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LaLiga: The sooner Cristiano adjusts to his new role the better

Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo

“Pride only hurts, it never helps.

Real Madrid have lost players to injury for an accumulative 954 days according to ‘AS’. Each member of the first team squad has spent time on the sidelines with the only exceptions being Kiko Casilla, Ruben Yañez (third goalkeeper), Nacho, Marco Asensio and Mariano Diaz. That’s quite a damning statistic, especially when you consider that Madrid managed a 40-match unbeaten run during this never ending injury crisis. No mean feat.

After missing three of the first four LaLiga matches through injury, the same one he picked up in the Euro 2016 final in France, Cristiano Ronaldo has avoided any further complications. Or has he? Knee injuries are notoriously hard to come back from, especially when pace – and power – is what your game is built upon. This season has seen Cristiano display moments of magic but long term, there has to be concern about his dip in form.

[Zidane wants Madrid fans behind Ronaldo]

Now I know what you’re going to say: he’s only three goals behind ‘Pichichi’ leaders Luis Suarez and eternal rival Lionel Messi – despite playing less games than both – so how is that bad? Short answer: it isn’t. The long answer is that his goals mask a visible decline in performances and shouldn’t be the only barometer we judge Cristiano on.

Last season his numbers under Rafa Benitez were good, great in fact, but let’s not pretend he wasn’t underperforming. That’s why numbers, and in particular goals, can be misleading. Cristiano had 25 goals and 8 assists in 26 games during Benitez’s short reign which, on the face of it, is outstanding. However 15 of those came against just three sides: Espanyol, Shakhtar Donetsk and Malmo FF. 60% of his goals. Ronaldo also failed to score against Athletic Club, Atletico Madrid, Sevilla, Barcelona and Villarreal during that same period. Not great despite the numbers looking impressive if judge by face value.

And no one, not even diehard Barcelona fans, can deny Cristiano is one of the best goalscorers around. Opta threw out a fantastic stat yesterday which underlines just that: In his 250 appearances for Real Madrid in LaLiga, Cristiano has had a hand in 350 goals. That can’t be achieved by any mere mortal and the Portuguese hitman’s record, playing primarily as a winger, will seldom be repeated let alone bettered.

With that incredible goalscoring record he was afforded certain luxuries. No one expected to see Cristiano rushing to help the full-back out if he was left two-on-one, it just wasn’t him. The influence he carried and clinical nature in front of goal meant he had earned the right to pick and choose where he was needed, or where he felt he should be on the pitch. But does that still hold true now?

Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema
Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema

Injuries have stretched this Madrid side to the limit and everyone selected is required to do even more than usual to fill the gaps left by absent stars. Due to this, and perhaps Cristiano’s inability to bomb up and down the wing any more, we’ve seen him move further and further forward. At times it looks like he has a free role, often pushing up alongside Karim Benzema and in some cases, going beyond him which ultimately unbalances the side.

Marcelo is required to do a lot down the left-hand side because of Cristiano’s movement and even his body is struggling to cope. I don’t think it would be fair to put the Brazilian’s injury issues on Cristiano, it seems as if Marcelo is made of glass, but I’d argue it doesn’t help ease the pressure and responsibility on the full-back’s shoulders.

Vazquez, Morata and Isco
Vazquez, Morata and Isco

We’re approaching a time where Real Madrid simply can’t afford to carry Cristiano through matches any more. The likes of Isco, Marco Asensio and Lucas Vazquez coming through are putting immense pressure on the Portuguese hitman to justify his position in the side. That isn’t to say they’re better players, because they aren’t, but I’d argue right now all of them would do a better job on the wing than Ronaldo.

And thus we’re back to the issue of where you put Cristiano. The only reasonable position, long-term, is as the lone striker. He’s essentially transitioning himself to that role anyway but Zinedine Zidane has to make it a permanent move at some stage, ideally when he has Gareth Bale to call upon again. Ronaldo is a luxury Real Madrid can no longer afford.

Even if you sacrifice Benzema to put Cristiano up top, he has to do better. We saw him fulfil this role for Portugal at Euro 2016 and while he did make a difference with his goals, he was also pretty poor for large periods of that tournament. Often disconnected from his teammates, unable to hold the ball up and too selfish when chances did present themselves. Far from ideal traits for a lone striker.

Cristiano, Portugal
Cristiano, Portugal

The excuse for his performances with the national side was that his teammates aren’t very good, or certainly not anywhere near the level of Cristiano himself. Whilst true they weren’t the strongest I sometimes feel it’s an excuse to justify him not being very good at the role. And I think that’s to be expected, despite his obvious talent, that an entirely new position is going to have some teething problems.

Drifting inside from the wing pulls defenders out of position and leaves space for others to exploit but Cristiano, in that striker role, has to become more of a team player. It’s not good enough for him just to score a penalty or a tap-in as he becomes the focal point of the attack. Everything must go through him, and should Madrid struggle to break sides down then it’s important his teammates can expect an unselfish side to his game where he creates the space for them, returning the favour if you will.

I suppose the real question is: can you teach an old dog new tricks? I think you can, but said dog has to be willing to accept change. Further forward Cristiano will still get chances to score goals, as evidenced against Malaga, but he needs to be more clinical. It sounds weird saying that when you consider how great of a goalscorer he is but he fluffed his lines against Carlos Kameni on more than one ocassion.

Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo

For me one of the standout performances from Cristiano this season wasn’t the hat-trick against Atletico Madrid but away at Real Betis. Not the greatest of opposition when they were managed by Gus Poyet but still, it was a sign of what he can do when he isn’t selfish. Yes, he started on the wing but had already begun to move further inside and Benzema had to track back instead. Cristiano was superb throughout as he pulled out wide to create space for others, displayed his underrated crossing ability and his overall influence was huge despite only grabbing one goal in the 6-1 drubbing.

He can still be ‘the man’ without being ‘the man who scores all the goals’.

Rumours suggest that Bale will return to training soon so he isn’t far off getting back out on the pitch. I sincerely hope that when he does get back into the team, Cristiano is moved to a more central role on a permanent basis.

Bale and Cristiano
Bale and Cristiano

Cristiano has nothing to prove to anyone in football, his individual and now collective awards are evidence enough, but it’s about the long term benefit of the side and ultimately fulfilling the role Benzema has perfected over the years. He can be the glue which holds the attack together and he, more than most, knows where a winger wants a pass playing or where they’d like a striker to move to in order to create space for them to run into.

The injury crisis at Madrid has allowed Cristiano to keep his place without any threat of being dropped or rotated but once Bale, Isco and James Rodriguez are fully fit then Zidane will be forced to change his setup for long term gain. It’ll be a huge test of his man management skills to keep everyone happy as he rejigs his forward line but it’s imperative he does so, not only for Cristiano but for the entire team.