It’s often said that criticism is the best motivator. In the case of Cristiano Ronaldo, it seems to have spurred him on to new heights that many had not even thought possible, despite his reputation as arguably one of the world’s finest footballers playing today.
The Portuguese attacker has scored 24 goals so far in all competitions and will certainly break the Champions League group stage record of eight goals set by trio Ruud van Nistelrooy, Filippo Ingazhi, and Hernan Crespo. As a result, he’s passed perennial rival Lionel Messi’s previously established haul of 13 European strikes in a calendar year.
Given that he’s scored in every single Champions League game so far this season, it’s probably certain that he’ll add more to that tally before the group stages conclude in December.
Certainly, FIFA president Sepp Blatter’s gaffe last month got under Ronaldo's skin and irritated many of his supporters, especially given that they are the organization that awards the annual Ballon d’Or trophy, which has been dominated by the diminutive Argentine for the past few seasons. But with the Barcelona icon struggling with injuries that have prevented him from being at his prolific best, some have indicated that this is the season for Ronaldo to finally break out of La Pulga's shadow and re-establish himself as the world’s best footballer, a title that was bestowed on him when he won the top individual prize in 2008. It has escaped him since.
However, it’s really simplistic to say that the Portuguese’s success is dependent on Messi’s struggles. But while the competition between the duo certainly inspires each to do his best, it’s not a cause and effect kind of situation in which one benefits from the other’s failures. One example of this is in 2011. Despite not winning the Champions League nor La Liga with Los Blancos—with the Catalans emerging victorious in both league and continental competitions, CR7 nonetheless won the Pichichi trophy and the European Golden Shoe. This saw him set a new league record of 40 goals only to see it surpassed by Messi the following season with a half century of goals—and the four-time Ballon d’Or winner followed that up last season with 46 strikes.
In the Champions League last term, Barcelona and Real Madrid were both unsuccessful, although the Blaugrana suffered the worst fate with their humiliating 7-0 aggregate defeat at the hands of eventual winners Bayern Munich.
Real Madrid, on the other hand, were just unlucky perhaps not to be able to get past Borussia Dortmund, who despite Robert Lewandowski’s four-goal haul in the first leg, were unable to score in the second part, leaving the capital side ruing what could have been an amazing comeback, had they been able to covert more opportunities that came their way. But despite both being knocked out in the semis by German oppositions, the Portuguese still finished as the Champions League top scorer with 12 goals. As mentioned previously, CR7 has scored eight times in the group stages of the tournament's 2013/14 edition. One could safely bet that Ronaldo will surpass his own 12-goal record in the Champions Leagu ethis season.
What Messi does have going for him though is the fact that he’s been far more successful than Ronaldo in the Champions League, with three trophies so far with the Blaugrana compared to his rival’s one with Manchester United. Simply put, Real Madrid’s failure so far to claim La Decima and other titles together as a team has been something that many naysayers can point as to why Cristiano Ronaldo has been unable to unequivocally assert himself as king of the football world.
Here's some nice food for thought, courtesy of MessivsRonaldo.net as of November 14, 2013 (excluding international appearances):
Successful at club level, but can he do the same with his nation?
However, while he’s been successful with his club, Messi has not been able to repeat the same feats with Argentina—and neither has Ronaldo with Portugal, despite both coincidentally being their respective nations’ second-highest all-time marksmen. But the Argentines have already secured their ticket to the World Cup next year, whilst the Iberian nation has to qualify for the tournament through a potentially tricky two-legged playoff with Sweden.
Towering striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic is already mixing things up by asserting that his side deserves to go to Brazil ahead of Portugal. Could Ibra be right? We all know how Cristiano Ronaldo has responded to criticism so far this season with Real Madrid—so it yet remains to be seen how he’ll fare in the two make-or-break European World Cup qualifying playoff clashes on November 15 and November 19.
The closest Ronaldo has come to winning any silverware with his country was during the 2004 EURO tournament in which his host side was beaten by a Greek outfit that used staunch defensive play and one lucky break to get past the likes of France and the Czech Republic en route to their slim 1-0 victory in the finals. But, despite his strong form so far, in terms of winning the coveted prize this year, it’s a difficult prediction as fortune hasn’t favoured him in past years.
However, should he clinch La Decima with Real Madrid, lead his side past Sweden and have a fantastic run in Brazil (if not winning the World Cup, then doing at least better than Argentina), this time next year, there will be no one that can dispute that he doesn’t deserve to be crowned the best in the game—regardless of however Lionel Messi is faring.
