Did CR exceed expectations ?

by Valkyrja Tue 19 Apr 2016, 22:17

Did itcome to you when he broke into the football scene, 11-12-13 years ago, that he would become this good ? Literally one of the best footballers of all time ? I mean, it was clear from the start that he was a very talented player, potentially world-class, but have you ever thought that he would become the machine he is today ? With Messi we all knew that he was going to be this good, but I've never thought that the skinny Portuguese winger who dived all over Euro2004 would become an all time great. The likes of Quaresma, Rooney, Robinho, Diego were rated higher at that point in time.

by El Messico Wed 20 Apr 2016, 02:11

He exceeded even the wildest expectations imo. Not just the expectation from 2002-2004 when he burst out at Sporting and Manchester, but also the expectations after he signed for 94 mil in 2009. There were many who thought Kaka would be the more influential signing.

If you see the stats he has been putting out year after year, there can really be no other conclusion. His evolution has been amazing to watch. With every year, he seemed to get better and better (until 2013). There will be many privileged fans (i.e Barca fans) who will ridicule his trophy cabinet despite the historic outlay by Perez on the team over the past few years. But what many of them fail to realize is that you can spend 10 billion on players if you want, it doesn't matter shit when the best players play for your rival and will not move to your club. Madrid's transfer policy was not ideal either. Of the 7 seasons CR has spent at Madrid now, he has had a balanced team with a settled formation and setup in exactly the following 3.5 seasons:

1) 2nd half of 2010/11 - Madrid were an extremely good team, probably (definitely tbf) the 2nd best in the world. Unfortunately Barca were legendary.

2) 2011/12 - Won the league with a record number of points. Choked the CL away. I'd say this was the biggest failure of the Perez 2.0 era.

3) 2012/13 - Internal divisions completely ruined the team. A terrible season, but Cristiano was at his peak in this and the previous season.

4) 2013/14 - Won CL and Copa, not a bad return.

I do not consider a midfield of Kroos, Modric and James to be balanced, so while they may have started 2014/15 at a blistering pace, the sale of balancing acts such as Di Maria and Alonso was always going to hurt them. And I really don't think they will win the CL this season either, although the recent prominence of Casemiro within the starting lineup helps and is encouraging.

All in all, bar the 2012/13 exception it had been a very good time for Real Madrid.

Anyway, the key takeaway is that over the past 5-6 years, Barca were in a historic moment while Madrid were merely in a great moment. To win the CL, you either have to be the very best or get extremely lucky (Chelsea). Madrid were never the best club in the world. That title belonged to their two main rivals Barca and Bayern, who above all else had stability and a system in place and bought players who fit that system. In any other era, CR would have won about 7 Ballon D'Ors. No way that can ever be classed anything below "exceeded any and all expectations".

To answer the questions in your post - no, I never thought he would be this good even though I liked him a lot from the beginning. I never thought Messi would be this good either.

Anyways, he's still not better than Messi though Molenation

by futbol Wed 20 Apr 2016, 02:32

El Messico wrote:

Still not better than Messi though

I think he is. Messi has been carried by all-time great players most of his life. Check out the Ballon d'Or podium:

2009: 1. Messi, 2. Ronaldo, 3. Xavi, 4. Iniesta
2010: 1. Messi, 2. Iniesta, 3. Xavi
2011: 1. Messi, 2. Ronaldo, 3. Xavi, 4. Iniesta
2012: 1. Messi, 2. Ronaldo, 3. Iniesta, 4. Xavi
2015: 1. Messi, 2. Ronaldo, 3. Neymar, 4. Lewandowski, 5. Suarez

Which other player EVER had this kind of support? Now check Ronaldo's Ballon d'Or seasons:

2008: 1. Ronaldo, ... BIG DISTANCE ..., 13. Rooney, ... BIG DISTANCE ..., 21. Vidic
2013: 1. Ronaldo, ... BIG DISTANCE ..., 10. Bale (mostly for his performances with Spurs) ... and that's it, no other Madrid player in top 23 list.
2014: 1. Ronaldo, ... BIG DISTANCE ..., 8. Hames, 9. Kroos

Everyone can see what happens to Messi when he is put in just a world class team for Argentina and not an all-time great team. Easily the fakest footballer of all time. Kommander is getting betrayed big time here. Molenation

by El Messico Wed 20 Apr 2016, 02:35

futbol wrote:
El Messico wrote:

