Cristiano Ronaldo : The Juventus Chapter | Fin
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik and Imran hold a long overdue conversation about United's awful league form with 1 win in 7. They discuss a disappointing draw at Bournemouth, a not so disappointing draw against Liverpool and a crushing defeat at Chelsea - Is time nearly over for Erik Ten Hag?
Then in a special second half of the pod, Nik welcomes Natalie ( https://twitter.com/natalie_17) to discuss the fortunes of Manchester United Women as they booked a place in the FA Cup Final after a historic first ever win vs. Chelsea.
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Happy 34th birthday to the GOAT 
Do we think Ronaldo will change the narrative on what age we say players are done by? I think Ibrahimovic set the precedent for this and now we are seeing Ronaldo at 34 still undoubtedly one of the top 2 players in the world. It used to be that at 30 you were looking to retirement, but Ronaldo is by quite a distance the best player on his team and showing no signs of aging whatsoever. I think he and Ibra need to be studied and set as the target for players to aspire to physically.
Unless he suffers a serious injury I can see him being elite level for another 4 years. He's relentless.
It was Ibra's injury that finished him. I think there was another top season left in him, but recovering from injuries becomes tougher with age.
We have to keep in mind him and Ibra still are exceptions.
If Ibra didn't had that injury he possibly would have done at least 1 more season at a very high level. Nevertheless while Ronaldo still is a great player we can see that he isn't at his top.
His best performances at Juve always come with the good connection he has with Mandzukic or Dybala. He will never be a pure 9. Can play there but its not the same.
The last thing I want to ask him. Please never more on your life go and watch us play. We already have a crap team we don't need you there to be present watching the other club spanking us.
Congratulations and it's all.
If Ibra didn't had that injury he possibly would have done at least 1 more season at a very high level. Nevertheless while Ronaldo still is a great player we can see that he isn't at his top.
His best performances at Juve always come with the good connection he has with Mandzukic or Dybala. He will never be a pure 9. Can play there but its not the same.
The last thing I want to ask him. Please never more on your life go and watch us play. We already have a crap team we don't need you there to be present watching the other club spanking us.
Congratulations and it's all.
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But are they? Maybe it's perception but I have a feeling that more and more top players remain top until "high" age. Ribery, Robben, Modric, Alonso, David Silva, Iniesta, Pirlo just to name a few.
Or in other words, which absolute top player in the last years was really "done" when turning 31, 32 (and not because of inbjuries)? Maybe Rooney and Müller but apart from that, I can't really remember anyone. Sure, they declined physically but apart from that, it seems like many players actually peaked aged 31/32.
Muller is 29
Ok enlarge a bit the list but its not the norm still to be at top with their age.
I think it’ll become the new norm soon, that football goes from being a 15 year career to a 20 year one.
Whenever I read the title of this thread, I keep thinking if We are going to have a match vs Juventus not PSG.
Forgot to mention 2 retired players. Giggs and Scholes. I doubt Ronaldo will be at the same level they were when he reaches 35/36 but we will see.
That’s fine. We beat them on away goalsWhenever I read the title of this thread, I keep thinking if We are going to have a match vs Juventus not PSG.
Probably one of the least likable players of all time.
Really? Giggs and Scholes though still plying their trade at a top club were rotational players at 35/36. Ronaldo is 34 now and arguably the best player in the world. So unless his ability declines substantially in the next 2 years, he should still at the very least be an important squad member at Juventus...more so that he's their highest earner by far on a 4 year contract.
I guess not many player in the history of the game can still manage to be top scorer in top league at the age of 34.
Yeah not the most endearing chap.
And Giggs or Scholes with 35 or 36 weren't playing at a very good level? I know Ronaldo will play after 35 or 36, what I don't know is if he can keep this level at Juventus after 2020. Just a prediction.
I'm not disputing that. I'm saying that they were rotational players at 35/36 even though they played at a high level. Ronaldo is several notches above that at 34 (top 2 in the world) so i'd be surprised if he wasn't playing at least at the level they were when they were 35/36 when he's also that age.
Ronaldo isn’t even close to being the best player in the world right now.
That's your opinion. He's top 3 at least and the best player on his team by a distance.
I have some doubts he currently is top 3 or 5 but that's not important now.
There’s not that many individual seasons to match his to be fair. Who’s standing out for you above him?
Messi by a country mile this season. He’s been absolutely sublime. It’s not even close.
It also has to be acknowledged that Serie A is a tier below. Not saying Ronnie hasn’t had a great season, but he’s not even been close to Messi this time around. Huge gulf.
I don’t think you’d find too many who would disagree. But the fact that he’s still probably the second best (in my opinion it’s not up for debate) is remarkable. He is visibly more effective on a football pitch than everyone else in the world bar one little genius.
Yeah, I wont doubt Messi's genius but now that they're playing in a different league, it's harder to compare them. Juve's style is very pragmatic and negative which is somewhat understandable as they're a historically defensive team. They create VERY few chances per game and when they do score, they usually try to preserve the lead rather than beat the opponent emphatically. This is reflected in the fact that they only have 46 league goals this season despite being 1st in their division by a margin of 9 points. In comparison, Barca who are also first have scored 60 goals in la liga..so it's obvious Messi's team are able to maximise more of his attacking potential than Ronaldo's. Despite the stylistic differences affecting their numbers; Ronaldo has still managed to be involved in over 44% of his team's goals this season and is top scorer in serie a with 17 goals - all while still adapting to a new team, league and different teammates at 34 years old.
