Cristiano Ronaldo Should Be Commended for Trying so Hard, Not Mocked for It

As far as easy targets go Cristiano Ronaldo is about as easy as they come. He might be one of this generation’s finest footballers, boasting three Ballons d’Or, three Champions League trophies and countless other accolades to his name, but the winger doesn’t just run around with the No. 7 on his back. There’s a target there too. 

That target has been struck rather hard at this summer’s European Championship. His comments following Portugal’s draw against Iceland, accusing the tiny Scandinavian nation of having a “small mentality,” did little to dispel scorn widely held for Ronaldo, with his calamitous performance in the next game against Austria seen as some form of karmic sentence. 

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His penalty miss and general futility in front of goal made for prime social-media mocking, with Ronaldo’s pained expression as he drew his second successive blank of the tournament the source of much schadenfreude. This time there was no shirtless goal celebrations, no preening and no peacocking. 

It’s easy to understand why so many would revel in Ronaldo’s misfortune. The Portuguese captain demands attention, making the achievements of his team—whether it’s for club or country—all about himself. When there’s not a target on his back, there’s a sign above his head that says "look at me!"

But despite his often-grating character, Ronaldo deserves to be cut some slack. Sure, he can be self-centred and vain. He so desperately wants to be considered the best of his generation, putting his own personal ambitions above that of his team. All this matters little in the grand scheme of things. 

Ronaldo might lack self-awareness, criticising Iceland for overcelebrating as if he’s never been guilty of that, but he is the epitome of the mantra that says captains should lead by example, setting a precedent for his team-mates not by what he says but by what he does. 

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When things go against him it would be easy for Ronaldo—a player under more pressure than most—to go hiding. It would be a form of personal damage limitation were he to take a back seat, asking others to take responsibility. He never does that that, though. Never. 

It’s Ronaldo’s greatest quality and there’s a lot to be said for it. Against Austria, with the scoreline still goalless following his penalty miss, he ran faster and harder than he had at any other point during the game. He took it upon himself to get Portugal the win they desperately needed to boost their chances of making the last 16. 

There’s something inherently endearing about Ronaldo when he is faced with such a task, struggling in such a rut. Whether his endeavour in such a situation is motivated by personal stimulation or by a sense of duty to his team, the sight of him charging around a football pitch in an effort to claw back a game or find a winner is one that every football fan should enjoy. 

For Portugal, he has to be the way he is. He might be the country’s greatest-ever footballer, making more appearances for the national team than any other, but he finds himself a part of his country’s poorest side in a generation. While he could once call on the likes of Luis Figo and Rui Costa for support, now he has only also-rans and fledgling talents to back him up.

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And so Ronaldo has to be such a dominating character as his country’s figurehead. He is all Portugal have in terms of truly elite talent, meaning no player will play at Euro 2016 with so much pressure weighted on his sculpted, bronzed shoulders. 

Per James Orr of the Sun, Portugal coach Fernando Santos revealed after the draw against Austria:

"

Cristiano hasn’t been able to sleep. On Sunday I was one of the first up and he was already awake. 

He’s a winner and his experience will help him bounce back.

If there is a penalty in the next game, Cristiano Ronaldo will take it and he will score.

We played really well against Austria without scoring and we have to continue with this attitude. We made Austria, who are ranked 10th in the world, look like a small team.

"

The 31-year-old probably shouldn’t care as much as he does. Ronaldo would sleep better if he grew a thicker skin to cover his Adonis body, learning to take the criticism with the acclaim. And yet, that is also something of an endearing trait. It’s better to care than to be blase or indifferent, certainly from the perspective of a football fan.

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The sense of schadenfreude might be somewhat satisfying from time to time, but it goes against the grain of human nature to wish ill of someone who tries harder than everyone else. That’s why such mocking of Ronaldo, even taking into account his public persona and grating character, really strikes home the depth of hatred felt towards him. It’s not natural to feel this way.

It might take until the day Ronaldo finally retires from the game—which is still another 10 years off according to the man himself—for football to truly appreciate his brilliance and the many redeeming qualities of his personality. He is not a bad guy. He is a good guy who so badly wants to be seen as a good guy it sometimes makes him a bad guy.

Ronaldo falls into the category of those who are loathed unless they are one of your own—much like Jose Mourinho or Sergio Ramos.

But perhaps it's time the true reasoning behind such hostility is examined, because if Ronaldo is criticised for being superficial then the criticism angled at him much also be considered superficial. Maybe one day he’ll be afforded the leniency of nuance.