Still not better than Messi though

I think he is. Messi has been carried by all-time great players most of his life. Check out the Ballon d'Or podium:

2009: 1. Messi, 2. Ronaldo, 3. Xavi, 4. Iniesta
2010: 1. Messi, 2. Iniesta, 3. Xavi
2011: 1. Messi, 2. Ronaldo, 3. Xavi, 4. Iniesta
2012: 1. Messi, 2. Ronaldo, 3. Iniesta, 4. Xavi
2015: 1. Messi, 2. Ronaldo, 3. Neymar, 4. Lewandowski, 5. Suarez

Which other player EVER had this kind of support? Now check Ronaldo's Ballon d'Or seasons:

2008: 1. Ronaldo, ... BIG DISTANCE ..., 13. Rooney, ... BIG DISTANCE ..., 21. Vidic
2013: 1. Ronaldo, ... BIG DISTANCE ..., 10. Bale ... and that's it, no other Madrid player in top 23 list.
2014: 1. Ronaldo, ... BIG DISTANCE ..., 8. Hames, 9. Kroos

Everyone can see what happens to Messi when he is put in just a world class team for Argentina and not an all-time great team. Easily the fakest footballer of all time. Kommander is getting betrayed big time here.

Well, I'm convinced Molenation

by FennecFox7 Wed 20 Apr 2016, 04:59

In before nazilmali brings up messi and how he's 32 years old so his opinion is gold.

by Peccadillo Wed 20 Apr 2016, 05:26

Valkyrja wrote:Did itcome to you when he broke into the football scene, 11-12-13 years ago, that he would become this good ? Literally one of the best footballers of all time ? I mean, it was clear from the start that he was a very talented player, potentially world-class, but have you ever thought that he would become the machine he is today ? With Messi we all knew that he was going to be this good, but I've never thought that the skinny Portuguese winger who dived all over Euro2004 would become an all time great. The likes of Quaresma, Rooney, Robinho, Diego were rated higher at that point in time.

Simply untrue.

by Kebab Wed 20 Apr 2016, 08:26

FennecFox7 wrote:In before nazilmali brings up messi and how he's 32 years old so his opinion is gold.

stop being fanboy

As for question.I first noticed him in M.united and yes i expected this. because he was even better in early years and had some magics. His curve free kicks were unique. he had some tricks and watching his step overs you could imagine that we are witnessing future Ronaldinho. It was not really hard to predict

For me CR is the best footballer in the world at the moment.nobody comes close. He singel handedly carried Madrid to CL semifinals. He deserves his ballon dor

by Valkyrja Wed 20 Apr 2016, 09:16

Cristiano doing tricks and step overs better than Cristiano scoring for fun for 7-8 seasons hmm

@Pecadillo

Yes it's true. Cristiano wasn't seen as the ultimate wonderkid when he broke into the scene at Sporting and not even at Yanited. When both Rooney and Ronaldo were coming through bck in 04-05 it was clear that Rooney was a better talent. The difference was that Ronaldo worked his ass off in training to become the best player in the world (his work ethic in fantastic) while Rooney thought that he did it at 19 and tucked his ass into McDonald's.

by BarcaLearning Wed 20 Apr 2016, 09:56

Still, Messi is better Very Happy

by Ion Creanga Wed 20 Apr 2016, 10:48

Valkyrja wrote:Cristiano doing tricks and step overs better than Cristiano scoring for fun for 7-8 seasons

@Pecadillo

Yes it's true. Cristiano wasn't seen as the ultimate wonderkid when he broke into the scene at Sporting and not even at Yanited. When both Rooney and Ronaldo were coming through bck in 04-05 it was clear that Rooney was a better talent. The difference was that Ronaldo worked his ass off in training to become the best player in the world (his work ethic in fantastic) while Rooney thought that he did it at 19 and tucked his ass into McDonald's.

Very untrue... Fat Rooney runs twice as much in a football game as fit Ronaldo has ever been. Are you serious? Ronaldo is very lazzy during games, while Rooney runs his socks off . Ronaldo walks most of the game, rarely helps the defense and doesn't press. Just like Messi.

