#360view: Ronaldo appears to be lacking confidence

Andy West 21:08 24/10/2016
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  • Ronaldo struggle? The legend is going through a rough patch.

    This might sound like a strange thing to say about Cristiano Ronaldo, but he appears to be lacking in confidence.

    Lacking in confidence? The self-styled ‘CR7’, a man who has scored more goals for Real Madrid than anyone else, who never knowingly passes up an opportunity to shoot on goal, flex his muscles or parade his underwear collection…how can that be?

    Quite easily, in fact.

    External displays of ostentatious self-regard are often merely a mask for deep insecurities, and Ronaldo’s high esteem for personal accolades such as the Ballon d’Or suggest a man who, despite appearances to the contrary, has a desperate need for affirmation and approval from the outside world.

    Whether that’s true or not, Ronaldo is certainly playing like he is low on confidence right now, illustrated by moments at the end of each half in his team’s sluggish victory over Athletic Bilbao on Sunday night.

    Firstly, he bore down on goal unmarked from a narrow angle, with the option of either shooting or cutting the ball back for Karim Benzema or Gareth Bale in the middle.

    Unsurprisingly, he chose the former option, but did so in a hesitant and uncertain manner, taking too long to make his decision and then half-heartedly stabbing the ball straight at Athletic keeper Gorka Iraizoz. And then, with the very last kick of an extremely frustrating game, Ronaldo was again sent clean through on goal, with no defenders anywhere near him and all the time in the world.

    This time he snatched at the chance, hitting his shot too early and without power or direction, straight at Iraizoz for another straightforward save to prompt disgruntled muted jeers from the home fans.

    On both occasions, Ronaldo struck his shots without conviction, with hope rather than expectation, tentatively rather than authoritatively. And on both occasions Iraizoz saved them without great effort – although they were more challenging than Ronaldo’s nine other efforts during the game, all of which were off target.

    This, clearly, is not the Ronaldo we know. This is not the Ronaldo who has scored 368 goals for Real Madrid at a rate of more than one per game, registering at least 50 goals for the last six consecutive seasons.

    This is a Ronaldo who is looking mortal – an ordinary, normal footballer rather than an awe-inspiring unstoppable goal machine who appeared to have been manufactured in a hi-tech laboratory.

    Whether the issue is confidence or not, it is giving Zinedine Zidane a problem. Ronaldo has now scored just two league goals in six games this season – the same tally as Gerard Pique – and he has failed to register in four consecutive outings at the Bernabeu for the first time ever.

    Any other Madrid player producing those statistics, there is no doubt, would have already been benched by now – especially with in-form replacements Lucas Vazquez, Alvaro Morata, James Rodriguez and Marco Asensio all waiting in the wings.

    Ronaldo is different, of course, and his reputation is so big that Zidane can justify continuing to pick him on the basis of that reputation alone. But that can’t be the case forever and, for the first time, Ronaldo is being doubted. His place in the starting eleven is being seriously questioned, and he has to rise to the challenge.

    Yet despite his recent slump, would you really back against him?

    What are your thoughts on Ronaldo?

    Share with us your views by commenting below, using #360fans on Twitter or getting in touch via Facebook.

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