Chapter 267
After the Champions League came to an end, Cristiano returned to the national team's training camp almost immediately.
The schedule for the European Cup group stage has been released, and Portugal's luck seems a bit bad. In the same group with Portugal are Germany, the runner-up of the last European Cup, the Netherlands that reached the quarterfinals, and Denmark, a traditional European powerhouse.
——Portugal was once again involved in the group of death.
The first European Cup group match is against Germany.
Facing the aggressive and iron-willed German tanks, the eleven men were like a company of soldiers, driving their tanks across the field in an orderly, rigorous and united manner.
Portugal fought hard until the end and conceded the crucial winning goal in the 80th minute.
Portugal's zero points at the start foreshadowed the difficult situation in the group stage. Although they won three valuable points against Denmark 3-2, they still have a more difficult game ahead of them if they want to advance from the group stage to the knockout stage.
Against the Netherlands.
Portugal and the Netherlands have faced each other too many times, but the most impressive one was the 2006 World Cup. That card record match that no one has broken to this day has become an event that has been talked about countless times by fans.
It seemed like just a blink of an eye. Cristiano, who was kicked and injured in the last game, became the captain of Portugal to face the Tulip Army head-on in this game.
In the player tunnel, Cristiano was cheering on his teammates, and the Dutch team next door also walked in one after another.
"Ronnie!" Van der Sar called out loudly, waved at Cristiano and grinned.
For various reasons, there was no chance to meet Cristiano privately before the game, so the game became their first meeting in such a long time.
Cristiano heard the familiar shout and turned around immediately. He smiled, strode towards Van der Sar, and almost jumped up to give him a strong hug: "Edwin!"
Van der Sar gestured to the top of Cristiano's head: "You've grown taller, haven't you, Ronnie? Good guy."
As he spoke, he reached out and rubbed Cristiano's hair. Not surprisingly, his hands were covered with hairspray. Van der Sar paused and laughed a little. He narrowed his eyes and said, "Are you still using hairspray to tame your curls? Curls are so cute."
Cristiano: "...Edwin!"
Ruud van Nistelrooy also came forward from the back of the player tunnel, and when he heard Van der Sar's joke, he curled his lips: "A certain conceited kid probably wants to delete the game in which he wore braces and had his curly hair flying in the second half from the world. Edwin, you really know how to chat."
Cristiano couldn't help but cover his face with his hands. That was how many years ago. Fanny actually still remembers it!
Maybe it was because of that game that the media took a close-up photo of him?
Van der Sar showed a little curiosity: "Ronnie was wearing braces when he came to Manchester United? Wow, Luther, it seems that you have a lot of private collections. We can exchange them."
Fanny narrowed his eyes and smiled: "Of course."
Cristiano rolled his eyes and called out to Fanny in a low voice: "Luther!"
"Okay, Ronnie." Van Nistelrooy smiled and stopped teasing his little friend. He opened his arms and gave the Portuguese a hug. "Congratulations on winning the Champions League."
"Thank you. You seem to be doing well in the Bundesliga and you look in great shape," Cristiano said sincerely.
The Dutchman in front of him trimmed his previously slightly longer hair, looking neater and more energetic. The game nourishes people, and the king of the small penalty area was close to the league's scorer list in his first season in the Bundesliga.
Van Nistelrooy still likes to pinch Cristiano's face. He said: "You will experience it more directly on the field next time. Don't cry if you lose, Ronnie."
"Don't cry even if you concede a goal." Cristiano made a face, then grinned and hugged his two friends' necks. He rested his chin on their shoulders and whispered solemnly, "I will do my best in this game."
"Of course." Van der Sar and Van Nistelrooy looked at each other.
This game is destined to be a battle in which both sides will go all out. The Dutch team has not won any game so far, while Denmark has already finished the game. The record of two losses and one win means that in this final round of the group stage, if the Netherlands wants to qualify, they must beat Portugal and win with enough goal difference to get a ticket to the knockout stage.
Cristiano seemed to be conducting diplomacy on the Dutch team's side, while the Portuguese team kept looking across the narrow passage from time to time.
The Dutch seemed to be all tall and strong, while the Portuguese were whispering.
When their captain joined the Dutch team, it was as if he had suddenly shrunk in size. Coupled with those central defenders who looked tough - including the ones who had been given cards in the card war before - their captain seemed like a lamb walking into the tiger's mouth.