Although i do agree that he must be a hard worker in training, but a different type of effort (practicing free kicks, short sprints, headers etc). More like perseverance than hard working, doing the same fcking thing over and over, until it works

by Winter is Coming Wed 20 Apr 2016, 11:06

BarcaLearning wrote:Still, Messi is better

I don't think he asked if X, Y, Z is better or not, but rather what they think about the level he reached, as some probably don't think he'd get tot his stage back in 2004.

by rincon Wed 20 Apr 2016, 11:19

Valkyrja wrote:Cristiano doing tricks and step overs better than Cristiano scoring for fun for 7-8 seasons

@Pecadillo

Yes it's true. Cristiano wasn't seen as the ultimate wonderkid when he broke into the scene at Sporting and not even at Yanited. When both Rooney and Ronaldo were coming through bck in 04-05 it was clear that Rooney was a better talent. The difference was that Ronaldo worked his ass off in training to become the best player in the world (his work ethic in fantastic) while Rooney thought that he did it at 19 and tucked his ass into McDonald's.

Yes he was, Cristiano has been seen as the ultimate wonderkid since he kicked a ball. Before EC 2004 I hadn't seen him play much yet everyone knew he was supposed to be the next big thing. Then he beasted with United and everyone said he was basically the next best player in the world. Then Messi came through and by the time WC 06 rolled around it was clear that the 2 of them were the future.

by zenmaster Wed 20 Apr 2016, 11:36

I think none of us here knew that CR will be HUGE.

We can gladly say that players like CR comes once in decades and i feel privilege to watch his career from nothing to something.

by Valkyrja Wed 20 Apr 2016, 12:58

rincon wrote:
Valkyrja wrote:Cristiano doing tricks and step overs better than Cristiano scoring for fun for 7-8 seasons

@Pecadillo

Yes it's true. Cristiano wasn't seen as the ultimate wonderkid when he broke into the scene at Sporting and not even at Yanited. When both Rooney and Ronaldo were coming through bck in 04-05 it was clear that Rooney was a better talent. The difference was that Ronaldo worked his ass off in training to become the best player in the world (his work ethic in fantastic) while Rooney thought that he did it at 19 and tucked his ass into McDonald's.

Yes he was, Cristiano has been seen as the ultimate wonderkid since he kicked a ball. Before EC 2004 I hadn't seen him play much yet everyone knew he was supposed to be the next big thing. Then he beasted with United and everyone said he was basically the next best player in the world. Then Messi came through and by the time WC 06 rolled around it was clear that the 2 of them were the future.

He was actually very criticized prior to 06-07, even Neville said so. Very inconsistent. The Rooney incident helped him mature

by Valkyrja Wed 20 Apr 2016, 13:32

El Messico wrote:
If you see the stats he has been putting out year after year, there can really be no other conclusion. His evolution has been amazing to watch. With every year, he seemed to get better and better (until 2013).
1) 2nd half of 2010/11 - Madrid were an extremely good team, probably (definitely tbf) the 2nd best in the world. Unfortunately Barca were legendary.

2) 2011/12 - Won the league with a record number of points. Choked the CL away. I'd say this was the biggest failure of the Perez 2.0 era.

3) 2012/13 - Internal divisions completely ruined the team. A terrible season, but Cristiano was at his peak in this and the previous season.

4) 2013/14 - Won CL and Copa, not a bad return.

I do not consider a midfield of Kroos, Modric and James to be balanced, so while they may have started 2014/15 at a blistering pace, the sale of balancing acts such as Di Maria and Alonso was always going to hurt them. And I really don't think they will win the CL this season either, although the recent prominence of Casemiro within the starting lineup helps and is encouraging.

All in all, bar the 2012/13 exception it had been a very good time for Real Madrid.

Anyway, the key takeaway is that over the past 5-6 years, Barca were in a historic moment while Madrid were merely in a great moment. To win the CL, you either have to be the very best or get extremely lucky (Chelsea). Madrid were never the best club in the world. That title belonged to their two main rivals Barca and Bayern, who above all else had stability and a system in place and bought players who fit that system. In any other era, CR would have won about 7 Ballon D'Ors. No way that can ever be classed anything below "exceeded any and all expectations".

To answer the questions in your post - no, I never thought he would be this good even though I liked him a lot from the beginning. I never thought Messi would be this good either.

Anyways, he's still not better than Messi though

Imo the best Ronaldo was the one from the first half of the 14/15 season. he was everywhere, absolutely unplayable.

by rincon Wed 20 Apr 2016, 13:38

Cristiano has been criticized his entire career. He was a kid back then and was even more immature than today its how it is with almost every young superstar.

