Cristiano Ronaldo stole the headlines during the European Championship.
Now the world star is being driven crazy by Jonas Eriksson.
– You must not do that, says the SVT expert.
Although Cristiano Ronaldo left the top European football for games in Saudi Arabia, he got the chance to start for Portugal during the EC. Ronaldo feverishly chased the goal that would make him the oldest goalscorer in European Championship history, but it never came.
Fell out in a big cry
Although Portugal impressed at times during the group stage, Ronaldo went goalless, and there was no goal in the round of 16 against Slovenia either. However, Ronaldo had a golden opportunity to break his goalless streak when, in extra time of that match, he had the chance from the penalty spot, but the shot from eleven meters was saved by world goalkeeper Jan Oblak. And it took Ronaldo.
Shortly afterwards, as the Portuguese players gathered at their substitution booth midway through extra time, Cristiano Ronaldo broke down in tears. The superstar was consoled by his teammates, and Ronaldo later scored in the penalty shootout. Portugal progressed, but afterwards all the talk was about Ronaldo and his actions, and many were critical of the behavior, saying that his big ego clearly affected Portugal negatively during extra time, when the focus was only on him rather than the team and the performance.
Jonas Eriksson’s criticism
One who knows what it’s like to deal with Cristiano Ronaldo is Jonas Eriksson. The Swedish referee icon is now an expert in SVT, but judged the Portuguese as early as 2002, then during the U17 WC in Denmark. Then the opening match ended with Eriksson handing out a red card to Ronaldo.
– He cried. Then too. Yes, damn he got mad. Then when it comes to tears, I want to say that I like it when players show emotion. And it’s fantastic to see that even men can cry, says Eriksson to Expressen.
But there is a big difference between the actions then and now during the EC, says Eriksson. Now that Portugal is out of the tournament, after a penalty shootout in the quarter-finals against France, Eriksson believes that it was not okay for Ronaldo to cry in the middle of the match.
– The last time Ronaldo cried, it was in the middle of a match. That timing! You mustn’t cry in the middle of a match!, says Eriksson.
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