Happy 35th to the one and only, Cristiano Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo. The name speaks loads. For the past decade, the Portuguese hit-man has been sitting atop the very pinnacle of his football career. Despite growing old on age, the Juventus forward had shown no signs of slowing down in recent years.

He is a walking tribute to the values of hard work and determination. His charisma has a stark resemblance to former England skipper David Beckham, who was the most popular player on Earth, in his era.

But, great things never happen overnight. The Portuguese captain has shown a vast amount of determination to get to the place where he is. Apart from being the best player in the world, he is a perfect role-model for his fans all over the globe.

Come 2007-08, and he fully cemented himself in the United all-time greats’ list by winning the league again and the prestigious Champions League. He registered 42 goals in 49 games, numbers which were unfathomable at that point of time. He raised the bar so high that only a certain Argentine plying his trade in Catalonia would match it in the years to come.

Fast forward to 2017-18, and Ronaldo had won countless trophies and individual awards. But now that he was 33, fans, pundits and the press were doubting his ability to deliver in the colours of Los Blancos.

The fans and media can praise you for a hat-trick that night but are swift to put you down for a chance missed on an odd in afternoon. Ronaldo wasn’t going to receive special treatment just because he was Madrid’s all-time top goal scorer.

The concentration and mental level required were huge at the world’s biggest club. Was Ronaldo going to yield to those noises? He began by scoring regularly in the LaLiga at the end of January 2018, an indication he was back to his best.

Perhaps the biggest goals he scored came in the quarterfinals against Juventus, across both legs. He showed world-class athleticism by scoring an outrageous bicycle kick in Turin. Ronaldo was making a huge statement with that: he was still able to deliver.

A week later in the Bernabéu, Juventus fought back to level the score 3-3, forcing extra time. In the dying seconds, a penalty was given to the home side.

There was a questionable call in that penalty, and the Juventus players argued with the referee, Buffon seeing red in the process. Chiellini, Manžukić and Matuidi then tried to get into Ronaldo’s head as he prepared to take the spot kick. 

But he was undeterred, since these mind games were all too familiar for him. He took a deep breath, ran up towards the ball and lashed it into the top right corner.

The manner with which it was taken was astonishing, considering the situation. This was what CR7 is all about; he was born for these moments. He thrives in these intense environments, when all the odds are against him.

Normally “best players in the world” come and go, usually peaking for two or three years. But this man is not just like any other player as for more than a decade he has displayed amazing performances season after season.

Let’s now look at the 3 unbelievable records set by Cristiano Ronaldo :

All-time top scorer in European competitions

It comes as no surprise that Ronaldo has been nicknamed ‘The Champions League Man’ considering the sheer efficiency with which he terrorises his opponents in the European competition.

The forward boasts of being the all-time top scorer in the UEFA Champions League with 129 goals in 167 combined appearances for Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus.

Ronaldo is the only player in history to have won all individual and team accolades with two different teams, having done so at both Manchester United and Real Madrid.

The Portuguese ace has won the Champions League, domestic league, domestic cup, domestic Super Cup, Ballon d’Or, World Player of the Year, Golden Boot, and World Club Championship at both clubs in the course of his illustrious career.

Player with the most UEFA trophies :

After starring in the European Championship back in 2016, Ronaldo once again showed his leadership capabilities by helping his national team lift the inaugural UEFA Nations League title earlier this summer. The victory made the former Real Madrid man the player with the most number of wins in UEFA competitions in history. He became the first-ever player to win ten UEFA trophies which include five Champions League crowns, three UEFA Super Cups, one European Championship medal, and one UEFA Nations League title.

Besides his all-time top-scorer status in the UEFA Champions League, Ronaldo also boasts of being the highest goalscorer in the knockout stages of the competition with a total of 65 goals. Proving once again that he is a man for big occasions, the Juventus talisman has scored 13 of those goals in the semi-finals and 25 of them in the quarter-finals of the competition.

The Portuguese sensation is also the first player in history to score 40, 50 and 60 goals in the knockout stages of the European tournament.

Highest goalscorer in European qualifying history

After guiding Portugal to the European Championship back in 2016, Ronaldo kicked off his country’s title defence this year by helping them secure a place in the 2020 edition of the tournament.

He netted in all six of their final qualifiers for the Euros this year, including four goals against Lithuania, which helped him smash Robbie Keane’s record as the highest goalscorer in European qualifying history. 

While the Irishman recorded a tally of 23 goals, Ronaldo went on to register 31 goals in 35 games for his national team in the qualifying stage of the competition. The Juventus marksman will hope to increase his overall tally (99 goals) in the European Championship.

The boy from Madeira has been silencing tongues since his childhood, and he is still doing it in the colours of the Old Lady.

Ronaldo is definitely one of the greatest footballers and sportsmen of all time. Don’t let anyone make you believe otherwise.

Today, the 35-year-old continues to inspire a generation of fans and players with his tireless efforts for Juventus and Portugal, guiding both teams to varied successes while breaking multiple individual records in the process.

The manner with which it was taken was astonishing, considering the situation. This was what CR7 is all about; he was born for these moments. He thrives in these intense environments, when all the odds are against him.

The clash of arch rivals : India vs Pakistan

Six months ago, India and Pakistan produced one of the most blockbuster clashes in their recent ODI rivalry that lived up-to the hype during the World Cup. Now its over to the U-19 boys.

Both India and Pakistan have had very contrasting fortunes on the competition this far, and it is the latter lack of experience and exposure in the format that has amounted to a very lopsided rivalry between the two. Today, though it’s reputation and competition on the line for both. 

Both India and Pakistan have been very dominant in the tournament so far. While India have maintained a 100% win record, Pakistan could win only two out of their three games at the group stage, as the third one was abandoned due to rain.

The conditions in South Africa haven’t been the easiest for batting and only those batsmen, who have shown the willingness to grind and graft, have been able to succeed.

While India have got a lot of quality with the bat both at the top as well as in the middle order, the Pakistani youngsters have also shown tremendous discipline in terms of how they have gone about their batting.

The fact that both the teams registered fairly comprehensive victories over their opponents in the quarter-final means both will come into the semi-final round full of confidence and will back themselves to get the better of their arch-rivals.

India’s Predicted XI: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Divyansh Saxena, Tilak Verma, Priyam Garg (C), Dhruv Jurel (WK), Siddhesh Veer, Atharva Ankolekar, Ravi Bishnoi, Sushant Mishra, Kartik Tyagi, Akash Singh

Pakistan’s Predicted XI: Haider Ali, Mohammad Huraira, Rohail Nazir (C & WK), Fahad Munir, Qasim Akram, Mohammad Haris, Irfan Khan, Abbas Afridi, Tahir Hussain, Aamir Ali, Mohammad Amir Khan

Pitch Report– Senwes Park has produced bowling friendly pitches and, in this game too, there will be something for the bowlers in the pitch. In the last match too, we have seen bowlers dominating the game. Batters have to apply their technique or else, it will be really difficult to play the shots.