'kin Guardian

Simon Adebesi

To be honest I didnt think he got the ball when I first saw it and I havent watched it umpteen times, but either way, refs make a decision on the spot and that is the end of it. This one was a marginal decision, certainly not as contentious as it is being made out to be. Fuck me, how many times has Ronaldo got people booked when they didnt touch him?

Swings and roundabouts people.

Gazza

Aside from that typo, I disagree, although I may have to watch it again. Certainly looked harsh the 4 or 5 times I've seen it.

Like I said earlier, Webb had a problem because he booked 2 United players very early on and had to stick to those standards, making a clean game seem like blood and thunder.

moses

I agree. but more importantly Webb wanted to book him for the clapping , but probably bottled it ... and Ronaldo gave him an out later on by doing what he did. If a schoolboy did what the soon to be annointed best player in the world did he'd be bollocked for not trying to put the ball in the net and then sorting out the whistle/push nonsense.

Pogue Mahone

And that's the biggest mystery of all.

The most plausible explanation I've heard is that he knew Webb had got card-happy about playing the ball after his whistle (e.g, Raffael, Ireland) and he was worried he might pick up a booking, if he took a shot on goal, after play had stopped.

Not a particularly clever way of playing to the whistle, but Ronaldo has never been the sharpest tool in the box.

Mind you, while we're all picking the bones out of this, I'm sure Ronaldo's honest answer to why he handled would be "I have no fucking idea" Sometimes we all do things on the football pitch that we can find no explanation for afterwards.

moses

he loves the drama, and this was the most dramatic option with him slap bang in the centre of it all ... (the benefit of any doubt is firmly put away when I talk about wur Ronaldo btw)

the palying to the whistle bit is plausible in theory but really nobody has ever been booked for getting on the end of a cross i a crowded box with his back to the ref

Wes

feck sake.

we won, lads

jojojo

As I mentioned in the second yellow thread Ronaldo was rattled enough by what happened that he ended up calling his manager - and did a statement to the Gestitute site. The red card was only part of what he wanted to talk about, it's a "fed up and partiularly fed up of talking to the press" sort of press statement.

It's now in English as well:
http://www.gestifute.com/gestifute/index.php?lg=2

Cristiano Ronaldo was amazed when he saw referee Howard Webb show him his second yellow card, and consequently the red, 68 minutes into the game with Manchester City. The Portuguese player tried to explain himself to the referee, claiming that he though that the game had already been stopped, but to no avail.

The truth is that Cristiano Ronaldo really heard a whistle and, because of that, purely and simply stopped trying to head the ball. “Rooney knocked in the corner, I jumped and that was when I heard a shout from Richards [the City defender] and simultaneously the sound of a whistle”, Cristiano Ronaldo explained to Gestifute Media. “At that moment I was convinced that the referee had whistled for a foul, I stopped trying to head the ball and score a goal, and I grabbed the ball so Richards could get help”.

This gesture was the most innocent possible and with the best of intentions, because the Portuguese international was completely convinced that the game had been stopped, just to suffer the consequences “It never entered my mind that the referee would show me the yellow card because, for me, I hadn’t done anything wrong: to the contrary - after Richards yelled I thought that he was hurt and needed assistance” states the best player in the world. “I heard the whistle, so I took the initiative to stop the match”, he added.

It was only later that Cristiano Ronaldo understood what had happened. “I understood the referee wanted to talk to me, but then, maybe influenced by the fans, he put his hand in his pocket and sent me off. I tried to explain what had happened, but he didn’t want to listen”.

Cristiano Ronaldo was sent off 22 minutes before the end, and is going to miss the Carling Cup game this Wednesday (a quarter-final against Blackburn Rovers) and is only happy because it was “a good game for United and an important victory” gained at City’s ground. “We ended up getting the result with ten players, and that was undoubtedly very important”.

The eyes of the world are on this number seven who picks up more trophies every year that passes but who, simultaneously, is the subject of different comments and criticisms, and for the most absurd reasons. Cristiano Ronaldo guarantees he will be “ever-more concentrated”, at the same time recognising that people are increasingly focussed on him.

“I have come to understood that every movement I make, on or off the pitch, is analysed to death: If I don’t celebrate goals it is because I am sad, if I talk to the public it is because I have lost my humility, in other words my smallest gesture always gets every type of criticism”, he says, at the same time guaranteeing that he is going to continue to be the same Cristiano Ronaldo as always, “a Cristiano Ronaldo who is humble, respectful, works hard, is ambitious and perfectionist”.

“They don’t see that my manner in life and in football has changed”, he states. “People are always waiting for me to do something, and they pick on absolutely normal and unimportant things to criticise. They analyse things that have nothing unusual about them through a magnifying glass”, he adds, guaranteeing that he will never stop being the same. “Cristiano Ronaldo will continue to be the same as he always was, regardless of what happens on and off the pitch. But as my friends say, and as people who know me well say, they only criticise the best, so what else can I say? Just that I am damned if I do, and damned if I don’t”.

