All in the heat of battle.
When Cristiano Ronaldo’s Euro 2016 final came to an abrupt end with a nasty looking knee injury in the first half, it seemed as if his and Portugal’s night would end in salty tears. France were already favourites; how could the Portuguese possibly compete without their star man?
The truth is that it was far from the end of Ronaldo’s influence on the game. Making a mockery of the stereotype that he only cares of personal glory and his own individual kudos, he strained every sinew and shouted his lungs out at the side of the pitch. He was a man possessed.
So much so that those unfamiliar with the game would be mistaken for thinking that the Real Madrid man was his nation’s player-manager.
But there was one moment of barely contained emotion that brought comic relief to an intense – if glorious – evening. Ronaldo was (momentarily) sat beside fellow squad member Adrien Silva of Sporting Lisbon when he needed an outlet for his built-up tension.
Presumably aiming for his own knee, he struck out his fist in exasperation. Unfortunately for Silva, he ended up punching his knee instead. Footballing legend or not, Silva was mightily pissed off at the painful dead leg and made his anger obvious. Ronaldo, in his own world, was suitably apologetic…
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