Cristiano Ronaldo was trudging high and mighty playing football at the highest level for 20 years. But his last walk out of field after losing to Morocco and by extension out of the World Cup, and maybe out of the Portuguese team appears poignant, bitter, and dismal.
His appearances total surpasses 1,100, netting over 800 goals for club and his country. In that time, he picked up 32 major trophies and five Ballon d'Ors. There isn't really anybody who can boast the physical nature and sporting achievements of Ronaldo. But everyone ages, and fails at some point.
But this season, we have seen something that never really crossed our minds. Ronaldo was seen on the sidelines on a regular basis. Something he must have felt unjustified given his status, skill, and success. In league, his refusal to come on the pitch as a late substitute was a show of his frustration. His petulance was seen again when he was taken off the field against South Korea in the world cup.
CR7 served as the most important player on his team at Real Madrid, Juventus and even Manchester United last season. And he was definitely the key player for his country team in the World Cup. The longevity of his career with stellar and consistent success is incredible. His ominous speed, power, and eye popping athleticism are simply unbelievable; and he has maintained it at an age that is considered the twilight of a football career. While he still is a specimen that seems to have been carved out of stone, he finally appears to have succumbed to the inevitability of not only age, but also arrogance and ego, which has become an issue for him and the teams he plays with. His age, and arrogance have made him reluctant to adapt to new styles, and allowing space for others in the limelight. Ronaldo doesn't want to adapt to newer styles of play. In fact, he never has. He has always been a player who gets accommodated because he who he is. He has always been worthy of being the focal point for any team in the world.
The difference in style amplifies the decline of Ronaldo, who is obviously unwilling to accept this decline. But, his coaches know it, and fans can see it. Ronaldo refuses to, at least until his departure from the world cup. Whether it will change now, is yet to be seen. Apparently his ego and arrogance are causing an inertia for him to concede to reality and changing times.
Social science, team management, even sports management disciplines and many more concur that healthy ego serves to resolve conflicts. It nurtures cooperation and mutual respect, encourages solidarity and contributes to overall team success. Ronaldo seems to be nurturing bad ego that results in finger-pointing and blaming mode, destroys cohesiveness and is often destructive. We saw all of that in the Portuguese team in this World Cup, and it was all initiated and caused by CR7.
Ronaldo came on against Morocco as substitute while the team was trailing by a goal. His presence should have expectantly changed the approach of the Portuguese team, and put the Moroccans on the back foot. None of it happened! Ronaldo's presence was hardly felt, and he is definitely someone who can change the whole game within minutes. He failed to do so, or it could be argued that he refused to do so, even though he was on the field for a significant portion of the game. He truly seemed to be isolated and out of sync with the team. His lighting dashes, sniper shots at the goal, all were absent. It also seemed that he was waiting for others to pass the ball to him, and others seemed to ignore him. Seemingly, his ego and arrogance had detached him from the team.
Ronaldo's ego had made him believe that he is larger than the team. At club level, such petulance may be somewhat tolerated. But this was the national team. Country comes first and foremost. Ronaldo allowed his arrogance to make him oblivious of that important fact. At the same time, I would argue that his team mates also followed suit and left the World Cup with a bad example. Even if Ronaldo was being an arrogant and petulant mule, his presence and effectiveness could and should have been utilised on the field. I guess the other players in the team refused to do so, and that shows that they also allowed their egoes to become larger than the team, the country.
Ronaldo's attitude was unacceptable and his walk of shame out of the stadium was heartbreaking. But his team also didn't leave the pitch with their heads held high. All of them, prioritised arrogance and it was Portugal that became the victim of egos that forced them to walk out with bowed heads-- dejected, and disheartened.
