(Doha) His autumn was more eventful than that of the liberals. More incredible than the STAT season. More controversial than the biography of Pierre Gervais.
Is it possible ?
Absolutely. Welcome to the world of Cristiano Ronaldo, the giant star of the Portugal team and of… and of… and of no other club, in fact, since the neutron bomb he himself dropped last week. last, in a shocking interview on British television.
Cristiano Ronaldo loves the camera. The camera loves it. The 37-year-old striker has enough background to know how to make an impact, and this interview was epic. His list of grievances against his bosses at Manchester United was longer than the list of finalists at the Gemini gala. Equipment at the gym? Decrepit. Last year’s coach? “He wasn’t even a coach. “That of this season? “He disrespects me. ” The senior management ? He accuses her of having betrayed him, in addition to having lacked empathy after the death of his baby. That’s all ? No. He also said that the American owners don’t care about the club. On this, no one will contradict him.
“People don’t want me anymore [Manchester]. Not just the coach. Two or three other guys too. […] Honestly, I shouldn’t say that… I don’t know… But look, I don’t care. People should listen to the truth. Yes, I felt betrayed. »
The divorce between Ronaldo and ManU was consummated last weekend. In the middle of the World Cup. In a city where there are 12,000 journalists, and where he is one of the most watched players.
Hello pressure.
Many would have crashed for less. Not him. On the contrary, Ronaldo has always been fueled by this pressure. He showed it once again on Thursday when he stood out in a 3-2 victory for the Portuguese against the Ghanaians.
Two-thirds into the game, he had the three best scoring chances of the game. He had even pushed the ball into the back of the net, but the goal was disallowed, the referee blaming him for contact with an opposing defender. At the 62e minute, when the match was locked at 0-0, Ronaldo took his revenge, going to cause a (very slight) foul in the box. Penalty Portugal.
Who took it, do you think?
Three minutes later, Ronaldo opened the scoring, with a solid curling shot to his left. “YUUU! shouted the crowd – a distortion of the word “yes”, in Portuguese. The stands shook. The communion between Ronaldo, his teammates and their supporters was total. With this penalty, he also became the first player in history to score at least one goal in five World Cups.
A goal. A record. A victory. The player of the match title.
No worse day at the office.
And a nice snub to his former Manchester United bosses who no longer believed in him.
The F-word
After the loss to Belgium, Canada’s head coach John Herdman said on TV: “Now we’re going to EFFE Croatia!” »
PHOTO NATHAN DENETTE, THE CANADIAN PRESS
Canada’s head coach John Herdman
Finally, he did not think of the verb Faisander. Neither to congratulate, strike down or flabbergaster. He was thinking exactly what you and I were thinking. His words did not escape Croatian journalists, who landed at Canada’s training, on the outskirts of Doha.
“It was not very respectful towards the Croatian people and the Croatian national team,” admitted Herdman. “I don’t want to disrespect the Croatians, but at the end of the day, that’s the mindset we’ll need to have to collect three points [une victoire] against one of the best teams in the world. »
His initial statement was frank, honest, but also clumsy. Let’s be clear, Croatian players have heard much more vulgar in their lives. But you can bet your mortgage, and that of the next three generations of your lineage, that Herdman’s words will be underlined in fluorescent yellow marker and affixed to all the walls of the Croatians’ locker room. There’s nothing like kerosene to keep the flame going.
John Herdman has the faults of his qualities. Every national team player I interviewed told me about his motivational skills. “He is an exceptional speaker,” Alistair Johnston once told me. When you walk out of a meeting with him, if he asked you to kick down a wall, you would. He is able to impose objectives, and to convince everyone to take the same path. And he communicates it in such a way that you want to fight for him. »
Samuel Piette thinks the same. “His speeches are sick, he explained to me a few weeks ago. This guy is super convincing. He could get us deals with anyone. Even if we play against Belize or Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, when he finishes talking, you feel like running through a wall for him. It’s hard to explain. You have to live it to see it. »
No doubt, John Herdman knows how to motivate his troops. He knows how to cheer them up, bring them together, federate them. This is what he did after the defeat against Belgium, by using the F word in the locker room, in order to change the atmosphere.
I am a columnist. I will never, ever, ever complain about the outspokenness of a coach or equipment attendant. Except I doubt that Herdman’s declaration served the interests of his team well.