Post-WC Thread

[lynn]

like i said before, retiring from the NT would be a rash step and it will not improve his career because there are some great competitions which you play only with your country, and it would be silly of him to miss out on that. the armband thing, sure it will be embarrassing at first if it taken from him, but it might be a good move as it would allow him to relax a little and not have the added pressure of leading and representing his team all the time. some times we have to look at the bigger picture and not just focus on what will help salvage the present.

The Portugal NT probably doesn't have anything big coming up for a few months, so they could have waited to change captains. Only reason they're doing it now is to ensure that all the blame gets piled on Ronaldo.

So -- once you believe that, and I think that's obvious, what is there to do? I don't see anyone stepping in to support him -- not a single teammate, not a coach, no one.

I suppose he'll stay on the NT. Do you really think that the blame is now going to fall on Bruno Alves if the team loses?

[seekingperfection]

There's stuff about stripping his captaincy?

[vanhelsing]

Can someone please show me the proof or article where it says that Cristiano is no longer the captain of the Portugal NT.

[seekingperfection]

Didn't want to find this, but here it is:

Cristiano Ronaldo to lose Portugal captaincy following spit storm after Spain game
Last updated at 9:01 PM on 2nd July 2010

Cristiano Ronaldo is to be stripped of the Portugal captaincy after doubts emerged about his suitability following their defeat by Spain. He was seen spitting towards a camera and when asked why Portugal had lost, he replied: ?Ask Queiroz.?

He apologised but it has also emerged that he criticised Portugal boss Carlos Queiroz during the match.

He was caught on camera saying: ?Carlos, we won?t win like this.? He will be replaced as skipper by Porto?s Bruno Alves.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/worldcup2010/article-1291604/Cristiano-Ronaldo-lose-Portugal-captaincy-following-spit-storm-Spain-game.html?ito=feeds-newsxml#ixzz0sZLT6sH7

[itsme]

I don't think daily mail is a reliable source.

[mrscr9]

K, I totally believe this is all a lie rumor about him losing his captaincy title. Let's just forget about teh lost of portugal now they are out so we cannot change the past. They will do better in the future. Anyways, I wass so happy when Argentina lost today. The commentator for the first time said that messi didnt play good at all during 2010 world cup. I was like finally they told teh truth about how poof he is.

[Raine]

I'm not Portuguese and I care more for this team than just one player. I think the Portugal team would have won without Ronaldo in it.

[lynn]

I'm not Portuguese and I care more for this team than just one player. I think the Portugal team would have won without Ronaldo in it.

Would have won what? The game against Spain? How? Who looked like they were going to score goals in that game?
If you watch the game, you see that Portugal wasn't bad. Ronaldo wasn't very involved -- which I guess you think is a good thing. The players that were more involved couldn't keep possession of the ball, and they certainly didn't set up many opportunities to score.
I presume that Spain set up to keep Ronaldo away from the ball, and let the rest of the Portuguese team try to score without him. Seem to me that proves that they wouldn't have won without him.