Written By: Nirmalya Dutta | Updated : May 14, 2014 11:15 AM IST
Cristiano Ronaldo scored 2 goals against reigning European champions Bayern Munich to subject them to a 4-0 mauling at the Allianz Arena in Munich and lead Real Madrid to their first Champions League final since 2001 and keep the hunt on for La Decima the 10th European Cup. Along the way, he beat his great rival Lionel Messi's goal scoring record in a single Champions League season by scoring 16 goals in one season. Whoever Real Madrid faces in the final city rivals Athletico Madrid or former manager Jose Mourinho's Chelsea there's a sense of inevitability that Ronaldo won't be found wanting on the big stage.
'Cristiano was the most gifted player I managed,' Sir Alex Ferguson, wrote in his new autobiography. 'He surpassed all the other great ones I coached at United - and I had many. The only ones who could be placed near him would be a couple of the home-produced players, Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs, because they contributed so prodigiously to Manchester United for two decades.' Ronaldo is a one-off, superb physical specimen who combines footballing finesse with amazing athleticism. So what can we mere mortals learn from a footballing god like Ronaldo? Here are 7 things (lucky number for everyone involved) everyone can learn from Cristiano Ronaldo.
Never settle for second best
Ronaldo's debut against Bolton
Every Manchester United fan remembers Cristiano Ronaldo's debut against Bolton in the Premier League and the fans immediately took the scrawny Portugese lad who was fearless on the ball, loved to showboat and just couldn't be tackled into submission. It didn't matter that he was just a teenager, there was always the sense that this lad would go on to rule the world. The reason for this was that from the very beginning, Ronaldo wanted to be the best footballer ever. There was no other goal and everything he did from then on was to work towards that goal.
What we can learn? It's important to have unrealistic goals. Life really is too short to settle for mediocrity. It doesn't matter what you do in life, you always have to strive to be the best, irrespective of your current state of being. If you're not in the right job, switch your job, but stop settling for mediocrity.
To be the best you need to be committed as hell
Ronaldo arrived at Old Trafford a very scrawny lad who just didn't seem strong enough. But that didn't stop him and he was lucky to arrive at a club where the gym culture is very strong. Deadlifts, power cleans, Olympic lifts along with other strength workouts were part of his regime. 'I would say, physically, he is the perfect specimen. From his height to his natural body type, muscular structure, how much fat he's got in his system, his endurance capacity, flexibility, power and strength they are in perfect balance. He had in his mind, 'I need to make myself special and I'm going to have to learn everything I need to become special. I'm going to have to regiment my day and my week, months and years and become as good as I can be by every possible means.' He had a plan', Mike Clegg, United's former power development coach told BBC. While at United, he would strap weights to his legs and do step-overs even after the other players had left to take a shower, which shows how committed he was to his goal.
What we can learn? It's not enough to want to be the best. You've to set the foundations in place, you've to work towards your goal. Ronaldo worked on it, training his body to become a superior specimen and honing his football skills to perfection with endless hours of training. If you really want to leave a mark in whatever you're doing, you actually have to do the same. You've to be willing to do things that others won't, go the extra mile. Only then will you be the best at what you do.
Learn to accept your mistakes
The Boy Who Dived
When Ronaldo arrived, he was instantly labelled a diver by the press and he did have a tendency to go down easily. He also had a penchant for unnecessary showboating doing stopovers when a simple pass would've sufficed. In time opponents learned to pick him out but then he worked on those issues with the coaching staff and picked up the special knack that the best players have of doing something extravagant things only when the situation demanded it. Similarly, his old teammates, including one Roy Keane, impressed upon him that to be a great footballer, he would simply have to cut out his diving and theatrics and he did that too in time.
What we can learn? None of us are can go through life without making mistakes. Mistakes are as inevitable as gravity, but we need to correct them. So if your boss or colleagues point out a mistake that you've made, instead of being defensive, learn from that mistake. Be open to criticism, it will make you a better professional and a better person.
Learn to face adversity
Ronaldo gets Rooney sent off
The defining moment of the 2006 World Cup for Cristiano Ronaldo came when he winked at the Portugal bench after fellow Manchester United teammate Wayne Rooney was sent off for leaving his mark on Ricardo Carvalho's family jewel. The Press, the English fans and many neutrals interpreted the wink as joy at getting a teammate sent off and what followed would've destroyed a lesser man.