Coentrao craned his neck to look around. “Those Dutchmen surrounded Chris so tightly that I couldn’t even see him. What were they talking about?”
Portugal's young striker Nani frowned at the sight: "Are they talking trash and laughing at us? Cristiano looked angry. Van Bommel was there too."
——He knew how rude and barbaric these Dutch people were. He watched the live broadcast of that World Cup!
"Are we going over?" goalkeeper Patricio asked.
"Not really..." Pepe touched his chin, looked in the direction Coentrao and Quaresma were talking about, and then laughed, "It must be Van der Sar and Ruud teasing Chris again. They haven't seen each other for a long time."
Quaresma narrowed his eyes slightly when he heard this, and looked there for a few seconds. He saw Cristiano hugging the two tall Dutchmen together, and he had to agree that Pepe was right.
Cristiano quickly returned to his team, and Coentrao approached him: "What did they say just now?"
"Just some encouragement," Cristiano said. He couldn't tell his teammates that they were talking about his curly hair and weird black history?
Coentrao showed a look of disbelief. He clearly saw Cristiano there, so anxious that he was about to stamp his feet.
Cristiano felt uncomfortable being stared at by Coentrao. He coughed lightly and slapped the young defender on the forehead: "It's time to go on the court. Pay attention!"
He shouted and clapped his hands to cheer up the team.
The announcement of entering the stadium was made on the radio, and Cristiano led the team to trot onto the field.
Portugal drew the home draw and wore their usual red Portuguese home jersey, while the Netherlands team wore black away jerseys. As soon as the game started, they played an exceptionally fierce and outstanding first half.
"The Netherlands' performance against two European powerhouses, Denmark and Germany, was not satisfactory. Two consecutive losses have made their hopes of qualifying very slim."
There was a lot of live commentary for this game, with machines set up all around the stadium.
The commentators all said at once: "...But in the final round of the group stage, the Netherlands will play against Portugal, a team that has only shown some signs of being a top team in recent years. Its foundation is still too weak. This is the Netherlands' last and most promising chance to win a ticket to the knockout stage of the European Cup."
The game had just begun and the two teams were already playing a very beautiful back-and-forth game.
The Dutch team's desire to attack was very strong. In less than ten minutes, the Netherlands launched three very threatening shots towards the Portuguese goal, which made Patricio break out in a cold sweat.
The Dutch team that Portugal faced had an extremely luxurious offensive lineup. The front line consisted of Bundesliga Golden Boot Huntelaar, Premier League Golden Boot Van Persie, and the king of the small penalty area Van Nistelrooy. At the beginning of the game, they quickly pushed Portugal back step by step.
Coentrao and Pepe quickly reorganized the defense and immediately sent the ball to the front line after it was intercepted.
Switching from defense to offense seems much easier for Portugal.
This subtle smoothness reflected some disconnection between the Dutch midfield and the frontcourt, which gave Portugal the opportunity to counterattack. Cristiano noticed it almost immediately.
He immediately directed his teammates.
However, the Netherlands' attack was still luxurious. In the first half, the Dutch team almost firmly controlled the offensive rights on the field.
In the 18th minute of the game, Sneijder made a cross into the penalty area, which was blocked by the Portuguese defender. After the ball bounced back, Van Nistelrooy keenly captured the landing point, made a quick shot outside the penalty area, broke through the siege, and slammed the Portuguese goal open, taking the lead in widening the score.
"The Netherlands is leading by one point!! Van Nistelrooy made a surprise shot from outside the box! The Netherlands is leading by one goal!"
This goal was not surprising considering the offensive posture shown by the Dutch team.
"Portugal must adjust as soon as possible. The two teams' offense and defense are very good, whichever side makes a mistake first will lose the ball. Portugal is already one goal behind!"
Portugal's road to qualifying in this European Cup was not smooth. The qualifiers led by Queiroz started with a draw and then lost to Norway away. The consecutive bad starts led to the head coach being sacked. The new coach has no experience in leading a team to a championship in any club.
Therefore, for this game, even though Portugal has players such as Cristiano, Coentrao and Pepe who play for Real Madrid, most fans are still optimistic that the Netherlands team will qualify.
The Dutch team, which had already scored a goal, was obviously under much less pressure.
