Is Cristiano Ronaldo struggling for fitness?
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Updated 06/10/2016 at 12:17 GMT
Former Real Madrid and England coach Fabio Capello has claimed Cristiano Ronaldo is struggling for fitness, but is there any truth in such a statement?
Real Madrid's Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo gestures during the Spanish league football match Real Madrid CF vs SD Eibar at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid on October 2, 2016
Image credit: AFP
A Real slump
Los Blancos have failed to win a match since equalling Barcelona's five-year-old record of 16 straight Liga wins with a 2-0 success at Espanyol last month.
Zinedine Zidane's side have drawn with Villarreal, Las Palmas, Borussia Dortmund and Eibar, who hopped in the Madrid jazuzzi to celebrate the club's first draw at the Bernabeu.
Capello was the last manager to oversee such a sequence of results as Madrid coach in 2006, and a decade on he thinks he knows where the major problem lies.
Ronaldo's physical toils to blame?
The problem for Real Madrid now is Cristiano Ronaldo," opines Capello. "Because he is not well physically and is their best player.
What are his returns?
There appears to be some truth in what Capello claims, but it depends how you like to take your stats.
Ronaldo has contributed three goals so far this season while at the similar stage of the season a year ago, the forward had helped himself to 10. But then again, Ronaldo was not coming off an exhaustive Euro 2016 finals when he helped his country land first prize.
Or a month out of the game due to suffering ligament damage in his left knee early on in Portugal's 1-0 win over France in the final.
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Cristiano Ronaldo is comforted by Joao Mario as he is carried on a stretcher off the pitch by team medics.
Image credit: AFP
Ronaldo actually played his first competitive game of the season against Osasuna on September 10 before thumping home a late equaliser against Sporting Lisbon with a free-kick at the Bernabeu four days later in the Champions League.
He scored another one in the 2-2 draw at Borussia Dortmund, a match where the Spanish side largely excelled, on September 27.
He has scored three goals and provided one assist in six appearances with Real Madrid behind Atletico on goal difference at the top of La Liga. Hardly the form of a man on a downward spiral one would suggest.
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Fabio Capello celebrates title victory in La Liga
Image credit: Reuters
A loss of form rather than fitness?
Ronaldo has made a rod for his own back because of the sweltering figures he has posted at Real Madrid over the past seven years.
This is a figure who has rejoiced in a whopping 261 goals in 240 Liga outings for Madrid, and 80 goals in 77 matches outside of Spain. When the multiple Ballon d'Or winner catches a cold, Real Madrid seem to come down with a heavy flu.
He is the first man critics will look at because he provides so much of the narrative at the club in helping them win two Champions League trophies over the past three seasons.
If Real Madrid begin winning, Ronaldo's influence will be viewed as normal practice.
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Real Madrid's Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo (L) celebrates after his goal with Real Madrid's French coach Zinedine Zidane.
Image credit: AFP
Ronaldo carries the burden to provide his club with a winning storyline every time he takes to the pitch.
Is Ronaldo's future at Madrid under threat?
Not at all. According to reports, Madrid have already offered a Ronaldo a contract extension which is close to being agreed. It is being claimed Madrid will use him more sparingly moving forward, but at the age of 31 that is to be expected.
Not only would it be healthier for the club, it would also be wise to extract the maximum effort from such a figure in terms of form and fatigue.
He has made a remarkable recovery from his injury during the summer, but nobody can maintain peak form forever. To say he is looking like spent force, or to blame for Madrid's slump is patent nonsense.
It should be remembered that Zidane is not running Madrid as a popularity contest. As the world's greatest player himself a decade or so ago, he knows the stresses, strains and demands Ronaldo has to cope with.
Expect him back to be back in prime form and peak fitness when Madrid visit Real Betis on October 15 in Liga. He will also lay waste to Legia Warsaw's ground in the Champions League in a match that will be played behind closed doors due to local crowd trouble.
If CR7 is rotated more for his own and his club's good, it is likely to be beneficial. Ronaldo and Real remain natural bedfellows.
Desmond Kane
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