Ronaldo’s Portugal: World Cup’s Great Pretenders

Who could forget that moment at the 2006 World Cup when Cristiano Ronaldo gave a cheeky wink to Wayne Rooney after the two had clashed and the referee sent Rooney packing? How fitting it is then that both men head into this summer’s World Cup at the height of their powers, as kings of the game, while both distracting their respective nations from the fact that they play in decidedly average squads.

Portugal enter the tournament with all the buzz of a legitimate contender for the trophy. But that hype is nothing but misguided. Sure, Cristiano Ronaldo is a player that can change the game with a fancy dummy or a rasping shot – but such feats are much harder to come by against a Brazil or an Ivory Coast than, say, a Bolton or a Zaragoza.

Apart from Ronaldo, what has Portugal got? At the back there’s Bruno Alves. Ok, he’s not half bad. But his defensive partner is Ricardo Carvalho, who has been sidelined with injuries for much of the season. In the central midfield, they’ve got Deco, who is way past his sell-by date and barely featured for Chelsea last season either. Further up field is Nani, Ronaldo’s heir apparent at Manchester United, who can be hot or cold – although even on his best days, it’s really just lukewarm. And then there’s Liedson, a striker who wasn’t good enough to play for Brazil so he switched his citizenship to Portugal.

Portugal struggled in qualifying, they struggled on Monday against Cape Verde Islands (are you joking?!?), and they will struggle next month to get out of their group – the so-called Group of Death. And even though it would be a shame to lose one of the game’s biggest stars so early in the tournament, it also would be a crime to have these great pretenders hanging around South Africa any longer than they should be.

Can this Portugal side really win the World Cup?