Zidane: Ronaldo deserves respect
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Cristiano Ronaldo deserves more respect, Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane said yesterday as he backed the usually prolific Portuguese to come good in the second half of the season amid his worst domestic campaign in Spain.
Ronaldo has scored two goals in 10 league games and came in for criticism in the Spanish media for his display in Real’s goalless draw against Athletic Bilbao on Saturday which left the Liga champion eight points behind leader Barcelona.
The 32-year-old is still expected to pick up the Ballon d’Or award tomorrow for firing Real to UEFA Champions League glory last season, scoring hat-tricks against Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid in the quarter and semifinals and a double in the 4-1 win over Juventus in the final.
If he wins the award, Ronaldo will tie Lionel Messi’s record of being named the best player in the world five times.
“I think Cristiano deserves more respect because he is such a great player that when things don’t quite go his way everyone has something to say about him,” Zidane said yesterday ahead of Real’s final UCL Group H game with Borussia Dortmund.
“The club and the fans who love Cristiano Ronaldo know what he is doing. Just last season he had a phenomenal campaign. We are halfway into the season, we still have six months left of the season. Six months is a very long time for Cristiano.”
Ronaldo has lived up to his high standards in the UCL in which he is the top scorer with eight goals from five games and on course to become the top marskman in Europe’s elite competition for a sixth straight year.
“For me he deserves to win the Ballon d’Or because he’s had an incredible year,” Real midfielder Mateo Kovacic said.
“I see Cristiano train every day and he is doing fine. He’s going to score a lot of goals this season. Right now the ball doesn’t want to go in for him, but there’s a long way to go and he’s going to start scoring again.”
Real is guaranteed to finish second in Group H behind Tottenham Hotspur, while Dortmund needs to win to secure third spot in the group and a place in the Europa League as it is locked on two points with fourth-placed APOEL Nicosia but has a superior head-to-head record.
Dortmund’s under-fire boss Peter Bosz will resist the urge to rush Germany winger Marco Reus back after injury as the club chases a morale-boosting win at Real today.
With only one win in its last ten games in all competitions, the pressure continues to mount on head coach Bosz.
His list of walking wounded is also growing with Mario Goetze, Maximilian Philipp and Gonzalo Castro out for the foreseeable future.
Nevertheless, Bosz is resisting the temptation to play Reus, who must wait a little longer for his comeback from a knee injury in May.
“It will not be Marco Reus,” replied Bosz when asked who will provide Dortmund’s goals.
“But we need a win — even at Real Madrid,” added the Dutchman, whose demeanor suggests he is feeling the strain.
Club bosses have said they trust Bosz to turn things around and the goal he has been set is clear — qualify for the Europa League. “We want to keep playing in Europe, so a draw would be a cool number for us,” said CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke before flying to Madrid.
“There are mixed feelings, normally a game like this would be an absolute highlight.
“At the moment, both teams have their problems, we are sixth and Real are fourth,” he added with a glance at the respective Bundesliga and La Liga tables.
Dortmund is still waiting for a win at the Bernabeu after two draws and four defeats earlier.
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