'Hitman' Cristiano Ronaldo silences his critics..

There can be numerous superlatives used to define the genius and the remarkable exploits of a man called Cristiano Ronaldo. But what can be said? Watching him exhibit his phenomenal talent in destroying oppositions night after night just encapsulates the mind and heart of the footballing fraternity, nay the sporting fraternity.  It’s plain and simple. You want goals? Dial CR7.

And it’s not just goals against small teams or weaker defences. You name the time and the place and Ronaldo will be there ensuring that he is without a shadow of a doubt one of the greatest, if not the greatest, footballers on the planet today. Life is simple for Cristiano Ronaldo. He lives by his ever-lasting policy that there’s no problem in being arrogant as long as you can pull it off with your superb talent.

The FIFA World Cup qualifying play-off against Sweden was being termed as probably one of the great classics weeks in advance. It was hyped for the unfeigned reason that it will pitch two “gladiators” (Zlatan Ibrahimovic & Cristiano Ronaldo) against each other. Only one team was supposed to make through to the World Cup. It was “Ibra vs. CR7”. The pre-match analytics wrote itself. No one needed to build up the scintillating contest that was on the cards. All that people could do was to wait for the night.

It has often been the case that “big names” always either choke under pressure or fail to perform at the international arena when a match is as hyped as the Sweden-Portugal clash was. But, not for Ronaldo. He single-handedly took upon himself the duty for which his country had sent the whole team out there. He single-handedly carried the unabridged hopes of an entire nation when he walked out to the center of the field. And he single-handedly made FIFA president Sepp Blatter choke on his words.

No other player would have had the audacity to stand up to a phenomenon called “Zlatan” on a cold wintry night in a stadium known as “Zlatan Arena” in Sweden. But that’s what Ronaldo did. He chose that night to make believers out of non-believers. He chose that night to proclaim that he’s the best ever when it comes to getting the job done in crunch situations. And he chose that night to show to the world that if one gets the great Zlatan Ibrahimovic to applaud their game in his own backyard, then one can be assured of having achieved something really special and magical. No arguments there!!

Getty Photo

A Cristiano Ronaldo hat-trick overshadowed a Zlatan Ibrahimovic brace to power Portugal to the FIFA World Cup Finals in less than a year’s time. And quite frankly, it is really great for the sport that a person of Ronaldo’s mind-boggling aura and prodigious ability is going to be in Brazil. Don’t get me wrong. It’s really sad that Zlatan Ibrahimovic would not be there. If it was in my hands, I would take both. The sport needs to be represented with great talent. But Ronaldo was just that damn good on a night when he showed that his versatility on the pitch to change flanks within minutes is nothing short of breathtaking.

One would think that finishing second twice in a row to Lionel Messi for the prestigious FIFA Ballon d'Or would play a toll on the Real Madrid playmaker’s mind. Especially after hearing comments like “Ronaldo is the luckiest guy in the world as he always has a front row seat to watch Messi win all the awards.” But he’s been living up to the expectations night after night without fail. He’s been proving himself to people worldwide that he indeed has what it takes to go down in history as one the greatest “legends” to have ever graced the beautiful game. 

Ronaldo’s scored 225 goals in 216 appearances for Real Madrid and to top it all off he's scored 66 goals already in 2013. The closest that anyone or any team is to that extraordinary number is “Liverpool” with 61 goals. He’s undoubtedly the number 1 choice for the Ballon D'Or. And if his stats are not enough to substantiate his claim, there’s another reason. He’s Cristiano Ronaldo… He Comes… He Scores… He Conquers… End of Story!!