The power of the media is something that Cristiano Ronaldo has only recently understood in full, after a declaration, which he never made, that in the world of football “I am the first, second and third best in the world”. This is a sentence that never left his lips, although in fact he is the best player on the planet.

“I didn’t say it, purely and simply I never made this statement”, he guarantees convincingly, considering that all the speculation was “abusive and absurd” that did not deserve an immediate denial, and he only now has an idea of what really happened. “I have started to get tired of denying things”, he says on his own behalf. “Anyone who knows me knows I would never make that sort of statement, but unfortunately today people write what they want without thinking about the consequences”.

The pure truth is that Cristiano Ronaldo once again saw his name dragged into a debate because of something he didn’t do and never would do, because that is not how he lives his football. “It would not be right to show my professional colleagues so little respect and as well as that it’s not what I think” he affirms.

“What I really think – and anyone around me knows it without needing to check with me – is that all the other players nominated for the prize as the best player in the world have the ability to win. Anyone close to me knows that collective trophies are much more important than individual prizes. Of course I am not going to lie – I have to admit that I am proud of winning individual prizes. Also, I am not a hypocrite, and so I think that in view of everything that happened last season I am very well placed to win the prizes that are being awarded, but I would never say that I am the first, second and third best in the world, because it is a question of respect for the other candidates and because I think they all have the potential to win”.

What he wants for this season is to work calmly, always with the same winning spirit and with his characteristic ambition; a season that started late for him, because of the surgery he had to have. But not even this fact stops Cristiano Ronaldo from fighting hard to make this season as good as the last one, or even better. “I am fine”, he affirms. “I have scored some important goals, I have improved and genuinely believe I can have a season as good as the last one, or even better. I am the same player, I work hard and play hard, and I aim to score many, many goals”, he promises. This is the real Cristiano Ronaldo

Laphroaig

Why do people keep saying this? Which match is he banned for, I thought it was against Sunderland (and not Blackburn, as I suspect this claim is based on), and I see no reason why he wouldn't be involved in that one. (I may be mistaken of course.)

spinoza

Is it not the next FA-sanctioned match? Then it would be Blackburn.

Great user name, by the way. Peat freak?

PJ

Pile of poofs. Read the Times.

Transfer United Till I Die

It is Blackburn and I agree with the above poster. The Times is the word.

Simon Adebesi

Went through a period of boycotting The Times due to not liking its owner but then realised I was paying him anyway with my Sky subscription and gave up.

It is the better paper.

Pogue Mahone

The Guardian provides an infinitely superior football podcast, FWIW.

But yeah, in print, the Times' football coverage is much better.

Simon Adebesi

Never got into podcasts. May give it a go, but in all likelihood will never get round to it, you are not the first person to recommend it.

peterstorey

The Times is a rubbish paper comfortably inferior to the other three qualities. It was very good a long, long time ago. Samuel may well be the best of the chief football correspondents, though seeing as the competition is the likes of Kevin McCarra and Henry Winter that's not saying a lot.

Pogue Mahone

I think the Times sport coverage is the pick of the bunch. Rest of it isn't much cop though, I agree.

moses

I like Kevin McCarra

pillory

The Guardian's MBMs are great. Always lots of cheap shots at Gerrard and Terry.

Simon Adebesi

The Independent is complete drivel, I tried to get into it on account of its political bent but it is just devoid of any insightful news analysis at all, it is like reading OK magazine without the gloss.

And I dont like the Telegraph.

peterstorey

I thought he was a sad disappointment after the great David Lacey went upstairs, writes boringly and never has anything interesting to say in any case.

Castolo

Must agree with this.

SecondFig

Same here. I'd like to like the Independent - but it's shit, and their football coverage is especially poor. For a start they're far and away they've printed the most biased anti-Ronaldo articles I've ever read.

Telegraph I'd like to despise - and I do, though not as much as the Daily Mail

Red_Molly

I'm a Grauniad and Observer fan myself, but have a sneaking like for Simon Barnes in the Times.

Simon Adebesi

Ill tell you who I like in The Times: Rod Liddell. He is a miserable fucker but very funny. And he hates Liverpool, bless him.

^Red Devil^

The thing is Ronaldo never gets the protection SWP got from webb on the weekend. 4 Yellows.... Ronaldo gets a dozen of the challenges he laid on SWP every game, and half of them he doesn't even get a free kick for it.

Laphroaig

For some reason I thought bans was implemented a week after the red.

Laphroaig is my preferred drink, yes.

Times are better, but can still be a bit annoying. The thing about Guardian is that they're so annoying at times that it gets entertaining. Samuel ranges from very good to pompous and self-righteous, and Cascarino is usually shit.

Pogue Mahone

For 5 yellows that's the case (e.g. Evra) but a red card means they miss the next game.

Absolutely no idea why the two scenarios are treated any differently, mind you. The FA works in mysterious (and frequently spastic) ways.

moses

good point

jojojo

Or, there's this from today's Guardian:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/b...chester-united

Ronaldo the throwback is a worthy winner

Cristiano Ronaldo won the Ballon d'Or and he deserves it because, as a free-spirit and entertainer, he's the last of a dying breed.

