New king Ronaldo worth his weight in goals

Scott Lawless looks into the debate that has the whole footballing world talking

IN the past few weeks there have been numerous sports articles claiming, that, if they had to choose between Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo, they would choose the English front man.

That decision is formed based on one of Johnny Giles’ favourite quote, “honesty of effort”. Graham Souness claimed that opposition teams would prefer to see the Portuguese star on the team sheet than Rooney.

Work rate of course, is an important part of football and the work Rooney puts in does create space for players like Ronaldo and Tevez to thrive.

But ask anybody in the game, the hardest thing to do in football is put the ball in the back of the net.
John Giles is not one for the statistics, but I am. This season, United’s winger Ronaldo has played 42 games and has scored 37 goals, as opposed to Rooney’s 38 games played and 17 goals scored.

It’s not just about the goals though. When Rooney went nine games without a goal, it was Ronaldo’s hard work that laid two goals on a plate for Rooney against Aston Villa a few weeks back.

Also, let’s compare their consistency. Rooney, throughout his Manchester United career, has regularly gone on an eight or nine game run without scoring. However, this season, when United needed a goal, there has been only one man who has stepped up.

Rooney for all his work and endurance has not been the player that people thought when he first came. He doesn’t burst through defences and hit unstoppable shots from outside the box like he did when he was 18.

This is possibly due to manager Alex Ferguson’s reluctance to play him behind a striker, most believe this is his most effective position. And who knows, if United get a big target man next year, it may be Rooney that will be the star of the show playing in his natural position.

However, this year most of the plaudits must go to Ronaldo. Not since, when Thierry Henry was at his best have we seen one player, almost single-handily defeat teams in the Premier League and you could argue that if Ronaldo keeps this form up, he may eclipse the wonderful French man.

There is also, the myth that Ronaldo does not perform on the big stage. He is top scorer in the Champions League with 7 goals and has scored against Arsenal and Liverpool in the league. But it was the all-important first goal in Rome, which showed the class of the 23 year old.

As Paul Scholes clipped the ball in, there was no one to be seen. But, out of nowhere, Ronaldo rose highest to score a wonderful header, which showed so much heart, pace and commitment. That has summed up his season and that wasn’t even enough to silence some of the critics about his impact on big games.
How do you define a big game? United played Derby County away, who showed great persistence throughout the game only for “you know who” to come up with a great finish. Three points is three points and every game is a big game, particularly towards the end of the season.

What more does Ronaldo have to do to be appreciated by the Irish media?

Dennis Irwin claimed that Wayne Rooney has played as good if not better than Ronaldo. Eamon Dunphy continues to question how effective he is and many sports journalists are not appreciating the fact that a truly great player is having the season of his life in the best league in the world.

Ronaldo is closing in on Van Nistelrooy’s record of 44 goals during a prolific season five years ago. But that was just his game. Ronaldo sets up many goals, contrary to belief; he does track back, while at the same time entertaining the crowd with memorising runs and fancy flicks.

As the season comes to a close, many believe that it is Rooney’s time and that he will be the one to fire United to Premier League and European glory. However, when United have been struggling for goals, there has only been one man that has burdened the responsibility.

If they are to achieve the Double this season, it will be Ronaldo that will fire them to glory. If that happens then he will surely get his well-deserved World Player of the Year award.