On the Portuguese side, Cristiano did not get anxious because he fell behind at the beginning of the game. He calmly organized his teammates to counterattack in the midfield.
The Netherlands' offense was indeed excellent, but the team as a whole did not play in its usual style. The aging of the central defender was visible to the naked eye, the barrier in the midfield was non-existent, the center forward lacked support from the wing, and Van Bommel was unable to get the Orange Army to quickly implement a tactic of switching between offense and defense.
When Cristiano penetrated the midfield and deftly and easily passed the ball from the Dutch team's feet, it was the stage for Portugal to launch a quick counterattack.
"Ronaldo stole the ball from Van Bommel's feet! Van Bommel, the former midfield rival who often kicked the young Ronaldo to tears, can only look at Ronaldo's back when facing his attack!"
After Cristiano intercepted the ball, he quickly pressed forward along the sideline. After dribbling past one player, he shot directly from outside the penalty area. The ball almost hit the side post and hit the side net.
The commentators on the scene and in the broadcast room almost exclaimed, the angle was so close, it was as if the ball had gone into the net!
"Ronaldo's shooting angle was blocked by the defensive player in front of him, and the shot went wide!"
"What a pity it was such a shot! The speed and power were just right, and the angle was almost hitting the blind spot of the goal. If it was more straight, I'm afraid the goalkeeper wouldn't have been able to save the ball!"
The narrator said regretfully.
Cristiano also felt regretful and bared his teeth. When he noticed that the flying cameras were aimed at him, he stuck out his tongue and immediately trotted away.
When he scores a goal, he'll ask the cameras to capture his entire body.
He thought to himself, not realizing how childish the idea was.
Van der Sar and the defenders were all shocked by this cold shot.
Van der Sar looked at Cristiano who was jogging away and took a deep breath. This was more powerful than he had expected, at a greater angle and more difficult to save.
As Portugal interrupted the Dutch attack again and again, then counterattacked and attacked again, the rhythm of the Dutch side was completely disrupted.
From the second half of the first half, Portugal had great control over the ball, perfectly interpreting modern football - delicate passing, beautiful and quick counterattacks, pressing in the frontcourt, and organization after stealing the ball. The whole performance of tacit cooperation was much smoother than that of the Netherlands.
"Quaresma made a straight pass through the wall! Ronaldo made a run from the wing and shot! Van der Sar was a little slow in his attack! The ball went in!!!"
"Twenty-eight minutes into the game! Ronaldo equalized the score for Portugal! Assisted by Quaresma!"
"It was a very beautiful frontcourt cooperation. Ronaldo was very calm in the face of goalkeeper Van der Sar's attack. He lobbed the ball over the goalkeeper and sent it into the net! The Dutch defense is in some danger!"
Cristiano trotted to the spectator stands on the sidelines, raised the corners of his mouth with some pride, waved to his teammates, and hugged them.
After the score was tied, the Dutch side became much more anxious.
Sneijder pressed deeper in the frontcourt, so that the connection gap between the midfielders became larger, and the coach's commands in the coaching area did not have much effect.
The Dutch team has almost no sense of identification with their head coach, which means that the coach has completely lost control of the team, which is fatal.
The Dutch team, with too many superstars and a luxurious lineup, is just like the Brazilian team in 2006. Their pursuit of individuals and downplaying of the collective style pushed them step by step into the abyss.
Van Nistelrooy saw their problems in the midfield and frontcourt, but it was difficult for him to make any changes.
The defeats in the first two games had actually exposed the team's problems very clearly, but facing Portugal, facing this Portugal that had lost its golden generation, both the coach and the main players underestimated this team.
Only Van der Sar and Van Nistelrooy knew very well that even if Portugal had lost its golden generation, they still had the most legendary man of this century. A team with Cristiano Ronaldo would always surprise people.
Even though Cristiano cannot turn adversity around every time, he is the one who makes miracles most likely to happen.
In the second half, Cristiano stole the ball from the midfield again and ran sideways. After observing the situation in the frontcourt, he passed the ball across the line and flew straight to the second side post in front of the penalty area.
Nani almost had a one-on-one communication with Van der Sar. He kicked the ball quickly without hesitation, but it was immediately confiscated by Van der Sar.
He clenched his fist in frustration. The ball Cristiano passed to him was very good, but unfortunately he shot it too straight.
