With forty-two goals in all competitions last year, Cristiano Ronaldo was the no-brainer selection to win every major individual award in football for 2008. Since world football awards voting is not governed by the Baseball Writers of America, the awards turned out exactly as most pundits predicted, with Ronaldo sweeping the European Player, World Player, and Ballon d'Or trophies and shutting out his closest competition, the spritely Leo Messi and the sublime Kaka.
Well past the halfway point of the Premier League season, Crissy has tallied but 13 goals in the stat column, and while that total can partially be attributed to a slow start due to recovery from ankle surgery, fans have yet to see the form of last year. It's not just the goals--Ronaldo is not beating men one-on-one like he did last year. The trickery, the flash, and the style are all still there, but the effectiveness of the feints and sleights has clearly diminished. Opposing players are just as physical with him as they have always been, and Ronaldo is still drawing extra men who foul vigorously, but now he is missing the truly dangerous free kick form he exhibited last year. It's not that he's just missing--he's missing badly, driving balls into the wall, and sailing shots well over the crossbar. He's not even making the goaltender work on set pieces this year. The missing set piece accuracy can account for a generous proportion of those missing goals.
Ronaldo's not taking up as large a portion of the field, too. He's drawing extra attention, but is being dispossessed or fouled before passing the ball effectively to a teammate. Last year, opportunities abounded for Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez when Ronaldo was on form, because of the simple equation that an extra man on Ronaldo opens up more space for the rest of the players on the team. The pitch is still opening up, but Ronaldo isn't on time with the pass. He's trying to do too much, and limiting his team's ability to score by trying to dribble through two or even three men when an effective pass, especially considering he plays for Manchester-freakin-United, could be far more dangerous if it lands at the foot of a Berbatov or Giggs.
The larger question on hand is the satisfaction of the player. Was Cristiano playing for a Real Madrid contract last year? Is he (extra) sulky because Sir Alex would not let him go? I don't think he is consciously "dogging it" but could there be a bit of a let off after winning a second straight Premier League title and a Champions League trophy to boot? I suspect this is the case. The internal fire will burn more brightly for CR7 next year, when he suits up for Madrid, which sure looks like a summer blockbuster deal in the making. It almost happened last year, and I bet that there is already a deal in place ensuring that Ronaldo will be playing in Spain in 2009-2010.
If he goes, and I'd wager he will, how will United fans treat him once he returns to England in Champions League play? I don't live in England, I've never been to Manchester, and I can't claim to be completely in touch with the mood of the supporters, but I expect the crowd to turn on him with a vengeance once he's wearing a different shirt. Manchester United fans tolerate his preening foolishness and flopping petulance because he scores goals for their squad, but once he's gone there will be none of the respect shown to former players who return wearing fresh colors. He's not the passionate madman Cantona, who would hang with United fans in Manchester pubs and dragon-kick frenzied opposition fans. He doesn't bring the workmanlike hustle of a Rooney or Scholes. He can't claim the bravery or resolution of a Pallister or Bruce. He's a pretty boy who loves to let everyone know he enjoys being a pretty boy. In a hardscrabble, working class city like Manchester, I expect that Cristiano Ronaldo will soon be replaced in the fans' hearts by a player more akin to the supporters themselves.
