Sometimes, timing is everything in sport – from being in the right place at the right time to falling victim to a golden era. The examples are all around. Plenty have profited, from Kenny Dalglish moving into the Liverpool job at the perfect time with nothing to lose and everything to gain to Vicente del Bosque winning the 2010 World Cup after inheriting a Spain team packed with stars.
On the flipside, how many good players were overlooked during Manchester United’s dominance in the 1990s? How many great basketball players suffered the curse of playing in the Michael Jordan era? And what about all the talented golfers that suffered the bad luck of running into Tiger Woods at the peak of his powers?
Cristiano Ronaldo has experienced both scenarios. Rewind to 2006; Manchester United star Ronaldo was fresh off a World Cup in which he played a central role in Wayne Rooney’s dismissal in the England-Portugal quarter-final. With Brazil, Argentina and Spain all crashing out earlier than anticipated, the Portuguese used the tournament as a career launch pad as Portugal narrowly missed out on a spot in the final.
Then, cast as the villain, the winger returned to Old Trafford, facing a make-or-break season. But, just like at the World Cup, events fell his way. Dutch striker Ruud van Nistelrooy had left during the summer, Rooney’s temperament was fragile and, over at Stamford Bridge, the relationship between manager Jose Mourinho and owner Roman Abramovich was gradually deteriorating.
Ronaldo seized the moment, scoring 23 goals during the 2006/07 season and propelling Manchester United to the Premier League title and the Champions League semi-final. A year later, he built on that momentum, grabbing a staggering 43 goals. There were no shortage of world class performers elsewhere in English football during Ronaldo’s unstoppable three-year breakout – but all paid the price for emerging at the same time as the Portuguese star.
However, since moving to Real Madrid in the summer of 2009, after one of the most protracted transfer deals in recent memory, Ronaldo has been given a taste of his own medicine. One glance at the statistics confirms that his productivity has increased in Madrid, but his brilliance has been somewhat smothered by the magic being produced week in, week out by Barcelona. And after two full seasons at the Bernabeu, Ronaldo has a sole Copa del Rey winners medal to show for his efforts.
The Michael Jordan comparison is stark. During Jordan’s glory years, many great players caught the eye, earned big contracts and dominated playoff series. But, ultimately, Jordan’s shadow has engulfed almost all of them. Likewise, Ronaldo is in danger of being blanketed by Barcelona’s shadow.
Running into a player of Lionel Messi’s calibre is incredibly bad luck for Ronaldo, but reaching his peak at a time when not only Messi but also Xavi and Andres Iniesta are fighting for the tag of world’s best player is almost mind-boggling.
Nonetheless, Ronaldo has been unrelenting with his heroics since first pulling on the famous Real Madrid shirt. In his first season, the Portuguese netted 33 goals in 33 games, only to watch Barcelona take the plaudits as La Liga champions.
Last year, Ronaldo again carried Real Madrid with countless sublime performances, upping his game to score 53 goals in all competitions. Yet, despite the Portuguese landing a significant blow with the winner in the Copa del Rey final, Barcelona hogged the spotlight again with a La Liga and Champions League double. Messi, meanwhile, matched Ronaldo with a 50-goal campaign of his own and the little Argentine outgunned Mourinho’s talisman in the four other gripping clasicos during the season.
Few would dispute that Ronaldo’s year put him firmly among the world’s best but when awards season rolled round, the shortlist of three was an all-Barcelona affair, leaving the former Manchester United star on the sidelines.
All this raises the question of where Ronaldo’s career might go from here. It is too early to start considering his legacy in the game but, at the same time, it is hard not to imagine how different things might have been if his peak was not on a collision course with Messi’s. Barcelona have shown no signs of loosening their stranglehold on European football but, having said that, Real Madrid are growing in confidence and are closing the gap, as shown by their current position at the top of La Liga. Ronaldo certainly has not given up hope of displacing Josep Guardiola’s men. He grabbed his 100th goal for the club against Lyon in midweek, drawing praise from manager Jose Mourinho, who called it an "incredible record".
Overall, in terms of silverware, Ronaldo’s Real Madrid career has not unfolded as he would have hoped thus far, though that is more due to Barcelona’s excellence than failings on his part. And at just 26, the Portuguese has an abundance of time to turn the tables, escape the shadow of Messi, Xavi, Iniesta and company, and seize his chance to return to centre stage – just like in 2006.
