The head coach of Madrid's "Real" team, Rafa Benitez, recently compared the impressive performance of the team's star Cristiano Ronaldo to the icon of the Spanish basketball team, Pau Gasol.
Not standing out in the first two "La Liga" matches, the Portuguese player last weekend defeated Barcelona's "Espanyol" goalkeeper five times, and scored a hat-trick in the UEFA Champions League match against Donetsk's "Shakhtar."
Three goals allowed Ronaldo to surpass Barcelona's leader Lionel Messi in the list of the most productive tournament players of all time, and come close to the club's record holder Raul by just two goals.
Benitez believes that the form demonstrated by the sniper resembles the game shown by the twice NBA champion Gasol in the European Championship, where in the semi-finals the power forward scored as many as 40 points. In total, the Spaniards, who scored 80 points that night, defeated the tournament hosts France.
"Cristiano is our Pau Gasol," Benitez said. "I hope that, like any other impressive player, he will help his teammates win titles."
In the same interview, the coach dismissed the importance of injuries plaguing the team, as there are many talented footballers in Real's ranks. The absence of Gareth Bale, Sergio Ramos, James Rodriguez, and Danilo in the weekend match against "Granada" does not convince the Spaniard.
