Real Madrid’s Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo (L), forward Karim Benzema (R) and defender Marcelo during a training session in Madrid yesterday. (AFP)
Carlo Ancelotti never expected Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo to have the strong work ethic he possesses when he first became coach of Real Madrid, the Italian said yesterday.
The Portugal winger ended Lionel Messi’s four-year reign as FIFA World Player of the Year on Monday night after a dazzling 2013 with club and country.
“I knew the quality he had as I had seen him play and score goals but what has surprised me to an extent is his professionalism on and off the pitch,” Ancelotti told a news conference ahead of Real’s King’s Cup return tie at Osasuna today.
“He is also an example of fair play, he doesn’t protest.
Football needs players like Messi, (Franck) Ribery, (Thiago) Silva and (Andrea) Pirlo as they help to improve its image.
“In football today you need talent and effort. Ability and having the genetics to be able to play is not enough as you have to combine it with hard work,” said Ancelotti. “Ronaldo is a great professional. There have been a lot of examples of players that have had the talent but not succeeded because their effort was not always at the maximum.” Real go into the second leg of their last-16 King’s Cup clash with Osasuna holding a 2-0 lead. Ancelotti’s side have sometimes struggled in away games this season and could only draw 2-2 at El Sadar when the two teams met last month in the league.
“We have problems away from home but we have problems at home as well, as do all teams as it isn’t easy to win matches,” said the Real coach.
“We had a 1-0 victory over Espanyol (on Sunday) where we had a lot of chances to score more goals. “The team is concentrated and motivated for what will be a difficult game. We had problems there before and we are prepared for a tough match as Osasuna will try to win.”
Record signing Gareth Bale was taken off after a mediocre display against Espanyol, Ancelotti putting it down to the injuries the winger has had since arriving at the club in the previous transfer window.
“He wasn’t very involved in the last match but he has integrated well. For a player like Bale it is important for him to be strong and the problem is physical,” explained Ancelotti.
Work to do for Ronaldo to become legend, says Pele
Ronaldo must continue to maintain his exceptional high standards in order to be classed among the sport’s legends, according to Brazil great Pele who compared the Portuguese to Eusebio.
Portugal and Real Madrid forward Ronaldo beat Argentine’s Lionel Messi and France’s Franck Ribery to claim the prestigious award for the second time on Monday.
“To me the last true great was (France playmaker Zinedine) Zidane. He stayed at the same very high level for at least 10 years,” Pele, who was awarded a honorary Ballon d’Or, told France Football magazine on Tuesday.
Ronaldo is on the right path, though, and reminded the three-times World Cup winner of former Portugal striker Eusebio, the top scorer at the 1966 World Cup, who died earlier this month at the age of 71.
“Today Messi and Ronaldo are above the rest. Ronaldo reminds me a bit of Eusebio, he is well bred. He has the elegance and the creativity of the great players,” Pele said.
Winning the World Cup used to have greater significance in the voting for the Ballon d’Or but the success of Ronaldo and Messi, who won the award from 2009-12, proved that was no longer true, according to the Brazilian.
“It is perhaps less important than it used to be when I was playing,” Pele of the showpiece tournament that the duo will look to win for the first time later this year.
“I’m not saying it is not essential to win the World Cup but the Champions League now has the same considerable impact celebrity-wise.”
Ronaldo reveals Ferdinand’s United request
Newly crowned Ballon d’Or-winner Cristiano Ronaldo has revealed that he was pestered to rejoin Manchester United last year by former team-mate Rio Ferdinand. Ronaldo scored 117 goals for United between 2003 and 2009 before leaving for Real Madrid and he suggested that he had contemplated returning to Old Trafford last year.
“It was true that Rio spoke to me a lot,” the 28-year-old told reporters following the Ballon d’Or ceremony in Zurich, in comments published by several British national newspapers yesterday.
“Rio is a great friend of mine. We played many years together at Manchester United and we were neighbours when I was there in Manchester.
“He’s a fantastic guy and tried to change my mind. I did think about United. They are still in my heart. It’s a club where I played for six years and I love that club. I have a lot of friends there and I wish them the best.” Ronaldo scored in each leg as Madrid knocked United out of last season’s Champions League in the last 16, but he pointedly declined to celebrate on each occasion. Ferdinand corroborated Ronaldo’s story, writing on his Facebook page that he “tried and failed to twist his ear”. “Cristiano is living proof that no matter how much talent you have as a youngster, you have to work hard in order to be successful,” Ferdinand wrote.