Cristiano Ronaldo Needs to Involve Teammates for Real Madrid to Be Successful

Cristiano Ronaldo and Real Madrid are facing a mini crisis heading into the final stages of the 2014-15 season, and the Ballon d'Or winner needs to turn to his team-mates to climb out of the slump and contend for silverware.

The Portugal international is one of several players facing criticism in the wake of the 2-1 Clasico loss against Barcelona and Los Blancos' underwhelming performance against Schalke 04 in the Champions League, with a recent study only adding fuel to the fire, per Sky Sports:

According to the study, conducted by CIES Football Observatory, Ronaldo is ranked 29th in the list of top attackers in 2015. He's scored 10 goals so far this year, per WhoScored.com—seven less than No. 1 Lionel Messi.

Compared to his insane goal tally from late 2014, he looks almost mortal. Per WhoScored, his efficiency in front of goal has taken a serious hit:

Ronaldo struggled in January in particular and has looked more like himself in recent weeks. He has three goals and an assist in his last three matches, including two against Schalke, when he was pivotal in securing a spot in the Champions League's quarter-finals, and a strike in the loss against Barcelona.

But his team-mates have come up short. Karim Benzema's scoring rate has dropped alarmingly; Gareth Bale is under intense pressure following a poor stretch of matches:

With those two slumping and Ronaldo seemingly turning the corner, it's easy to suggest Real should ride their biggest star in the search for success. But right now, that would be the wrong path to take.

In basketball, there's this thing called "hero ball," where one player on the team tries to will his team to victory by taking just about every shot available, pushing the action and carrying the team on his back. And as explained by Grantland's Jason Concepcion, it rarely works:

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In this age of enlightenment, “hero ball” has become an epithet. And no wonder. Numerous studies have found that iso offense is, because of its predictability, not as efficient as actions that involve motion — both of ball and players. Take away the element of surprise and eschew misdirection, and even the lamest of NBA defenses will look pretty good when given the time to set up.

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Top stars like Los Angeles Lakers' Kobe Bryant and New York Knicks' Carmelo Anthony can occasionally win their team the game on an exceptional night playing hero ball, but in general, they're far more effective when they share the ball. This means the defence can't just guard one man, which in turn opens up space for them to shine.

The same applies to football, and as good as Ronaldo is—and he's still very, very good—he shouldn't start playing hero ball. Los Blancos feature arguably more talent than just about any other team in the world, and there's no point in becoming one-dimensional when there are so many attacking options to choose from.

Ronaldo needs to turn to his team-mates, but at the same time, those team-mates need to show they're worthy of him doing just that. And if Benzema and Bale continue to struggle, there are others like Isco, Luka Modric, Toni Kroos and Jese, who all have the ability to step up and make a difference.

People love to talk down what Ronaldo does on the pitch, ranging from your average fan to greats like Pele, per Barcastuff:

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Pele: "Messi never plays badly and is a very quiet guy. Ronaldo is that striker who scores, but Messi does that and helps with assists" [dm]

— barcastuff (@barcastuff) March 29, 2015"

The idea Ronaldo doesn't assist his team-mates is ludicrous—he has 11 in 25 La Liga matches, per WhoScored—but the perception is that he looks to shoot first, always wants to push the action and, well, plays hero ball.

That needs to change in the coming weeks. With the La Liga title on the line and a difficult Champions League tie against rivals Atletico Madrid, Real have to come together as a team quickly and leave the current mini crisis in the rear-view mirror.

Ronaldo has the talent to win his team matches, and lots of them, but he can't do it on his own. It's up to the rest of the squad to step up—and Ronaldo to allow them to. Only then will Los Blancos be able to challenge Barcelona for the La Liga title.

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