He was still seen as the next big star and at that time he was already a huge figure in football. He was in the EC 04 best 11 at like 19 years old. Half the ads for WC 06 had cristiano in it. No doubt that he was seen as a top talent. He won the ballon d'or at 23 and it wasn't a surprise, its not like he came out of nowhere.

by Valkyrja Wed 20 Apr 2016, 13:42

rincon wrote:Cristiano has been criticized his entire career. He was a kid back then and was even more immature than today its how it is with almost every young superstar.

He was still seen as the next big star and at that time he was already a huge figure in football. He was in the EC 04 best 11 at like 19 years old. Half the ads for WC 06 had cristiano in it. No doubt that he was seen as a top talent. He won the ballon d'or at 23 and it wasn't a surprise, its not like he came out of nowhere.

Gary Neville: "I will never forget returning from a game we had against Charlton, just some time after Cristiano Ronaldo had signed for Manchester United and thinking to myself: 'Do you know what? I better just give up on him. He had been flailing around on the ground, he got into his proper position and he was unreliable all the time'. I had the chance to play with the likes of David Beckham and Ryan Giggs, world-class players who worked up and down and did the ugly part of the game, but playing with Cristiano Ronaldo was a constant frustration!", started by referring Gary Neville.

Neville: "He could go wandering off to the left, to the right, up the middle, but he was inconsistent and that would end costing us. I remember seeing Ronaldo giving the ball away at Chelsea, in the José Mourinho era at the Bridge, and Chelsea scoring from that play. He would win us a match, but then we wouldn't see him stepping up in the following game. I still remember snapping at him and going crazy once, when he tried to over-complicate right in front of goal, with some back-heel flick, rather than a sidefoot to finish. We were already winning 3-0, but that wasn’t the point. I yelled at him: 'What the hell are you playing at? That’s not what we do here.'", revealed the 37-years old.

It's no news to anyone that Ronaldo's first years in England weren't anything near easy and if there's a man who deserves credits for having believed in the Portuguese youngster talent, that man was Sir Alex Ferguson. Gary Neville: "My patience was wearing thin, as was the other players. We didn't wanted him out of the team or the club. But we were all like: 'When will he learn? When is he going to understand the English game?' Thankfully, the experience of Sir Alex Ferguson meant he never lost patience with him. He always went with Ronaldo and protected him at all costs", stated Neville.

If there's a turning point in Ronaldo's career, many believe to have been that 2006 Summer, right after the World Cup and that incident with Wayne Rooney. During the pre-season, the skinny boy was no longer a boy, as he seemed to have grown up during vacations, clearly buffed up and with a stronger and more determined attitude in the club.

Gary Neville: "And then I remember when he came back from the 2006 World Cup in Germany, after all that controversy with the Wayne Rooney red card. He walked into the dressing room and I immediatly thought: 'What has happened to him over the summer?' When he had come to the club he was this thin, wiry boy. Now he was into a light-heavyweight category. He has probably been on the weights during the whole summer and it was like watching someone grow up in a matter of weeks. What then happened for the coming two years was simply astonishing."

Neville: "I can’t believe anyone has ever seen anything as extraordinary in the English Premier League. I know we have had great players like Thierry Henry, Eric Cantona and Gianfranco Zola, and perhaps Thierry Henry in his prime came closest, but for two years (2006-2008), Cristiano Ronaldo was a player on a different level, by far the best in the World. He would prey on the weak. He is an absolute bully, as Maicon probably found out when he played for Manchester City in the Santiago Bernabeu earlier this season. Ronaldo sniffs blood and he will find the weakness in the back four. If he's not getting the left-back in the first 15 minutes, he'll switch to the right-back. If he's not getting the right-back, he'll switch to the left centre-back. He'll find someone in your back four who is weak and doesn't like defending one on one situations, against pace and power. Cristiano Ronaldo's skill, strength and speed were incredible. I had played with some great players in Roy Keane, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, David Beckham, Eric Cantona and Mark Hughes. Because of their longevity at the club, they may be ranked above Ronaldo as Manchester United greats. But no one was a good as Cristiano Ronaldo in that two-year period (2006-2008)!", claimed the now SkySports commentator.

