760 for Cristiano Ronaldo

 

Talents are God gifted. They dazzle with their charisma, but there are groups who work the hardest and beat the talent to reach the pinnacle of glory. Cristiano Ronaldo falls to that category - a genuine hard worker blessed with enormous mental strength. His journey in football is an inspiration for many and courtesy of his sheer hard work; the big man has bagged records after records.

Back on August 16, 2003, an 18-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo made his Manchester United bow and started his reign of terror upon English defences. Ronaldo made his debut as a second-half substitute during a 4-0 victory over Bolton Wanderers. The Red Devils were winning 1-0 before his introduction in the 61st-minute - replacing Nicky Butt - highlighting the dazzling instant impact he made.

Ronaldo has come a long way since that day, breaking a plethora of records across a stunning career for Sporting Lisbon, United, Real Madrid, Juventus, and Portugal.

Last night in the Italian Super Cup, Cristiano Ronaldo and Alvaro Morata got La Vecchia Signora's two goals, with the Spaniard killing the game off with the final kick of the game, putting the finishing touches on a swift counterattack, and the night itself.

Wojciech Szczesny made an excellent save to deny Hirving Lozano in the first half to keep the scores level at 0-0, though it wouldn't be the last time the Mexican would be frustrated by the Juventus goalkeeper.

Cristiano Ronaldo scored what looked like it was going to be the game's only goal shortly after the hour mark, turning in from close range after a corner fell in front of David Ospina'sgoal.

Lorenzo Insigne then had a glorious chance to draw Napoli level after Weston McKennie brought down Dries Mertens to grant a penalty. From 12 yards and hoping for his 100th Napoli goal, Insigne stuttered and dragged his shot wide, despite Szczesny having gone the wrong way.

Napoli pushed forward late on and, in the final minute; Juventus broke from a Napoli corner. Juan Cuadrado bore down on goal and squared for Morata to finish into an open goal, bringing the full-time whistle.

Andrea Pirlo claimed his first piece of Silverware as the manager of Juventus, while in the finals, Cristiano Ronaldo does not bottle at all – the man is made for the finals in Europe’s top-level competitions.  

But the most highlight of the match was, Cristiano Ronaldo had surpassed Josef Bican for the most goals scored for club and country in football history - with his tally now at 760 and there is nothing to be surprised of. For such a determined personality, this record was meant to be achieved.

He has moved past Brazil legend Pele (757) - who moves down to third on the all-time list - while Romario is fourth (743) and Ronaldo's Barcelona rival Lionel Messi make up the top five (719).

 

Of his 760 official goals, as recorded by Opta, a whopping 450 came during his nine-year spell at Real, while he netted 118 for Manchester United, 102 for his country Portugal, 85 for current club Juve, and five at Sporting Lisbon.

The year 2013 had been the most significant for Cristiano Ronaldo when he found the back of the net 69 times, but he also recorded 34 in 2007, 35 in 2008, 30 in 2009, 48 in 2010, 60 in 2011, 63 in 2012, 61 in 2014, 57 in 2015, 55 in 2016 and 53 in 2017.

The five-time Champions League winner's most prolific scoring season, though, was in 2011-12 - with 69 goals overall.

Ronaldo scored 27 against Sevilla - more than any other club - while 25 came against Atletico Madrid and he managed 23 against Getafe. He scored 488 with his right foot, 139 on his left, 131 with his head, and two via other body parts.

At home, Ronaldo has 410 to his name, with 304 coming away and 46 at neutral venues. He scored 46 hat-tricks, 136 doubles and there were eight occasions where he scored four times in a match, scoring five times in a game twice.

His La Liga tally stands at a total of 311, with 134 in the Champions League, 84 in the Premier League, 67 in Serie A, 30 in World Cup qualifying, 31 in qualifying for the European Championships, 13 in the FA Cup, and seven at the World Cup.

Ronaldo, who has won titles in England, Spain, and Italy, is most likely to score between 76 and 90 minutes - with 178 goals - more than any other time-frame in a match.

Ronaldo, who also won the Euros and Nations League with Portugal, and has scored 15 goals in 14 Serie A games this season, recently revealed his desire to continue playing for “many, many years” despite his age.

“We are very happy with the win, it was difficult, especially as the pitch was terrible, but we got it done,” Ronaldo told Rai Sport after the match.

“We showed a different attitude to the bad performance against Inter. That is the past, this is a very important trophy and we hope this can give the team more confidence going into the future.”

He added, “Milan and Inter are very strong, but I believe we have what it takes to win. It’s going to be very difficult, but I believe the Scudetto is still possible.”

Without a doubt, Cristiano Ronaldo is the best footballer in the world right now and the way he is performing at the moment always gives the impression that the best of Cristiano is yet to come.  

Note: This article has been posted at Cricketsoccer as CSdesk on 21/01/2021 760 for Cristiano Ronaldo

Thank You

Faisal Caesar