If I had to name just one player to represent the Champions League, Cristiano Ronaldo would undoubtedly be the first named by many football fans. But not Vincent Duluc. A few days ago, in The Teamthe journalist revealed his ideal eleven in the history of the C1 and the Portuguese striker, top scorer and decisive passer in the competition, does not appear there.
In his place, in the offensive sector, the reporter gives his preference to George Best, Johan Cruyff, Lionel Messi and Alfredo Di Stefano. A choice that ignited social networks, earning him a lot of criticism. “I cannot deny that I expected it, nor that I looked for it, by deliberately forgetting Cristiano Ronaldo in my eleven”he wrote Thursday in his “talk”.
Vincent Duluc explains for Cristiano Ronaldo
Vincent Duluc explains that the objective was to “mix objective criteria and personal feelings”.
“If it had been a question of making an eleven in the football section, (…) the objective criteria would have won everything; but since it was also a personal classification, I mixed into the matter convictions and feelings which did not sit well with the consensus. »
“The forgetting of Cristiano Ronaldo, who has been reproached to me in several languages ​​and in countless emails or posts on social networks, (…) is based on an obviously personal and debatable desire to make the difference between records and magic”he adds. And in his eyes, “CR7 left more traces in the previous rounds than in the finals” of the Champions League.
His four goals scored in six finals carry little weight for the former columnist of The Evening Team.
“Four goals puts him far from Ferenc Puskas, who is not in the eleven, and Alfredo Di Stefano, author of seven goals each. A player like Gareth Bale scored three goals in the final with Real, for example”he justifies, confident of having been “annoyed” by the five-time Ballon d’Or.
The annoying side of “CR7”
“His way of celebrating his 4-1 penalty in 2014, as if it had been Real’s decisive goal, while Sergio Ramos had been the absolute savior, annoyed me a little, just as I blame him for having ruined the post-final of 2018, ZinĂ©dine Zidane’s third coronation following on the Real bench, by throwing out a short sentence about his future”continues Vincent Duluc.
He believes that the former Merengue wanted, that evening,
“occupy first place in the debates, after a final where he played an incidental role”. This is what led him not to retain him, despite the admiration he has for him. “his longevity, his obsessive way of breaking records to leave a mark, his way of reinventing himself as a scorer after his beginnings as a dribbler”.