The Press went to town on Ronaldo as they labelled him Unwanted Number 1 and 'You Portugese bastard' was the most polite epithet used for him during matches by opposing fans. Ronaldo thought of escaping from Engalnd with Real Madrid offering a deal, but Wayne Rooney assured Ronaldo everything was fine and they would still be teammates. Even Sir Alex explained to him the importance of adversity, how David Beckham faced the same vitriol after getting sent off in an England match and that situation actually transformed Ronaldo. From the 2006-07 Season he became a completely different player, far stronger than before who was willing to take on everyone and anyone. What followed was three Premier League titles (2006-07, 07-08 and 08-09) and one European Cup in which Ronaldo cemented his place among the game's elite and then his journey at Real Madrid where he went even better, breaking innumerable records.
What we can learn? Adversity actually made Ronaldo a better player and that's an important lesson for everyone. Life won't be smooth, there will be moments which will want you to slit your wrists or shoot yourselves but you've to look ahead to the end of the tunnel. Adversity will change people, it can make them or break them, and that's not up to chance. It's up to how you deal with the problem and emerge from it.
Learn to make sacrifices
Ronaldo never lets up, not even in training as teammate Gareth Bale finds out
Ronaldo sacrificed a lot of things to reach where he is. He left his home in Portugal as a young boy to ply his trade in Manchester when he was just a young teenager. He probably works out harder than any footballer in the world to be where he is. Unlike many of his teammates, he never drinks or smokes, never ever, because he knows the damage alcohol can do to the body of an athlete (he lost his father to alcoholism). He barely ever indulges himself, living the life of an extremely highly paid prisoner so that his body remains in prime condition and it shows. In fact, his former teammate Wayne Rooney was believed to have been more naturally talented of the two and actually outshone him in the initial years and while Wayne Rooney's still world class, he simply can't hold a candle to Ronaldo because he couldn't apply himself to his art to the same level.
What we can learn? Life often gives us lots of options. Hit the gym or have a beer while watching telly? Work on the report tomorrow or join the gang for a night out? The point is you need to take a call on what you're willing to do to achieve success because being the best requires sacrifices. You can't be a dilettante and expect to be the best (unless you're a savant but that's a whole different discussion). It just comes down to the 10,000 hour rule, you need to be doing something constantly for that long to be actually very good at it.
Don't listen to the boo boys
You can't shut me up
Throughout his career, Ronaldo has come in for undue criticism, some times which bordered on insane. He has got it from opposing fans in England after the 2006 World Cup incident not to mention opposing players who would always target him. Even after these incidents, opposing fans hated him and would always boo when he's on the ball. His every move is scrutinised by the media but somehow he has not only maintained his sanity but thrived on it. Sir Alex always said that the quality of a player can be judged based on what the opposing fans sing about them. The greatest players are always targeted and Ronaldo was marked from a very young age and he somehow learned to love it. In fact the two-time World Player of the Year even said in an interview: 'Maybe they hate me because I'm too good!'
What can we learn? There's no escaping criticism in life. While we might not face the same amount of scrutiny as CR7 we'll definitely face some of it in our life. There's no escaping it, there'll always be people trying to take you down. What you need to do is stand strong and not let it affect you.
Keep on improving
And the scariest part about Ronaldo is you get the impression that he's not done. That he's actually going to get better and better. Born in the same generation as Messi, these two stalwarts have simply redefined the game with goal-scoring stats that are just unfathomable. They've pushed the bar so high that both are now talked off as the greatest to ever play the game (though they still have to win cups for their countries). Ronaldo realises that it's not over . 'Ronaldo improves every day. Look at his numbers three years ago and you think, 'It's impossible he can do better,' and then you look at him this year and he's done better again. He's always improving and because of that, he is the best.' Aitor Karanka, who worked with Ronaldo at Real Madrid for three years, told BBC.
What we can learn? The biggest victim of success is complacency. Being crowned the best player in the world, makes many believe that they've reached their pinnacle. So it's everyone's job to not let success get to their heads, to realise that there are many more goals left. No matter where you've reached in life, there's always the possibility to go one better.
At 28, you get the feeling that despite all the accolades and the personal and team awards, the mythical Cristiano Ronaldo story isn't over by any stretch of imagination and all of us can hope that neither is ours, because if one human being can do it, then millions others are capable of it.
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