- Published
Cristiano Ronaldo's old rival Leo Messi left Argentina less than a month ago with a nation applauding him.
asserted
nation → publish → him
The Portugal legend has gone another way, and it was always going to be the case.
asserted
it → go → ?
The 41-year-old announced his international retirement after 23 years but also after a fallout with coach Jorge Jesus which was resolved with a sanction of 30 days, that had already been served, and a fine of 255 euros.
asserted
that → announce → euros
It was the punishment imposed on the Portuguese striker for leaving the team's training camp without permission.
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It → impose → permission
Jesus kept him on the bench for one match and said he did not plan to start him in the next, so Ronaldo went home.
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Ronaldo → keep → next
His last appearance came on 24 September against Wales.
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appearance → come → Wales
He ends his international career with 146 goals in 234 games.
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He → end → games
A message went around Portugal with a big thank you for everything, calling Ronaldo a global ambassador and an inspiration to millions.
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message → go → millions
Even so, the way it ended leaves a bit of a bitter taste.
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it → end → taste
Was he going to be named in the next squad?
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he → go → squad
Possibly, as Jesus said the door was open and the decision was Ronaldo's.
uncertain
decision → say → ?
What is clear is that he was no longer an automatic starter, and Cristiano has never handled that well.
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Cristiano → handle → that
He reacted the way he always has when a coach questions his place.
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coach → react → place
But the label hides how much he adapted over the years.
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he → hide → years
Such a pattern appears with almost every man who sat on the Portuguese bench - there were clashes, but also communion with managers and team-mates that help explain this ending.
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that → appear → ending
When a young Ronaldo first joined the squad, he arrived at camp with his baseball cap on backwards, enormous sunglasses and headphones turned up so loud they could be heard from a distance.
uncertain
they → join → distance
He would not take the cap off to eat among veterans like Luis Figo and Rui Costa.
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He → take → Figo
Luiz Felipe Scolari saw an extraordinary player who was immature and obsessed with showing off.
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who → see → player
He reprimanded him in public, then told him privately that if he changed his attitude, he would one day captain Portugal.
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he → reprimand → Portugal
The first great disappointment came early, and it came at home.
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it → come → home
At 19, Ronaldo played in the final of Euro 2004 at the Estadio da Luz in Lisbon, in front of a country that had convinced itself the trophy was already on its way.
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trophy → play → way
A single headed goal by Angelos Charisteas was enough for unfancied Greece to win it by surprise.
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Greece → head → surprise
When the final whistle went, Ronaldo could not hold back the tears, and the image of the teenager crying on his own pitch travelled everywhere.
uncertain
teenager → go → pitch
It was a painful way to learn what a final costs, and it left him with a hunger that never really went away.
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that → learn → hunger
Figo owned the number 7 at the time, so Ronaldo had to have 17.
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Ronaldo → own → 17
Figo helped him settle but had no intention of making it easy.
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it → help → intention
When he left the national team in 2006, the shirt and the team became Ronaldo's.
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shirt → leave → 2006
In September 2005, before a qualifier in Russia, Scolari and Figo went to his room to tell him his father had died.
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father → go → him
Scolari offered to send him home.
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Scolari → offer → him
Ronaldo chose to play, asked his team-mates to behave as normal, and spent time in the dressing room doing ball tricks.
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Ronaldo → choose → tricks
That was his way to cope with the expected but still hugely hurtful passing of his alcoholic dad.
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That → cope → dad
He later called Scolari "father".
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He → call → Scolari
That way the national team had become the place that held him together.
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that → become → him
Things went sour with Carlos Queiroz.
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Things → go → Queiroz
After the 2010 World Cup exit against Spain, asked to explain a poor performance, Ronaldo told journalists to ask the coach.
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Ronaldo → ask → coach
His influence in the camp had grown so large it changed routines and habits, which explains why the coach felt undermined.
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coach → grow → routines
The sociologist Joao Nuno Coelho offers the best lens on how Portugal sees him.
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Portugal → offer → him
In his analysis, the national team became a representation of Portuguese identity and of the country's need to be seen internationally.
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team → become → need
In years of economic hardship and a crisis of confidence, a team that won admiration abroad was important beyond football.
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that → win → football
Ronaldo stood at the centre of that need and created contradictory feelings.
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Ronaldo → stand → feelings
…and 37 more, not listed.
The Aporia
