Even the greatest on the planet can still fail. Cristiano Ronaldo had the chance to give Portugal the lead against Slovenia in extra time, but Oblak made a great save. The 39-year-old superstar will not be the oldest player to score at a European Championship. A moment that soon brought him to tears. “This is what football unleashes,” he said afterwards.
A penalty miss that clearly hurt him deeply.
Cristiano Ronaldo was in tears among his teammates during the half-time break of extra time, having just missed the chance to put Portugal past Slovenia.
After the match, the intense emotions still hadn’t gone away. “This is of course my last EC,” the Portuguese superstar said, devastated. “But that wasn’t the reason for the tears.”
“They were tears of excitement for the game, for seeing my family and the affection people have for me.”
“And it was also a mix of joy and sadness. First sadness and then finally joy. That’s what football unleashes. Inexplicable things.”
I was down and sad because the team needed me.
Cristiano Ronaldo
“Even the strongest personalities have bad days now and then. I was down and sad because the team needed me.”
“I could have given them the lead, but I couldn’t do it. I didn’t miss a single goal this year, but just when the goal was needed the most, Oblak grabbed it.”
“We’re going to keep going and that’s the most important thing. We deserved it. And our goalkeeper deserves a special congratulations.”
Roberto Martinez: “Those emotions were amazing”
National coach Roberto Martínez also returned to his captain’s tears after the match.
“Those emotions are great for someone who has already won and experienced everything. He doesn’t have to worry about it at all.”
“But I want to thank him for the way he takes care of the group. And also for the fact that he immediately kicked another penalty in the penalty series. We are all very proud of our captain.”
Of course, the Spaniard was also pleased with the victory. “We deserved the win during the 90 minutes, although Slovenia played a strong match.
“I was very happy with the concentration and belief we showed. These are the values that the Portuguese want to see from their team. Now we look ahead to the quarter-final against France.”
Related:
2024-07-01 21:18:47
#Emotional #Ronaldo #wipes #tears #enthusiasm #strongest #personalities #bad #days