I believe Ronaldo's numbers would match Messi's if he played in a more attack oriented team like his previous club. He's been generally better than last season this year.
I probably agree with all that.
I think the pragmatic defensive style of Juve hurts Ronaldos scoring chances but he can still easily bank them in and will prob hit close to 30 in the Serie A.
Dont think he has lost a step at all in fact I would argue he is playing better for Juve than he has for the last 2 years in Madrid. If Juve were more of an attacking team Ronnie would still bang in 50 but with the way Juve play I think 40 will be his mark. Still his first season at Juve keep in mind he is still learning a new league and style
Still the best player in the world for me but I Will admit Messi has been the better of the two this season.
Dont think he has lost a step at all in fact I would argue he is playing better for Juve than he has for the last 2 years in Madrid. If Juve were more of an attacking team Ronnie would still bang in 50 but with the way Juve play I think 40 will be his mark. Still his first season at Juve keep in mind he is still learning a new league and style
Still the best player in the world for me but I Will admit Messi has been the better of the two this season.
I think beyond Juve's style is the issue of their midfield. They've had the worst midfield in years this season. Ronaldo has to work with the likes of Matuidi who can barely control a football to save his life (even though he covers the distance of 2 players); a past it Khedira; a painfully average Emre Can who isn't even considered a midfield player by his national team; a still developing Bentancur and a below-par Pjanic. None of these guys are technicians of any sort apart from Pjanic who hasn't been himself at all this year and when he doesn't play, they look lost in the middle of the park. It makes Ronaldo's life and the life of the other forwards very difficult even against the minnows of Serie A as the team just can't orchestrate play. It's one of the reasons Dybala has only registered 2 league goals this season as he's playing deeper than ever/coming short to collect the ball since the midfield is simply incapable of bring play forward or retaining the ball/dictating the tempo of the game to any degree. All of the big clubs around Europe have a better midfield than Juve. Even the likes of Liverpool, Chelsea and United I'd argue. Probably even Napoli with 1/3 of Juve's budget have a better midfield. Beyond even all this is Allegri's tactics which have been atrocious. Cumulatively, all these factors make Ronaldo's numbers even more stupendous. He's having the best ever debut start to a Juventus season in the history of the club.
I'm 99% sure if he was still at Madrid, he'd have 10+ goals more than he currently has.
P.s. I personally don't take Juve seriously as a genuine CL contender. I'd be surprised if they beat Atletico.
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I agree which is why IF they somehow won the CL it would be a ridiculous feat.
Can we agree with probably one of the most polarizing players? Those that hate him, really hate him and those of use who love him really love him (and partly because of just how much he pisses of others!)
Maybe it’s just me, but their post wasn’t as love filled as it usually is. Must be because of what happened earlier this season.Time...it does a lot.
By the time he retires he'll be remembered more fondly by this club and the others he played for
By the time he retires he'll be remembered more fondly by this club and the others he played for
I wish they would just stop.
He's 34, on his debut season in Italy, has scored or assisted 47% of all Juventus goals this season while they're on course for a 100+ points undefeated season and he gets criticism when he has 2 average performances in a row while playing out of position and half the team is out injured.
He might be old but all the criticism will make sure the motivation doesn't go anywhere and he keeps working to be at a top level for a long time.
If he remains injury free, he's playing until he's over 40.
He might be old but all the criticism will make sure the motivation doesn't go anywhere and he keeps working to be at a top level for a long time.
If he remains injury free, he's playing until he's over 40.
It might be true that longevity is increasing but definitely not that much. Ronaldo is clearly an exception.
Iniesta is 34 now, he was a rotational player at Barcelona at 32/33.
Pirlo went to America at 34.
Alonso retired at 35.
Ronaldo has 950+ games on his legs for his whole career, he's been a regular starter for a top team since 2003. Take a look at this list.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_footballers_with_the_most_official_appearances
By the end of next season he'll have played more games than the likes of Giggs or Maldini. He's already played 150+ more football matches than Scholes ever did for example.
He'll most likely end up as the outfield player with most appearances in football history as long as he stays injury free for a few more years.
He's looking to finish his career here imo. Don't think it's an accident he's been coming to watch our games fairly often recently.
He'll be 37 when his contract with Juve ends, coming back home to win us the title that's been escaping us for 20 years would be a nice way to end it, wouldn't it?
This is why I usually take the excuse of players burning out by their late 20s ala Torres, Rooney, Owen etc with a slight grain of salt. I always think about Ronaldo who played far more games than any of these guys both as a youth, in his prime and also post-prime and at the very highest level - usually 90 minutes every game as he never gets subbed while the others likely got subbed in the majority of their appearances. But maybe I'm being unfair comparing them to Ronaldo who's body is seemingly supernatural.
In actuality, it doesn't really make sense how his legs have held up this long with all things added up. And they haven't just about held up, it's like they're almost brand new at times. He's not a GK - he plays in one of the most physically demanding positions on the pitch that require regular sprints and quick bursts of acceleration. Wingers and generally fast explosive players lose a great deal of their edge earlier/quicker than other players. The position and role he plays is also the riskiest in terms of injury - particularly his role at United where he was a winger and took on players. He was the most fouled player in the premier league when it was probably more physical than it is now and as a youngster. You would think all the kicks and hacks would've taken a toll, yet he was almost never injured. His physical endurance and invulnerability is almost a medical marvel. Maybe it's a case he could suddenly fall of a cliff. It's happened before I guess.
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