Gary Neville: "I was injured for the 2007-08 season, when Manchester United won the UEFA Champions League, so I've been in the stands that year for many of the games. I remember thinking: 'How could it have been better watching George Best?' I've never saw him playing but I thought: 'If it was anything like this we're seeing with Ronaldo, then I understand why people are still talking about him.' And no one can tell me Ronaldo isn't brave, by the way! No one can tell me that he's soft. He wouldn't hide in games, even though he knew that the first thing every team wanted to do, was to leave one on him. Yes, he went down too easily at times, especially in his fist years in England. But if he had a very tall defender bearing down and about to take his knees out, he was told by his teammates and the manager himself to stay away from those challenges, because we didn't want him to get injured. Just look at the header goal he scored in Roma, back in 2008. He was laid out by the defence as he attacked the ball. You don’t score a header like that unless you're one brave athlete. That was in the mould of Frank Stapleton, Joe Jordan, Andy Gray or Mick Harford. He’s not some soft flaky character, he’s a hardened player", remarked Gary Neville when defending Ronaldo from the critics that have pointed him as not being a brave player.

Neville: "It got to the point that as right-back in that 2006-07 season, I never complained if he could go off for 30 minutes and leave me constantly with two on one situations. He completely changed my opinions about the game! I'd always been taught that I must have a right winger in front of me, but I knew he'd go and win us the match. Darren Fletcher used to say that we'd have to work around him, because he would always do more harm than the opposing players he was leaving free when he stayed upfront. As a 27-year-old at the time, an experienced figure, I was expecting to tell this 21-year-old how things rolled in football. But he was telling me something completely different. I had been playing with my blinkers on for years, but Cristiano Ronado made me open my eyes to different ways of playing the game!", admitted Manchester United former right-back, when disclosing that playing with Ronaldo allowed him to start looking at football in a total different way.

Neville: "I'll never forget coming in training one day, when the session was eight hard runs but, for the last two, he seemed to be taking it easy. Ronaldo simply said: 'Too much water kills the plant.' Even today I remember those words. I had always been brought up to believe that every single minute of every day was a fight and that you had to battle continuously, even in training. I'm not saying he didn't train hard, because he did, but he would always train with efficiency. If there were eight runs and he had done six well but felt that was enough, he would do the remaining two at his own pace. He knew his own body. So who was the wise one in this situation? All the premeditated tactical theories I had learned about getting and staying in your shape, and tracking back with your runner, all the things that had been drummed into me, were thrown out over those two years because we had a player who could make up his own rules with the blessing of his team-mates. Cristiano Ronaldo has helped to redefine the game by creating a new breed of flexible forward!", praised Gary Neville during his interview to the "Daily Mail".

Neville: "In that 2008 team with Paul Scholes, Wayne Rooney, Ryan Giggs, Carlos Tevez, Nani and Ronaldo, our forwards players could be anywhere in that front line. No one could say before the game that they were playing against A, B or C. It was a different way of playing and understanding modern football. Cristiano Ronaldo has always been fascinated with becoming the best player in the World. He would have no concerns about telling us in the dressing room or the media that achieving that was indeed his goal. In England, that kind of ambition can be drummed out of you, because the team ethic is so important, sometimes we stamp on such individualism. But what's interesting is that he believed in the team ethic. He also believed that the team would be better if he'd become the World's best. You would always say individual honours aren't important, but with Ronaldo it was different, because they were to him. He wanted the medals on his chest and he would get angry when either he or the team weren't performing to that level", commented United's legend, when referring to Ronaldo's ambition and determination in becoming the best player in the World.

Gary Neville: "But again, Cristiano Ronaldo changed my way of thinking. He showed it is possible to accommodate that kind of individual ambition within a team and marry the two together. To be able to leave Manchester United in his prime and still have his name sung by the fans, tells you something... On Wednesday night, he will be at Manchester City, his first return to the city since leaving Manchester United. While he may receive the kind of stick reserved for former United players everytime they play against City, everyone in that stadium, including me, will be thinking: 'I'm watching Cristiano Ronaldo tonight!'. If you’re a kid, it will be a reference point, something to talk about when you're older. But, to be honest, for anyone who appreciates football, it must be a privilege to watch one of the greatest players of all time!", concluded Gary Neville on his interview to the "Daily Mail", as he ended up ranking Cristiano Ronaldo among the greatest names this sport has ever seen.

by rincon Wed 20 Apr 2016, 13:55

Good read, but Neville was complaining about his attitude and tactical disciplone. Those are problems that the 3 time ballon d'or winner Cristiano still has. He was 18 when he signed for United, think about that. 18 year old Cristiano was dazzling audiences enough to make himself a key player in one of the strongest sides at the time.

