, and how much people love me. ”
"Is there anything I haven't done? Is there anything else you haven't gotten? Bringing happiness to people is my biggest motivation. ”
Is there anything else he hasn't done? Is there anything else you haven't gotten? It's not like what Ronaldo would say, especially given what we witnessed earlier in the night. Of course, he was right, his achievements are absolutely unquestionable, and his status has long been established. Proven time and time again that he was under a lot of pressure, but he didn't react to the penalty like someone who could handle it.
Speaking after the game, Martinez said: "He's a role model for us. His emotions [after missing the penalty] were moving. He's accomplished so much in his career, he doesn't need to care so much. After missing a penalty, he was the first to go up and kick again. I'm sure he's going to have to be the first to come out and show us the way to victory. His response was exemplary and we are very proud.
That sounds good, but Martinez has a big decision to make ahead of the quarter-final against France.
Cristiano Ronaldo has pulled the team back from the precipice on several occasions over the years, but on Monday night he was not only saved by Oblak, but it was as if he had lost to the ultimate opponent of all athletes – time.