Opinion Persistence pays for Ronaldo
Portugal vs Sweden is little more than a contest between European middleweights.
Cristiano Ronaldo kept coming at the Swedish defence all night while the Zlatan Ibrahimovic seemed to sleepwalk through the match.
It was billed as a clash of the egos as soon as FIFA announced the tie. Normally,Portugal vs Sweden is little more than a contest between European middleweights. The presence of two of the best players in the world,however,changed everything.
Ronaldo and Ibrahimovic prop up two teams who contain very little star power apart from their marquee players. If this were Hollywood,the supporting cast would go straight to video. On the night,Ronaldos relentlessness won out over a sporadically flickering Ibrahimovic.
In a world which adheres to the society of the spectacle as explained by Guy DeBord,the focus on two players out of 22 is part of the fascination with footballs own star system and the economy behind it. Debord had it down to perfection when he said passive identification with the spectacle supplants genuine activity.
Regardless of our relationship with them,the loss of Ronaldo or Ibrahimovic would certainly shave off some of the stardust attached to the 2014 World Cup. Often,the two have had to face accusations of going AWOL when the pressure is on.
The scoreline on the night Ronnie 1,Ibra 0 wasnt quite the story of their respective careers,for both are among the top echelon in the sport,but it wasnt wholly inaccurate. Ronaldo is the closest footballer there exists to being a sentient machine with a human brain. He is capable of repeating the routine till he finds a way to lace it with the inspired. Ronaldos flying header in the 82nd minute was an example of this,coming towards the end of a night of relentless running at Swedens defence. Another header rattled the bar soon after.
Zlatan though was subdued and struggled to link up with his teammates. His knock-downs from long balls played into him did not find teammates nor did his feints and flicks. Frustratingly for him,he could not conjure up the moments of genius he refers to as flashbulb moments.
Ronaldos genius lies in his ability to relentlessly improve on the routine while also doling out genius in spades. Zlatan,who hunted for inspiration,could learn from him.
(Hormazd in a senior sub-editor based in New Delhi)
hormazd@expressindia.com
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