Ronaldo free kick vs Croatia sparks chaos

The technique on the strike is almost secondary to the fact that the clip instantly becomes a meme because of how hard it hits and how little margin there is for anyone in the wall. Ronaldo has always had that effect on set pieces, but this one is a reminder that not every big moment needs to end in a goal to dominate the conversation. Still, if you are Croatia there is no way you are enjoying that replay, because it looks like pure pain and the internet is treating it like comedy gold and that is football for you, one second you are defending a free kick and the next second everybody is making jokes about your existence and honestly I am here for it because the drama of it is ridiculous
 
It is a funny clip, but the reason it spreads is because the contact is so clean and so violent at the same time. If you strip away the name attached to it, it is still the kind of free kick that gets people wincing and replaying it.
 
There is a proper debate to be had about how much of the reaction is about the actual kick and how much is just people reacting to Ronaldo being Ronaldo because if another player does that it gets a few laughs and moves on but with him it becomes a whole circus, every touch is framed like it is destiny and every miss like it is a scandal and that is why the clip ends up everywhere, though to be fair if you are standing in that wall you are probably not caring about the discourse because your ribs are gone and the internet is turning it into a joke and I cannot even blame them because football fans are ruthless and the whole thing is just mad
 
Croatia were probably just happy to see it go over because that sort of strike can change the mood around a game even when it does not go in and you can tell the wall was not exactly thrilled with the outcome either
 
Somebody needs to tell him that not every free kick has to be hit like a sniper rifle into the top corner because this one was just pure violence for no reward and the funniest part is the way people still talk about him like he is some mythical set piece god when half the time the wall is getting launched into orbit and the keeper is just there for decoration, I swear every time he takes one the whole stadium holds its breath and then half the internet starts acting like the man has invented football again and the other half is laughing because the poor lad in the wall probably felt that for a week, ridiculous stuff and I am tired of pretending otherwise
 
The officials probably had the easiest job in the world on that one because once the free kick is struck that hard everyone is just watching the aftermath, but it still feels like the sort of moment referees hate because the whole game stops while people groan, laugh and replay it ten times, and then suddenly the match is about the clip rather than the decision that led to it, which is exactly why these incidents get so much attention and why the ref ends up in the background even when nothing actually controversial happened, absolutely wild how one hit can take over the whole conversation
 
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