Van der Sar breathed a sigh of relief. He hugged the ball and signaled everyone to retreat to the other side. He panted and was glad in his heart that it was not Ronnie who attacked just now.
If it was a one-on-one match with Ronnie, this ball would have been in danger. In such a close and large space, he knew how many clever ideas and tricks Ronnie had to tease the goalkeeper.
The ball rolled towards Portugal's half again.
Portugal's defense remained as tight as ever. With the cooperation of Carvalho and Pepe, it was difficult for the Dutch midfielder to easily deliver the ball to a position closer to the penalty area.
As soon as Coentrao intercepted the ball, he immediately pressed forward with the midfield. Portugal's pressing in the frontcourt greatly increased the pressure on the Dutch defenders, which in turn affected the performance of the forwards.
In the 78th minute of the game, Nani did not waste time on the ball after getting it, but made a very accurate diagonal pass to Cristiano's feet.
"Ronaldo has the ball again!"
"He got rid of the defender in front of him very calmly! The opponent was knocked down by the fake move! There was almost no space around him, one-on-one with Van der Sar!!"
Cristiano looked up at Van der Sar, he was very calm, but Van der Sar felt a long-lost tension and hesitation under the other's gaze.
"Ronaldo shoots! Van der Sar was tricked into misjudging the direction! The ball goes in!! Cristiano Ronaldo reversed the score to the Netherlands in the 78th minute of the game!!"
Cristiano took a long breath and ran to the sidelines. The desire and pressure to qualify from the group of death were self-evident, not to mention that they were one goal ahead at the start.
But they got it back!
Before this goal, he had several chances to shoot, but as if he had an inseparable fate with the post, his shots always hit the side post and bounced out. The frustration of missing the goal weighed on his chest layer by layer, but at this moment, he could finally get rid of it and roared loudly.
Van der Sar looked at Cristiano's back as he ran towards the crowd and shook his head helplessly. He really hated Ronnie standing in front of his goal.
The match between the Netherlands and Portugal ended with a score of 2-1, and the Netherlands ended its journey in this European Cup early with a record of three games without a win.
When the whistle blew to end the game, all the Portuguese players ran in from the sidelines in excitement and ecstasy.
"Congratulations to Portugal! We have advanced to the quarterfinals! The quarterfinals will be held in five days!"
"Ronaldo scored twice! Helped Portugal break out of the group of death!"
"This is the role of a star! Ronaldo not only played his role as a shooter in the game, but also passed the ball, controlled the ball, and organized the team to help other players play a bigger role. This is what we can see from Cristiano in this game! He can not only shoot, but also assist and even return to defense!"
“…”
Each commentator was extremely excited in his own camera.
After the game, both teams thanked the fans and returned to the player tunnel.
Cristiano quickly caught up with Van Nistelrooy, took off his jersey and handed it to him.
Seeing this, Van Nistelrooy glanced at Chris, who smiled and readily exchanged his jerseys: "We have to let Portugal go further, otherwise I will be sad."
Cristiano paused when he heard this, then he turned sideways and hugged Van Nistelrooy tightly, and responded softly.
He knew that if nothing unexpected happened, this European Cup would be Van Nistelrooy's last, but it ended with such a result. It was impossible not to be depressed.
He could almost feel the same way, and even his breathing became heavier.
Van Nistelrooy noticed Cristiano's change. He was about to turn his head when he felt the Portuguese's soothing kiss on his neck. It was like a feather, or like his little Chihuahua suddenly came up to him and kissed him.
"We can't solve the team's problems by ourselves, Luther. We can't always be the one who changes the game. I have learned to accept it." Cristiano said softly.
Van Nistelrooy paused, and looked at Cristiano with some surprise. He never thought that these words would come out of Cristiano's mouth -
He meant that when Cristiano always brought the fruits of victory to his team in the game, Cristiano was the one who was most qualified to be labeled as personal heroism.
But it was Cristiano who said something as old-fashioned as "learn to accept it".
Although, he had to agree.
Vanni looked at Cristiano and couldn't help but reach out and pinch the soft flesh on the boy's face again. "When will it be your turn to teach me a lesson? Ronnie? But thank you. I mean it."
He smiled, but quickly changed his expression. He hugged Cristiano gently and then said goodbye.
Portugal's European Cup adventure continues, but it's time for him to leave.
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