The whole story is Ronaldo..! – Hassan Mustakawi

** Diego Costa saved Portugal and Ronaldo against Slovenia, the Porto goalkeeper saved three penalties from the Slovenian player, and the unfortunate Jan Vertonghen contributed to France’s victory over Belgium when he hit a powerful cross a few minutes after coming on, colliding with Vertonghen’s knee and into the Belgian goal. It is true that Portugal had the advantage in numbers in this match, as did France, but the struggles of the Slovenian players continued until the penalty shootout. When a team lags behind its competitors in terms of technology, football skills clash. When I say “struggle”, I don’t mean shouting slogans, dispersing the ball, clearing the penalty area, long passes, but struggle, seriousness, order. “Big Pepe” made a mistake and the Slovenian national team almost eliminated Portugal. Cisco won the ball and confronted Costa alone, and Costa successfully confronted the Slovenian player. If it was Messi or Mohamed Salah, the game would have eliminated Portugal if it had been more skillful and innovative.

** France and Portugal won, and the events of the two games were hidden next to Ronaldo’s name, who first cried with sadness and pain, and then with joy. In the 105th minute, Portugal was awarded a penalty kick, and Ronaldo took the first penalty, but the excellent goalkeeper Jan Oblak blocked Ronaldo’s shot, and Ronaldo cried, and his mother in the stands cried. Ronaldo’s crying was affected by the legend who rushed to the finish line, by his role as a leader, and by the fatal moment, in the words of Shakespeare: “Either be Portugal or not be Portugal.”

** At some point, legends face whether their magic will continue, or will it weaken and escape from their hands and feet? It is a battle of time and stardom, and at some point, skill cannot overcome the body. Portugal went all the way to the quarterfinals, and Cristiano Ronaldo did not score a single goal against his opponents. He lost his wonderful leap and quick reaction when facing the defender. His tears were more important than Portugal’s victory over Slovenia and France’s victory over Belgium. The myth is an event and a story. Newspapers and the media soon published Ronaldo’s penalty statistics and videotapes, both in club and in the Portuguese national team, where he took 193 penalties, missed 30 of them, and scored a total of 163 penalties. Cristiano Ronaldo missed 13 goals in the Real Madrid jersey, 4 in the Manchester United jersey, 8 in the Juventus jersey and 8 in the Portuguese national team jersey. The last kick brought tears to the eyes, and the unforgivable stage of the audience was coming. Ronaldo, who plays for Saudi Arabia, did not miss a penalty and blocked 14 shots, all of which went in on goal.

** Portugal coach Martinez was very brave when he decided to start Ronaldo in the penalty shootout. The Portuguese star was as brave as his coach, and he stepped up to shoot, but he was struggling in his heart: What if I miss? What if goalkeeper Jan Oblak scores?

** There is now a generation in the team that is the future of Portugal, Ronaldo will go on to become a legend in Portuguese football history like other legends, and this will be the last major tournament he will play in. This is his sixth European Cup and his last European Cup.

** One day, Portugal will have a match that has nothing to do with Ronaldo, but not here, not yet. In the quarter-final against France, Ronaldo has another chance. Will he score one goal or more? Will he lead his team to victory and be ecstatic? But this match is also important for the players of the French national team, who continue to represent the “quiet national island” while national politics boil over. Some players even declare that the political struggle in France has not ended with the victory of the right wing. The first day of voting saw 33% support. The right has an old pioneer, the founder of the National Front party, Jean-Marie Le Pen, who, when he saw the photo of French President Jacques Chirac posing with the 1998 World Cup champions, said: “Well, I see a Frenchman in the picture!”