Though Cristiano Ronaldo’s senior career has been one of the most impressive the game of soccer has ever seen, the 29-year-old Portuguese native is still bothered by the one piece of hardware absent from his trophy collection. Sure three English Premier League titles, two Copa del Rey championships, 2 Ballon d’Or awards, a La Liga trophy and the recording of over 400 career goals are tremendous accomplishments, but the Real Madrid star has not been able to take his native Portugal to the top of the international game. Heading into the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, the former Manchester United standout hopes he’s finally able to reach soccer’s pinnacle in order to cap off what has been a remarkable career.
“That would crown a great career,” Ronaldo told So Foot Junior magazine in a recent interview. “I know it will be difficult, but everything is possible with work. I have always watched the players who performed the best, and by observing them I understood one thing -- what makes the difference between good players and stars is their work. I have played with footballers who had incredible talent, and it’s difficult to say if they were better than me, but where they fell down was in consistency. Many players are good for five, 10 or 15 games, but you must play well for 60 games a season.”
Currently ranked third in the FIFA World Rankings, Portugal hopes a talented roster featuring high-level players including Ronaldo, Fábio Coentrão, Rafa Silva and others will be able to play their way through a difficult opening World Cup group featuring the United States, Germany and Ghana. Ronaldo and Portugal finished fourth at the 2006 World Cup in Germany and while that stands as a tremendous accomplishment, Ronaldo believe he’s ready to lead Portugal to unprecedented territory due to the growth he’s achieved as an individual player since the 2006 summer games. Becoming a father is one area the 2013 FIFA Ballon d’Or Award winner is particularly proud of as well.
“I have made many mistakes, but I am happy to have done that, because I have become better -- as a player and as a human being,” he said. “I am calmer now, less impulsive. I make better decisions on the pitch. Becoming a father has also helped me to be more cold-blooded, and more patient. Time has done its work. The fans might have had a bad image of me at the start of my career, because of certain gestures or attitudes.”
Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal begin their quest to a World Cup title on June 16 against Germany.
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