And so Cristiano Ronaldo has picked up the Ballon d'Or trophy and has been suitably rewarded for a sensational last twelve months. Unfortunately for him, another accolade will mean more queer-eyed and biased analysis and mis-guided scrutiny from people with a clear personal dislike for the Portuguese.
The deep-lying fact that Ronaldo scored 42 goals last season and almost single-handedly propelled United to the domestic title (Europe was a much more all-round team affair though you can't argue with THAT header against Roma or the opener in the Champions League final) is lost on every one of his detractors. They tend to focus on, amongst other things, his 'diving', pointless showboating and petulance. They preach that Ronaldo is a horribly poor example for young footballers to follow and that he is responsible for the decline of the beautiful game. What's really intriguing is that the majority of these 'experts' played in teams and during eras when to be the best meant being the best no matter what. In sport, no one remembers losers. Winning is what counts. Diego Maradona, Mexico City, 1986.
It's revolting to think that just last week, Eamon Dunphy referred to Ronaldo as a 'symptom of the cancer within the game'. Players like him are the reasons people attend football matches. The 'old pro' brigade have never attracted attention. People passionate about anything look to passionate people to show them the light and to entice and seduce them. Think back to the foundations of the Barclays Premier League...when SKY attempted to market games like Swindon against Sheffield United. Dull, grey, lifeless. Even the big sides' big names lended themselves to dreary and depressed personas - Rush, Shearer, Le Tiss, et al. With the influx of continental players, the league found a flair, a glamour and suddenly guys like Di Canio, Zola, Bergkamp and Cantona turned it on, turned us on.
When people refer to Ronaldo's negative traits, I feel like asking whether or not someone would prefer to watch an imperfect entertainer or a flawless robot, remembering that one is real, the other not. It's also worth noting that the greatest players that have played the game have all been far from perfect and it's the chinks in their armour that draw us toward them. Ronaldo is 23 years of age and as a young man, still has a lot to learn. Perhaps we should let him do so before being so quick to judge him. Perhaps it's about time we congratulate him on being so good.
