On Saturday, football fans eagerly awaited the Madrid derby at the "Santiago Bernabeu" stadium. This meeting between the clubs "Real" and "Atletico" was not what everyone expected - it was a fierce, full of opportunities, and high-level football. Madrid's "Real" once again received a painful lesson from their eternal rivals. Diego Simeone's players surpassed the hosts by a minimal margin and continue to fight for the title, something that Zinedine Zidane's team is unlikely to achieve.
For over a month now, "Real" has been without one of their key players, Gareth Bale. Pepe and Marcelo were also missing in the Madrid derby. After the match, the media discussed not the loss of "Real," but the prominent star of the team Cristiano Ronaldo's words: "if everyone else were at my level, we would be first in Spain."
Madrid's newspapers and several "white" groups on Twitter rushed to defend the Portuguese, as he did not mean to say that other players are worse than him, but rather wanted to emphasize that the team lacks the mentioned injured players. Unfortunately, in the interview, Ronaldo did not mention the issues with the injured players after the sentence "if all players were at my level."
Most absurdly, the place where he mentioned injured players, he also named Karim Benzema and Pepe. In the first half, he did have the Frenchman by his side, but was it any better than in the second half? Probably not. Pepe? Really? Is Pepe really that important when the center-back pair consists of Raphael Varane and Sergio Ramos? What the 31-year-old footballer lacked the most in this match was accurate passes into the penalty area..
And should a true team leader, or at least one who considers himself as such, blame the team for injuries and put the blame on less experienced players? The answer is simple - NO. Isn't it precisely in difficult times that a team needs a true leader who could score a goal himself and not wait for someone to create an opportunity for him? Yes, Zizou brought Cristiano back to the edge, but did he create a brilliant opportunity for another team player that would end in a goal? And the answer again is NO.
Especially amusing were Cristiano's words about statistics: "The press says I play 'fantastically,' but numbers and statistics don't lie." Yes, Cristiano, your statistics in Spain this season would be amazing for any other player - 26 matches and 22 goals. However, if we remember the importance of all these goals and their effectiveness, we can see how Cristiano is wrong with his "exceptional" contribution in this team.
This season in the Spanish "Primera" championship, the attacker failed to score a single goal against any of the top teams in the standings. "Barcelona"? No. "Atletico"? No. "Sevilla"? No. "Villarreal"? No. Furthermore, C. Ronaldo has scored against only 12 teams in Spain. If we deduct all of the Portuguese's goals against these teams, "Real" would have played only two matches at equal terms and suffered a defeat in Malaga.
And where is that leader, Cristiano? Maybe you no longer match the level of this team, not the other players. If you had at least a bit of respect for your teammates, you should avoid making such statements. And if there is a player in this team who could be called a leader, it would be Luka Modric, not you.
Aivaras Katutis
