That Boy Ronaldo: Can He Get Any Better?

This is the story of a talented boy with a humble background, going abroad to pursue his childhood dream. He overcomes homesickness, the death of his father and the status of "Public Enemy No. 1" in England, to reach the peak of football stardom.

Am I raving about Santiago Munez, the Mexican footballer from “GOAL”?

No, I’m talking about Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro.

Current holder of the Barclays Golden Boot and European Golden Shoe, winner of the PFA Player of the Year Award for the past two seasons, and everybody’s odds-on favourite for the distinguished Ballon d’Or and FIFA World Player of the Year. Add to that a collection of Premier League, FA Cup, Carling Cup, Champions’ League honours, plus a European Championship runners-up medal. All on the back of a most astounding 42-goal season from a 23-year old winger who grew up on the tiny island of Madeira.

After such a fairytale season both personally and for his team Manchester United, the question on many people’s minds is, “Can this player improve even further?”

Well, if you want evidence straight from the horse’s mouth, here it is:

"I want to keep working hard and getting better because these trophies have now given me more motivation.”

—PFA Players’ Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year 2007

“I feel very happy. When you work all season to play good, to do something for the team, to do your contribution for the team and then at the end of the season the PFA give you this award, it is a great moment, it is an honour, a pleasure. It is a great motivation to carry on like that, to work more and get better.

“I am sure I am better player than four or five years ago. Than last year? I have improved a little bit better still.”

—PFA Players’ Player of the Year 2008

"I feel very proud to have won these awards. Manchester (United) had a great season and I scored many goals. As a winger, to be named the best forward is fantastic. It is very good for me and gives me more ambition to become better. Thanks to my teammates and those who voted for me.” 

—UEFA Club Football of the Year and Forward of the Year 2007/08

After winning so many accolades, many young athletes would probably give themselves a pat on the back and take it easy for a while, to bask in the glory of their achievements.

Tell that to Ronaldo.

He isn’t just pleased for himself, but for his team’s achievements as well. He never forgets to thank his team-mates and his fans too. But he never misses the chance to lay down the marker to the rest who are watching, to tell them that these awards will only inspire him to work harder to improve himself everyday.

As a United fan, I do acknowledge that Ronaldo can be flashy and does tend to portray the "playboy" image. But his continuous goal of getting better and better is simply role model stuff. It is the right type of attitude that all athletes should have, no matter how high they climb. Jordan, Armstrong and Schumacher all had that attitude.

So that answers one half of the question: Can Ronaldo still improve? Well he himself wants to, so there’s no stopping him is there? His team-mates and the coaching staff at United can testify to the 100% effort that he gives in all training sessions, even staying behind to hone his finer skills.

When Ronaldo first arrived, he was classified in the same category as the Simaos, Nanis, Quaresmas (Portugal seem to have the world’s best wingers), and Giggsies, as the flamboyant winger flying down the flanks. He was a master of (too many) stepovers and a whole magician’s hat of other tricks. He was also accused of going down too often, not direct enough in his style and wasting possession.

Now he’s the complete attacking player. Creating, crossing, dribbling, bamboozling opponents, and scoring. Scoring with his left and right foot, from penalties, free-kicks, backheels, and with his head. Wait a minute…a winger scoring headers?! Have you ever heard of that?

Ronaldo has completely changed the notion of the traditional winger. Ever since he added the goal threat to his game two seasons back, no one can determine his true position. The complete attacker who is soon going to be officially crowned the world’s best player.

Now here’s the second half of the question: Which part of his game can he improve?

Before we get carried away and start listing stuff such as tackling, defending or goalkeeping, let us remember that he is built for the final third of the pitch. He should not be taking on too many responsibilities to become a complete utility player (leave that to John O’Shea who has played everywhere) but should focus on his talents. These are the main areas which I think Ronaldo can work on:

Free-kicks: More accuracy in clearing the wall, because his balls are sure to trouble the goalkeeper if they do. A little bit of variety would be good, just like his under-the-wall goal against Newcastle.

Penalties: Keep his focus in crucial moments and not get distracted by the big occasion. Recall those misses against Barcelona and Chelsea. His start-stop style is deceptively effective usually, but he could try different variations against different goalkeepers.

Passing: His large number of assists and goals prove that he has learnt when to be selfish and when to create for others. However he still tends to go on solo runs down the wings even with more than one defender on him. He’s lost the ball a few times doing this and might do better waiting for teammates to help him out. If he’s facing only the full-back, then this won’t be a problem, with the virtuoso performance in tearing apart Essien in Moscow springing to mind.

Finishing: Ludicrous as this may sound, his finishing still has room for improvement. Those who watched most of United’s games last season will know that Ronaldo creates numerous chances for himself in every game and registers the most shots in the league.

There’s no doubt he can keep creating those chances, but the thought of him improving his goal-to-shots ratio is beyond frightening. He could learn to place some shots too, rather than putting so much venom in every shot. After all, he can seek direct advice from the master of finishing himself—Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Defending: Tackling is not exactly his forte, but he could put in a bit more work for the team in hounding defenders from the front and tracking back when he loses the ball. However, Sir Alex usually has this covered to save Ronaldo’s engine by having Tevez, Rooney or Park on the field.

This list is not exhaustive, but the other aspects of his attacking game have more or less developed to a very high level. His crossing and heading in particular have come by leaps and bounds.

Most importantly, if he keeps up his positive attitude of always giving his best and seeking continuous improvement, nothing can stop his development. Not even the next Bugatti.