Just as with Wayne Rooney before him, this had been billed as Cristiano Ronaldo’s World Cup. And just as with Rooney, one of the main memories of the Portugal forward’s tournament will be that of an act of frustrated petulance aimed at a television camera.
As Ronaldo walked from the pitch at the end of the game, shortly after Ricardo Costa’s dismissal for an elbowing offence against Joan Capdevila, the 25-year-old stared directly into a television lens that was tracking his movements and spat. It was a gesture of frustration rather than aggression and no harm was caused, but it provided an illustration of Ronaldo’s state of mind.
And it echoed the rant that Rooney, formerly his team-mate at Manchester United, delivered to a television camera in the wake of booing by supporters after England’s dismal 0-0 draw with Algeria in the group stage.
Ronaldo leaves South Africa with a single goal and three man-of-the-match awards, which even he acknowledged were ludicrous. Asked about Portugal’s failure to eclipse Spain, he refused to respond apart from emitting two curt words. “Ask Queiroz,” he said. It may or may not have been a reference to his coach’s stifling tactics.
While he has enjoyed moments of danger, often from set-pieces, Ronaldo, after a majestic season for Real Madrid, has not been the pivotal figure that many expected and Carlos Queiroz faced difficult questions about his decision to name him as Portugal’s captain.
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He reacted with distaste to the subject. “Ronaldo is our leader and our captain and this decision belongs to the Portugal Football Federation and the national coach,” he said. “I think your question is out of order. We chose him for the right reasons. Hopefully we can come back to the World Cup and play with more ambition next time.”
Vicente Del Bosque, the Spain coach, expressed delight at his team’s progress to the quarter-finals, where they will meet Paraguay. “We will be extremely respectful to them,” he said. “It is two years since we won the European Championship and we have been showing our potential. There has been continuity.”