Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti hailed Cristiano Ronaldo’s professionalism as the Portuguese prepares to return to action for the first time since winning the Ballon d’Or.
Ronaldo was crowned the world’s best player for 2013 on Monday night in Zurich and will tonight get back to work in the far more humble setting of a second-leg Copa del Rey tie at Osasuna.
Manager Ancelotti congratulated the forward on the award, claiming he was a worthy winner due to his professional conduct as much as his awesome goalscoring feats.
“Cristiano has never surprised me with his quality and his capability of scoring lots of goals,” said Ancelotti.
“But he has surprised me a little bit with his professionalism on and off the pitch.”
The Italian boss was also generous enough to highlight players away from his own club as he continued to praise Ronaldo – although not every opposition fan would necessarily agree with the qualities he listed.
He added: “Cristiano sets an example with his fair play and not complaining – football needs this type of player, like Lionel Messi, Franck Ribery, Thiago Silva. It is a good image for football.”
Ronaldo displayed his golden ball to his team-mates at the Madrid training ground yesterday as the players prepared for tonight’s trip north to Osasuna, and Ancelotti stressed that his star player’s commitment to hard work was the biggest key to his success.
“This prize is partly due to talent and partly to work,” he said. “In today’s football, if you don’t work you don’t get anything.
Talent is genetic but it’s necessary to work to display your talent on the pitch. “He was emotional to win because he loves football, because he works very hard to be the best. It is a prize for the work that he’s done.”
The busy January fixture schedule has left little time for Ronaldo to celebrate, with Madrid heading to Osasuna tonight with a 2-0 cushion from the first leg as they seek to secure their passage into the last eight.
Ancelotti is taking nothing for granted and will not be adopting a safety-first approach against an Osasuna team who are in good form and came close to beating Madrid in December’s La Liga meeting at the same venue, which finished 2-2.
