Ten incredible Cristiano Ronaldo highlights for Real Madrid you may have forgotten
Cristiano Ronaldo, the most popular footballer on the planet, is going to turn 37 this week. Even at this age, he is still going strong and is being influential on the pitch in one way or the other. Out of these 37 years of the Portuguese’s life, he has spent nine years at Real Madrid. Perhaps it is due to this nine-year highly successful stint at Real Madrid, which has made him one of the greatest of all time, if not the greatest.
Nine years is a long period, and in these nine years, he has registered 451 goals and 131 assists and has also produced countless magical moments for us, the Madridistas. Whenever we take a look at his Real Madrid career, there are a few moments that will immediately strike our minds. For example, his bicycle kick against Juventus, his Calma Calma celebration in the El Clasico, and so on.
But there are so many other countless moments of Cristiano’s brilliance, which we may have forgotten, but give us a great idea of Serresiete’s genius. So let us celebrate Cristiano’s 37th birthday week by having a look at ten such incredible moments of his Real Madrid career, and taking a trip down memory lane.
1. Back-heel goal vs Getafe, LaLiga 2013/14
The first moment on this list is that of an amazing backheel goal against Getafe in the 2013/14 LaLiga season.
Cristiano had started that season on a decent note, with two goals and one assist in the four league games before this. But this game started on a bad note, as Getafe scored early in the match, with a foul on the Portuguese in the build-up not called by the referee. But this made Ronaldo only stronger, as he lead the comeback. He created Pepe’s first goal with a shot that rebounded off the Goalkeeper, then converted a penalty that was won by Ronaldo himself and then assisted Isco for Madrid’s third goal. Such was Ronaldo’s influence on results at that point in his career.
The clock had gone into added time, and Getafe were already disappointed with their inability to maintain the 0-1 scoreline. But Ronaldo wasn’t happy enough with one goal to his name. He saw two brilliant efforts from him denied by the keeper and post, and he decided to rub salt on Getafe’s wounds in the added time. He made a run into the box and attacked a low cross from Khedira in the 92nd minute, but the cross was deflected and the ball was going to be behind Ronaldo.
But this didn’t stop the determined Portuguese from scoring, as he turned his back towards the goal, and flicked the ball towards the net with the back-heel of his right boot. The ball went into the net through the legs of a defender, and every Getafe player was shocked with this goal, as the Bernabeu rose to celebrate its beloved numero siete. This unreal finish from Cristiano bears some resemblance to his EURO 2016 goal vs Hungary and also shows Ronaldo’s determination to achieve something he wants to do badly, and his ability to improvise things on the field.
2. ‘That’ Elastico nutmeg on David Lopez, vs Espanyol, LaLiga 2016/17
You can watch the skill move here.
Ronaldo used to beat defenders with his two most lethal weapons, pace and trickery. Pace always got him ahead of a defender on the flanks, but when facing a static1v1 situation, he had to bring out the showman inside him. With age, his pace has decreased considerably, but he didn’t lose the tricks. Maybe his skill moves weren’t that quick, but they were still good enough to stun a defender, just like this moment.
Getting beaten by an elastico itself is an embarrassment to a defender, and imagine getting beaten by an Elastico nutmeg. Only David Lopez knows how embarrassing that moment would’ve been for him because he was beaten by a nutmeg of utmost perfection. This might be Ronaldo’s best skill move ever.
The roar from the Bernabeu just shows you how much this nutmeg had excited them. Perhaps the roar could’ve been even louder if Ronaldo’s subsequent low cross found Isco, who is good at shooting from such positions. Nevertheless, it was a cold and slick move from Cristiano, and it takes us back to those days in the mid-2000s when he was more of a showman than an effective footballer.