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- author, Marcos Alves
- role, BBC Sport
Bernardo Silva couldn't help but laugh when he heard a question about one of the largest elephants in Portugal.
“In the national team, when you listen to the whole discussion before the match, do you immediately accept the tactical instructions or do you sometimes react by saying: 'Ronaldo, man, it couldn't be any other way'?” Ricardo asked. Araujo Pereira, the famous comedian and writer, during a show in March.
It was clearly a joke – and the Manchester City midfielder quickly denied Ronaldo was the one who gave the orders – but such is the striker's power inside the dressing room that many people in the country believe is true.
Although he is expected to retire from international football after the last World Cup, the Portuguese legend retains great influence and will compete in a record sixth European Championship this summer in Germany.
Portugal coach Roberto Martinez told Channel 11: “I faced Ronaldo when I was coaching Everton in 2013. For most players, when the body starts to weaken, the head accepts it. The opposite is that the body only stops when the head says it should.” It stops.
“It's incredible that a player of his age has the habits and desires of an 18-year-old. He has an elite mentality and has no limits. He's been part of the national team for 20 years now. It's unique.”
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Although he is 39 years old, Ronaldo indicated that he does not intend to leave the international arena.
The former Manchester United star told Martinez that his goal is to reach 250 caps for Portugal. It currently has 207.
But to achieve this, he will have to face increasing criticism from Portuguese fans who believe Portugal are better off without him.
This is not new, as former coach Fernando Santos and now Martinez followed suit.
“Even taking into account everything Ronaldo stands for, it no longer makes sense that he is an indisputable starter,” Sofia Oliveira, a football commentator for CNN Portugal, DAZN Radio Portugal and TSF Radio, told BBC Sport.
“It is also true that this transition will be smoother if he himself realizes that this role no longer suits him,” said Sofia Oliveira, a soccer player for CNN Portugal, DAZN Portugal and TSF Radio.
“It seems clear to me that his presence in the team affects the other players around him. You only have to look at their actions to see that they sometimes look for Ronaldo in contexts that are not beneficial to the team. Then there is the fact that he does not want to spend too much time without the ball, so he returns To the areas occupied by other players, and his positional chaos affects them.
“His impact will be greater from the sidelines.”
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Even ending Portugal's perfect qualifying campaign as the second-highest scorer behind Belgium's Romelu Lukaku with 10 goals and the country's third-most used player with 725 minutes, behind Ruben Dias and Bruno Fernandes, Ronaldo failed to put the controversy to rest.
It certainly didn't help that the one Euro qualifier he missed – a 9-0 win over Luxembourg – is considered the best of the Martinez era.
But the Spanish coach refused to enter into the controversy over the status of the Al-Nasr striker, considering that Portugal is “ready to win without him.”
Of the three Euro warm-up matches, Ronaldo only featured in Tuesday's win over the Republic of Ireland and received praise not only for his brace, but also for his collective behavior on the ground.
After the 3-0 win over Ireland, he said: “Whether I play or not, I will respect the coach’s decisions.”
“Honestly, I think his impact will be much greater when he sits on the bench,” Oliveira said.
“I'm not just talking about his goals and assists, because we all know he can score against teams like the Czech Republic or Georgia. I'm talking about his overall performance, because we've seen Ronaldo play so many times in so many minutes.” As much as possible and eventually find the net, but if we look at his exhibitions in detail, the number of his negative actions was greater than his positive ones.
Even A Bola, Portugal's most traditional sports newspaper, pointed out that the question asked of Martinez was not the right one.
Instead of asking whether the Euro 2016 winners are playing better without their captain, the newspaper believes the question should be: “When is the right time to captain the national team?” Not his presence?
Fernandez is the new tough guy
This is the first time that Portugal has won all qualifying matches for a major tournament.
They did so in style, scoring more goals (36) and conceding fewer (2) than any other country, while playing exciting football, especially in the latter part of the season.
After going through a group that included Slovakia, Luxembourg, Iceland, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Liechtenstein, this team appears to be truly untested.
The 2-1 friendly defeat against Croatia earlier this month was considered a reality check for the Portuguese, as it was a first test against a strong team and a weak performance from the team.
“There were matches in which Portugal did not play well, frankly, and yet they beat their opponent. And that is precisely why they are favorites to achieve another victory in the European Championship, because of the huge amount of individual talent that this team has. This is the best generation on the planet,” Oliveira said. “Launching.”
If the Portuguese want to take home the European Championship trophy, they will need Bruno Fernandes at the top of his game.
The midfielder may not have had his best season at Manchester United, but he became Portugal's main man under Martinez, scoring six goals and eight assists in 10 qualifying matches.
Most importantly, the number eight has shown that he and Manchester City midfielder Silva can play together for their country.
“This is probably the best news we have received so far,” Oliveira added. “What is worse is the complete lack of use of Vitenya.”
This match will be broadcast live on BBC One, at 7:35pm (French time).
Cover presented by Gary Lineker alongside Alan Shearer, Frank Lampard and Cesc Fabregas.
The full commentary is broadcast on BBC Radio 5 Live and you can also follow live text updates on the BBC Sport website and app.
