Cristiano Ronaldo is a completely different kind of player. Yep, you’re right he’s full of himself. He is. But he’s 23, and scored 42 goals in the club season. He was second in the Ballon d’Or last season, and with such radical improvement this season, it’d be almost criminal if he didn’t win it by a country mile. Simao was a dissapointement at the euro, and quite a few portuguese players were. Ferreira was playing out of position, but he didn’t put in good games, and Petit, Moutinho, and even Nuno Gomes seemed to be distinctly “average”… In my opinion at least. Ronaldo is best when he is given the chance to run at defences. Deco played superbly with him, but it didn’t work as well as it did with Man U. Bad luck? Worse players around him? Dip in his playing level? I don’t know.

However, saying he had a “poor euro” is… Surprising. Sure, he didn’t bang in goals left right and center like he did with Manchester, but he never played as a striker, and Simao took too many poor free kicks… Whilst Ronaldo is perhaps one of the best set piece takers right now. After all, Ronaldo only played three games at this Euro, and he was constantly dangerous. Against Turkey, he provided the second goal (burst down the left wing, passed to Moutinho at the penalty spot, who passed on the turn to Meireles), and had hit the post in the first half, whilst the scores were still 0-0. If Simao had let him take them all, he might have ended up scoring one… Instead of seeing Simao blast them all over the stadium. But he also made the cross that lead to Nuno Gomes hitting the crossbar a little later. Against the Czech Republic, it was just more of the same. Deco tapped in an early goal after Ronaldo got through on a one-on-one with Cech, curtsey a nice one-two with Nuno Gomes. Fifty minutes later he got his only goal, assisted by Deco to beat Cech, before getting his only official assist by gifting Quaresma an open goal twenty-five minutes later. After a one-match break against Switzerland, Portugal were against Germany… And again I’m surprised to read he had a bad game. Sure, he didn’t dominate the game… But that was Deco’s role, not his. And even so, he was central to keeping Portugal’s hopes alive, with the run and shot that lead to Nuno Gomes tapping in his goal. But with two goals conceded on almost identical defensive set-pieces, where’s he to blame? Should he have been covering Ballack or Klöse? Nope. And after having Friedrich walk over his ankles, it was amazing how much stick people were willing to give him. Had Messi been stepped on, people would have excused a less brilliant second half, and asked for a public lynching. With Ronaldo, he’s a diver, so who cares. Not that it stopped him from being important as Portugal tried to level the score. All in all, the only “half” where he was slightly under par was the second half against Germany. Where he had his ankle stepped on after barely 3 minutes. Every other half he provided at least one goal chance for Portugal, if not two or more. How is that a “bad” Euro? How many wingers can you say had better Euros? Schweinsteiger? I didn’t see how he was good at any point in the group stages, nor in the final… So that’s two good games. Just as good as Ronaldo. Arshavin? Again, two good games (Netherlands and Sweden), before dissapearing into a vague state of non-existance against Spain. Silva is the only winger I found performed consistently better than Ronaldo.

But I’m sure all this will fall on some people who genuinely dislike Ronaldo and think that Deco is going to bring something completely new to the English league that’s all about strength, and where the players have any technique whatsoever.

Regardless, I don’t think Deco will be able to cut it in the EPL…he’s been fading over the past few years and a newer, faster league is not really what he needs.

I hope I’m wrong, but I see another Sheva in the making

What the Premier League needs is insight.

Which means realizing that with rheir continuos purchasing international soccer mercenaries they will continue to keep the standard of the English national side as low as it is, if not worse.

Young fresh English talent is needed – I guess it is there – and must be given a chance to develop into international calibre.

So even though Cristiano Ronaldo is probably the superior player, I think it’s great that the Premiership is getting more apples.