Sports

Ronaldo’s return to soccer glory

Recent display of Portuguese star has Real Madrid sitting nicely atop La Liga

Posted on Oct. 27, 2010, at 10:51 p.m.

After a difficult opening season in Spain’s premier soccer division, La Liga, Real Madrid’s prized winger Cristiano Ronaldo appears to be reaching the absurd level of excellence his $130 million price tag bestowed upon him.

After scoring the winner in the 13th minute against Italian superpower AC Milan in the Champions League, the Portuguese star followed it up with a performance as fashionable as his pregame suits, which is, to say, pretty damn fly.

After Argentine striker Gonzolo Higuain got the scoring started against the inadequate Racing Santander club, Ronaldo scored four goals quicker than it takes Wayne Rooney to change his mind.

After compiling the hat-trick-plus-one in just over a half hour, one must wonder what brought about the return of Ronaldo the Magnificent.

The obvious place to begin is with the man himself. Numerous reasons could explain his sudden drop in production (few players could call 2009-2010’s 26 goals in league play a drop), most prominent of which being the change in style of play and the expectations that burdened him.

It became obvious just a little over a month into this season that the change in style both on and off the field was no longer an issue. After spending the last seven years in the aggressive English Premier League, Ronaldo has adapted to the fluid style of play that comes with La Liga — a style that better suits him and his hypnotizing step-over much better.

Ronaldo also benefited from the spotlight shifting away from Real Madrid’s Galacticos 2.0. After another dominating league campaign by rival Barcelona, and a World Cup that brought about Spain’s first world championship, the pressure is on the L’equip Blaugrana Spaniard-heavy squad.

Featuring seven of the reigning World Cup champion regulars, plus “the greatest player in the world” Lionel Messi, Barcelona was impossible to beat.

However good Barcelona has been this season, they currently sit tied for second behind Ronaldo’s Los Blancos in the standings.

The other aspect as to why Ronaldo has returned to glory could be explained by the new acquisitions this season, none more important than the one position that can’t physically assist Ronaldo in his scoring: the manager.

The signing of the “Special One” Jose Mourinho proved invaluable for Ronaldo, as Mourinho continues to get the best out of his world-class talent.

With a beefed-up resume featuring European Championships at FC Porto, Chelsea and, just last year. Inter Milan, Mourinho appears to be heading in that direction yet again.

Also beneficial this season has been the tremendous play of Madrid’s back line and midfield. Once considered their only weakness, Mourinho made a necessity to add some skill in the defense, bringing in former Chelsea back Ricardo Carvalho and World Cup star, German midfield maestro Mesut Ozil. With a midfield capable of putting them in position to score at least 20 goals a season, there’s no telling where Ronaldo will end up.

It appears La Liga will continue to be a two-headed monster with Real Madrid and Barcelona light-years ahead of the rest of the clubs talent-wise.

Be sure to view the clash of these soccer superpowers one month from now in 2010’s El Clasico.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 27th, 2010, 10:51 pm. You can follow any responses to this article through the RSS feed.