Cristiano Ronaldo turned to the lens and screamed it twice — "I'm back! I'm back!" Days of being written off had clearly gnawed at the Portugal captain, and in Houston, he answered the only way he knows how, scoring twice in a 5-0 demolition of Uzbekistan.
The mood around the 41-year-old had soured fast after Portugal's opening 1-1 draw with DR Congo. Ronaldo barely got a kick, failing to land a single shot on target, and many questioned if he can still play at this level.
He admitted just how heavily it had weighed on him. "I know that whoever works hard, God helps him. It was a tough week, a dark one; it started as if I had retired from football," he told reporters. "But I held on as I always hold on because I believe in work more than soccer. It was tough, I have to admit, but we came back."
Despite many asking him to cut Ronaldo loose, Roberto Martinez stuck by his captain. And it was a winning call.
Six minutes in, Ronaldo swivelled to meet Joao Cancelo's cross and hammered it home, and in doing so became the first player in history to score at six different World Cups. Houston rose to it. Before the break he had his second, a cool finish that took him to 10 goals at the World Cup in total and past the great Eusebio as Portugal's leading World Cup scorer.
For all the noise around the milestone, Ronaldo was quick to wave it away. "I'm very happy. But for me, the most important thing is our work and the confidence we showed," he said. "The team performed really well and improved a lot." He went further when pushed on the personal landmark: "Obviously, speaking personally, records are always nice, but my goal is always to help the national team achieve its objectives."
Cannavaro, once an opponent of Ronaldo, praised the 41-year-old veteran forward. "Maybe you can do more years if you’re not tired and enjoy football,” he said. “If you still look like that, why not carry on?" he urged Ronaldo.
Portugal close their group on Saturday against Colombia, who beat Uzbekistan 3-1. Whether the veteran can keep this up against sterner opposition is the next question, but after leading Portugal against Uzbekistan, the man himself has already given his answer.
