Cristiano lacks the ´Ronaldo Final´ – Real Madrid v Juventus could be his chance

Thirteen major finals, eight of them won, but none of them crystallised in his name. Cristiano Ronaldo may have his last, but best, chance to retire with a “Ronaldo Final” to look back on when Real Madrid defend the Champions League against Juventus in Cardiff.

Ronaldo has won all there is to win across two of the biggest clubs in the world and, unlike his measuring stick rival Lionel Messi, sealed international glory too.

He’s scored winning goals, been at the heart of drama but he’s never seemed to stand out, no matter how many times that well-crafted six-pack has been brought out in celebration.

Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane has the 1998 World Cup final (and the 2006 one too, despite losing it) forever remembered as a pivotal success in a glittering career, but there is not one that similarly gleams among Ronaldo’s gargantuan glut of gongs. 

 

Road to Cardiff. #APorLa12

A post shared by Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadrid) on May 31, 2017 at 11:21am PDT

PLENTY OF SILVERWARE, NO GOLDEN MOMENTS

Across 13 major finals with Manchester United, Madrid and Portugal, Ronaldo has only scored six goals, despite having taken a mammoth 65 shots at goal in those contests.

Of course, for most of his career, Ronaldo has been his team’s lightning-rod for success and that leading-light status often results in the forward taking the attacking burden on his shoulders too much.

But if that’s the case, why has he never dominated any of those games? Here’s how he has fared on the biggest stages to date…

2004 FA Cup – Manchester United 3-0 Millwall: A 19-year-old Ronaldo scores as second-tier opposition are brushed aside in a non-event.

Euro 2004 – Portugal 0-1 Greece: Expected to launch a new era for the Seleccao, Ronaldo and co are stunned by Otto Rehhagel’s minnows on home soil, leaving the young hero in tears.

2005 FA Cup – Arsenal 0-0 Manchester United (5-4 pens): Stifled on the left wing, Ronaldo scores in the shoot-out but Scholes’ miss is costly.

2006 League Cup – Manchester United 4-0 Wigan: Another blowout, with Ronaldo scoring the third in a game remembered for Wayne Rooney ousting Ruud van Nistelrooy as United’s top striker.

2007 FA Cup – Chelsea 1-0 Manchester United (aet): A soporific affair for 116 minutes before Didier Drogba takes a place in the history books as the first FA Cup final goalscorer at the new Wembley.

2008 Champions League – Manchester United 1-1 (6-5 pens): Gives United the lead, but a shoot-out miss leaves Ronaldo tormented before John Terry’s slip and Edwin van der Sar denies Nicolas Anelka.

2009 League Cup – Manchester United 0-0 Tottenham (4-1 pens): Hits the post in another bore draw under the arch, but does his job after the game goes to penalties, banishing Moscow memories.

2009 Champions League – Barcelona 2-0 Manchester United: Brings the curtain down on his United career by being blown away by Pep Guardiola and Messi.

2011 Copa del Rey – Barcelona 0-1 Real Madrid (aet): Secures Los Blancos’ first trophy under Jose Mourinho with a header in a bruising Clasico encounter.

2013 Copa del Rey – Real Madrid 1-2 Atletico Madrid (aet): Ronaldo heads his team in front, but is sent off late in extra time after Diego Simeone’s men have consigned Mourinho to “worst season of my life”.

2014 Champions League – Real Madrid 4-1 Atletico Madrid (aet): Ronaldo’s 120th-minute penalty is the final act in a contest depicted best by Sergio Ramos’ vein-popping celebrations after forcing extra time.

2016 Champions League – Real Madrid 1-1 Atletico Madrid (5-3 pens): Again has the last say with the winning penalty, but a half-fit – if that – Ronaldo is anonymous during the game.

Euro 2016 – Portugal 1-0 France (aet): First-half injury robs him of involvement in his country’s greatest triumph, but Ronaldo remains involved with a sideline cheerleading display.

WHY IT COULD BE DIFFERENT THIS YEAR

#UCLfinal hero?

Cristiano Ronaldo has scored 14 goals in his last 9 games for Real Madrid in all competitions. pic.twitter.com/HLqVSKvg7L

— Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) May 31, 2017

This season has seen the advent of Ronaldo 3.0 – no longer is he the fancy-dan winger or the brutally physical and explosive wide forward of his previous incarnations at United and Madrid.

Perhaps not as sharp off the mark at the age of 32, Ronaldo now plays alongside Karim Benzema in attack, rather than to his left. In practice, he is more of a direct goal threat than at any previous point in his career – in which he is already Madrid and Portugal’s record goalscorer.

Whether we are given the true ‘BBC’ vs ‘BBC’ battle in Cardiff – permitting on Gareth Bale’s fitness and Massimiliano Allegri’s faith in Andrea Barzagli – Ronaldo is likely to form part of the tip of a three-pronged Madrid attack.

Perhaps Bale’s absence with a calf injury in the latter stages of the season prompted Zidane’s decision to keep Ronaldo in cotton wool in the closing months.

The star attraction was allowed to stay at home for four consecutive league trips – to Leganes, Sporting Gijon, Deportivo La Coruna and Granada – with Zidane confirming that Ronaldo was being spared the sapping travel to away fixtures he would not play in.

It helped spark a late-season revival in the main man, especially in Europe where back-to-back hat-tricks against Bayern Munich and Atletico effectively put Los Blancos in the final.

Having enjoyed a headline contribution on the road to Cardiff, the timing in his career, the steely opposition and his new status in the team mean the ‘Ronaldo Final’ could come this weekend.