As frightened and surprised as she was, a young girl had the chance to meet Cristiano Ronaldo before the kick-off of the match between Turkey and Portugal on Saturday. A very beautiful moment.
A lifelong memory. And the stars in their eyes. Before the start of the match between Turkey and Portugal (0-3) in the European Championship 2024, on Saturday, at Signal Iduna Park in Dortmund, a little girl had a wonderful moment.
When the national anthem was about to be played, she had the opportunity to find herself in front of Cristiano Ronaldo. She seemed surprised to be there, just centimeters away from the football legend, and stared for long seconds at the five-time Ballon d'Or winner, who responded with a smile and a tender hug.
Placing her hands on her face, as if she could not believe that she had met her idol's gaze, the little girl turned several times to see him, moved and amazed. At each match of the competition, children have the opportunity to become “player escorts” to accompany the players on the pitch before the matches begin.
Several interventions by fans during the match
During the match, a young fan managed to escape from security personnel and enter the stadium before running towards Cristiano Ronaldo, who agreed to take a selfie with him. Other players imitated him, which somewhat annoyed the Al-Nasr striker (39 years old).
Portugal coach Roberto Martinez complained after the match, saying: “It is worrying.” “We were lucky today because the intentions of those fans were good. But the players are exposed and we have to be careful about that. There is a lot of security and this should not happen.”
On a sporting level, the Portuguese made a short effort against the Turks, including an assist from Ronaldo to Bruno Fernandes, thus booking a ticket to qualify for the round of 16.