It might seem like an unnecessary act of gallantry to leap to the defence of a player who in the last two years has been crowned Players' Player of the Year (twice), Fans' Player of the Year (twice), Football Writers' Player of the Year (twice), Barclays Player of the Season (twice), Uefa Club Footballer of the Year , FIFPro World Player of the Year and, as of this morning, the Ballon d'Or winner for 2008.

No doubt Cristiano Ronaldo's self-esteem is more or less intact this morning after his record tally of 446 points in the France Football poll. Not that he's one to get carried away. "Tomorrow morning in training, I will still be the same person as always," he said after being informed he'd won the award. Still the same old raging egomaniac, then.

Yesterday Paul Doyle expressed what many people feel about both Ronaldo and his golden ball. World's biggest show-off, individualist and poseur wins centralised and celebrity-centric gong. Why should we be surprised, curious, or - in particular - happy about this?

Ronaldo is an easy target here. He has an astonishingly single-minded capacity to infuriate. He pays no lip-service to the traditional tenets of just doing my bit for the team, wanting to stay at this club for the rest of my life and being astonished to be honoured by my fellow professionals.

On the bench, on the pitch, talking at length about himself in the press: at all times he talks, acts and plays as though he is the best footballer in the world. By miles. This is understandably annoying. And all the more so because it's true.

So why should we celebrate this most inevitable of shoo-ins? This terribly pious and self-regarding act of celebrity football amour proper? What's there to smile about here?

Firstly, Ronaldo deserved to win. And he deserves it precisely because of the way he plays, because of all that indulgent and decorous trickery, the insistence not just on winning but on demonstrating his technical and physical superiority.

Nobody else does this; partly because very few can. Lionel Messi can play like this. Kaka is also highly effective but without gilding the lily in the same way. Take Ronaldo away from the Premier League and what are we left with? Plenty of exceptional players. Plenty of players with great technical skills and the capacity to be explosive, but nobody else who can marry individual indulgence with team play at such a consistently high level.

The point is, Ronaldo is not a portent of some grim sponsored show-pony corporate future. He's a throw-back, a high-profile example of a dying breed, and a player who only survived in his current flamboyant and infuriating form because he's so very good at it.

Currently European football does not encourage this type of player to flourish. It's a centralised affair and a business of minimising risk. You used to find a player who at least played with some sense of the Ronaldo style at most top clubs. Joe Cole could have been a case in point. At Chelsea his frills have been sacrificed for an admirable ferreting and adept sense of team play.

If Cole had stayed at West Ham the exuberant tricksiness of his youth could have been allowed to flourish. He might have been West Ham's best player, the team luxury. Perhaps even a less effective player. But the game itself would be more varied and more decorous.

This kind of thing doesn't happen much now. A player like Cole was too valuable to be allowed to operate outside of the Champions League machine. He was co-opted. What has emerged is a muted virtuoso.

And perhaps the same thing would have happened to Ronaldo, his excesses might have been sanded off at Manchester United, if he wasn't so jaw-droppingly good. Only the very best are allowed to play like this.

Looking to the wider field it's a process that was applied to Steve McManaman at Real Madrid. McManaman left Liverpool an accomplished, if occasionally frustrating dribbler, but essentially a creative midfielder. This wasn't what Madrid required of him. With great intelligence he adapted the way he played, becoming a diligent link-man, a top-drawer water-carrier with a shimmy.

You get a lot of these kind of players these days. But you don't get many like the old McManaman. Which is a bit of a shame.

The death of the individual: this is an old theme. As long ago as 1974 Pele gave a TV interview in which he joined in the general lament over the absence of blue-riband mavericks knocking about the world game (although Pele, to be fair, would probably agree that the moon was made of Utterly Butterly if you put a camera in front of him).

But at the top level this is now a hard-nosed reality of a game that – with its 30-strong squads and endless European league competitions - is decidedly risk-averse.

The Ballon d'Or is just another award, and awards are annoying because they usually go to the bloke who kicks the ball into the goal, or, at best, the bloke who passes it to him before he kicks it into the goal. There are other ways to play football: a really good goalkeeper or a great centre-half also deserve to be rewarded. But equally we're lucky to still have at least one player of Ronaldo's style – the free-spirit and the entertainer - who also meets the standard.

Sometimes even the obvious deserves to be celebrated. Ronaldo and the Ballon d'Or are a perfect fit this time around. We may have reservations about both. But right now they bring each other credit.

spinoza

Bit unfair about McManaman. He was a great creative player for Madrid, even if overshadowed by Figo and Zidane.

Bearded but no genius

Correct.

The rule Ronaldo violated was questioning Baldie's (not Steven 'Three Dead Grannies' Ireland) Authoritah with the first yellow.

No one seems to have noticed in all of this that Wright-Phillips was going to ground more often than Ashley Cole in a glory hole, and that Ronaldo is fouled a hell of a lot more than four times in the average game without the papers getting their knickers in a twist.

Rules - why have 'em if you can't ignore 'em when there's a winker to persecute.

Bearded but no genius

Even I remember him being a creative force for them, and that was when I was just figuring out what the hell a creative force should look like.