Cristiano wasn't born in Manchester. He was already a rising star in Portugal and was already playing with the NT at 16.

If its about quotes then Ferguson said he one of the best young players he had ever seen when he was at Sporting.

Even Neville says that 06 Cristiano was unplayable, he was 21 then. That's still a youngster and most players are only starting to show real promise at that age. He was already a star.

His hype back then was similar to Neymar hype the last few years.

by titosantill Wed 20 Apr 2016, 14:07

i kind of agree with rincon. obviously the goal gluts especially in his madrid career can't be predicted, but he wasn't a player who i would say caught me by surprise. when a player who has been hyped in his late teens or early on in his career blossoms, its hardly newsworthy. yes he had the tendency to over-dribble, dive, extremely selfish, loose his mind; but he was always highly rated, so nothing new here. obviously former team mates will make the story sweeter by talking up the "struggles" he had to go through

but at that age, with so little experience, a lot of players struggle; diamond in the rough if you will. so him having flaws in his game at the time doesn't mean he was some flop who all of a sudden proved the world wrong

a more interesting question would be how a lot of young wingers/forwards at that time fell off

by rincon Wed 20 Apr 2016, 14:16

Yeah you can never predict how much he would go on to score. But if there was anyone to do it its no surprise it was him.

I think we are so used to player failling to live up to expectations that when one lives up to them, we feel like he exceeded.

A lot of young players get called "the next" Maradona, Pele, Baggio, Van Basten, Baresi, etc. and almost all fail. Cristiano lived up to it but he didn't exceed the level of all time greats that these young stars get compared to.

by Valkyrja Wed 20 Apr 2016, 14:24

Ronaldo is clearly better than Van Basten and Baggio

by futbol_bill Wed 20 Apr 2016, 14:48

rincon wrote: He was 18 when he signed for United, think about that. 18 year old Cristiano was dazzling audiences enough to make himself a key player in one of the strongest sides at the time.

Cristiano wasn't born in Manchester. He was already a rising star in Portugal and was already playing with the NT at 16.

If its about quotes then Ferguson said he one of the best young players he had ever seen when he was at Sporting.

Even Neville says that 06 Cristiano was unplayable, he was 21 then. That's still a youngster and most players are only starting to show real promise at that age. He was already a star.

rincon wrote:
A lot of young players get called "the next" Maradona, Pele, Baggio, Van Basten, Baresi, etc. and almost all fail. Cristiano lived up to it but he didn't exceed the level of all time greats that these young stars get compared to.

Val, do you even read posts before you counter? What Rincon has said, is very factual. How many future stars make it big by age 21? The only ones of this generation, I can think of are Ronaldo, Messi and possibly Neymar. so it's not exceeding expectations. As for his record number of goals you have to bear in mind the differences to current times vs other eras. Most of us who witnessed older generations will not agree that Ronaldo or Messi are better stikers / scorers than other generations. The comparisons are flawed. What can be said is that Ronaldo and Messi are head over heels the better players of this current generation.

by rincon Wed 20 Apr 2016, 15:02

Valkyrja wrote:Ronaldo is clearly better than Van Basten and Baggio

:facepalm:read the posts again. I'm obviously not making a direct comparison to these players. What would a defender be there if I was making that comparison...

How you rank him amongst all time greats is your choice.

I was saying that whenever X brazilian forward comes up he is the "the next Pele". Y argentine forward kid is the "the next Maradona". Z italian defender is "the next Baresi". This is the caliber of player that Cristiano was being compared to when he was a youngster.

Cristiano's expectations where the highest. His entire development period (whatever years you want to define that as) he was expected to follow on the footsteps of the best of football. He was never an unknown quality. There is no way to pin him as the underdog or surprise success. He was on the superstar road the whole time and probably fulfilled most of his expectations.

by Pip Wed 20 Apr 2016, 16:32

He exceeded everyone's expectations. Nobody would have seen him as a player who scores and assists 70+ goals in a season when he was 19 or 20. You can count on one hand the amount of players who could do something like this on a consistent basis.

by Doc Wed 20 Apr 2016, 16:58

To be fair, Quaresma was the one labelled the next Figo and was rated just a bit higher than Ronaldo but yeah, the latter was rated quite nicely. Also, he also exceeded my expectations big time. I really did not think he would have been this sort of footballer where he makes scoring 50+ goals a season a norm. Not with the talents he showed in his early years.

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