How does Ronaldo score goals? We all know of his pristine physique, making him the most dangerous athlete on the planet, combining speed and power to terrorise opposing defences. And his devastating jumping ability that leaves any defender grounded. For more information, if you haven't so already, watch this series of tests that Castrol put the Portuguese through to determine what makes him one of the best players in the world :
Barcelona are a team of the most intelligent football players on the face of the earth. A blend of Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta, Xavi Hernandez and more make the Catalan giants the team to beat every year. The president of the Blaugrana, Sandro Rosell, claimed that Ronaldo was the " 12th best player in the world ", with the " first 11 being Barcelona players ", meaning that Ronaldo would not get into the starting XI. However, what Sandro fails to comprehend is that Ronaldo is just as intelligent as any of the Barca players, it's just that his intelligence is not in his passing game, but in his movement.
To The Back Post
There is no other player that can match Ronaldo in movement to the far post. I have noticed that El Shaarawy of AC Milan has adopted the same style. Stationed on the left wing for the Rossoneri, but acts as an inside forward and looks to score rather than support. He is 20 years old and is the second leading scorer Serie A with 16 goals in 28 appearances.
Here is an example of Ronaldo's clever movement to the back post :
Angel Di Maria is crossing to the far post and he knows that Ronaldo is there. It is all done on the training ground with Mourinho telling the players to always aim for the back post when crossing. The next time you watch the Galacticos, watch where their crosses are travelling to. I guarantee that only 1 or 2 of their averaged 23 crosses will be aimed at the near post.
Ronaldo completes his hat trick with a replica goal 15 minutes later.
Another example of his technique :
Ronaldo has already left the right back for dead as his explosive speed is about to send him beyond the full back. Higuain knows that he has to cross to the far post to set Cristiano loose.
And he duly delivers to double his haul for the match with his second of the game. The right back cannot even react to challenge him in the air.
Run Through Channels
Barcelona still cannot find an answer to when Ronaldo sprints through the gap between the full back and centre back or two centre backs. The Ozil / Ronaldo combination has proved to be decisive in the most recent games against the superpower.
His second goal in the third Clasico of the season sums this up perfectly
As the ball breaks to Ozil, Ronaldo has already begun his run beyond Alves and behind Mascherano.
Javier gets drawn into the battle and opens up a gap in behind for Ronaldo to accelerate into. He is onside when the ball is released.
And there's only one outcome when Ronaldo has a goal scoring opportunity at the Nou Camp. I mean, he's done it 12 times before in 18 encounters.
So what is the moral of this piece? To see beyond the body, but into the mind of the phenomenon. He does possess tremendous physical qualities (just ask Patrice Evra), but his instinct to score is his greatest strength. Look at Nani. He has an array of skills and can beat any opponent. But the difference is that Nani is not instinctive enough to make that run between the defenders to score. Gareth Bale has added that to his game this year and Spurs have reaped tremendous rewards. The Welshman is in blistering form right now and shoes no sign of stopping.
I'm now going to leave you with the most visually stunning and entertaining football video on the web :
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