adminLIBSON. – Sulking Cristiano Ronaldo was nowhere to be found on the front papers of Portugal’s newspapers yesterday as the press toasted ‘THE DAY THE TEAM GAVE ITSELF TO YOUTH.’
In more ways than one, this feels like the end of an era.
Led by 21-year-old Goncalo Ramos, a surprise inclusion by boss Fernando Santos, at the expense of Ronaldo, Portugal thumped Switzerland 6-1 to book a FIFA World Cup quarter-final against Morocco.
Ramos, the hat-trick hero, dominated yesterday’s front pages, whereas the team’s biggest star – Ronaldo – was ignored after being relegated to the bench.
The front page of Record ran with the headline ‘Ramos Makes History’ after his first-ever hat-trick for Portugal, in what was only his second start for his country.
A Bola hailed their new superstar, who now has more goals in Qatar than Ronaldo managed across three group games, as a ‘demolisher’ following his destructive display against the Swiss.
O Jogo toasted ‘a collective display from another world’ with a team celebration as their front cover image – again.
Publicó also gave a nod to the next generation of Portuguese stars by suggesting strong management from Santos in benching Ronaldo was ‘the day Portugal gave itself to youth’.
Tuesday night’s match was the first time Ronaldo, now 37, has not started a game at a major tournament since the 2008 European Championships.
Ronaldo did eventually appear, coming on as a 74th-minute substitute, before trudging off the pitch alone at the end while his team celebrated.
The question now is – what next for Ronaldo?
Given such a dominant display, is his role in this World Cup bid now resigned to a spot on the bench?
“That is still something that has to be defined,” Santos said when asked about Ronaldo’s role.
“I have a very close relationship with him – I always have, I have known him since he was 19 years old.
“This relationship only develops, Ronaldo and I never interpret the human aspect of that of manager and player (in relation to) what we have to do during the match.
“I will always consider in my role that he is an important player to have in the team.”
The manager was bullish, however, when asked about the possibility of Ronaldo being reinserted into the line-up to face Morocco in the quarter-finals.
“Ronaldo will definitely (be involved), all the players on the bench can be used, if they are not in the starting line-up they can play later,” he said.
“It is important to look at the example of this player’s history, he is one of the best players in the world at playing professionally, being captain – all we have to do is think about this team collectively.’ – Mailonline.
Online Reporter