Portugal’s Christiano Ronaldo reacts after the drawn World Cup group 1 qualifying soccer match against Denmark at Parken in Copenhagen, Denmark, Saturday Sept. 5, 2009. Portugal badly needed a victory in Copenhagen to have a realistic chance of qualifying for next year’s World Cup in South Africa. The Portuguese team has won just two of its six qualifying matches and drew another.(AP Photo/Tariq Mikkel Khan/POLFOTO)
After several seasons of media speculation over his future, Cristiano Ronaldo finally signed with Real Madrid this summer from Manchester United for a world-record fee of £80 million. The deal is also believed to have made the Portugal captain the highest paid footballer in the world.
Joining Ronaldo at the Santiago Bernabéu in 2009 are fellow superstars Kaká, Karim Benzema and Xabi Alonso.
But with the current FIFA World Footballer of the Year’s ankle injury keeping him sidelined for a month, Real’s fortunes have changed massively.
Los Galácticos began the season on fire; winning the first seven competitive matches the side took part in.
However, the first loss Madrid suffered had one notable absentee from the team sheet – Ronaldo.
That match saw Sevilla claim maximum points in the La Liga clash with a 2-1 win.
Since that result, Ronaldo has not recovered from his ankle injury suffered with international duty against Hungary and Real has won just a solitary match from four outings.
To top that dismal form guide off, Real were knocked out of the Copa del Rey overnight after being thrashed 4-0 by third division side Alcorcon.
The minnows have a budget over 400 times smaller than the European giants and still managed to pull off the victory and pile more pressure on Madrid manager Manuel Pelligrini.
Some may say that Real’s recent poor form may be from a few players being out of action, but the statistics show how vital Ronaldo is to the team’s success.
In his first four matches in La Liga for the club, Ronaldo had already broken a goal scoring record.
Ronaldo became the first Madrista to score in each of his first four League matches after grabbing the opener against Villareal.
The Portuguese superstar has five goals in five appearances in La Liga, all of which resulted in wins for Real Madrid.
Ronaldo also appeared in two UEFA Champions League matches, scoring braces against FC Zürich and Marseille to make him the top goal scorer in Europe.
Nine goals in seven appearances is an impressive return for a player questioned by some as to how he would adjust to Spanish football after making his name in the English Premier League.
Let’s not forget that Real Madrid has won every match he has played in.
So where does this leave Los Blancos?
It is not the end of the world; the team still sits second in La Liga, just three points behind Barcelona and Real are still top of Group C in the UEFA Champions League.
Ronaldo is also likely to be absent from Madrid’s visit to the San Siro against AC Milan in the Champions League and the derby against Atletico Madrid.
But if a serious injury hits Ronaldo later in the season – then there is reason to worry.
Despite a star-studded line-up, the team will not be the same without its barometer in full flight and surely the pressure will continue to build on Pelligrini the longer Ronaldo is missing.
As the past month has shown – when there is no Ronaldo, there is no Real.
Robbos
Guest
And miss seeing the great man play, humbug.
Robbos
Guest
Funny I think Alonso is Liverpool's biggest loss, a much bigger affect than either Gerrard or Torres.
Pippinu
Roar Guru
Check out this top 10 of most effective players of the past 12 months: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/thierry-henry-voted-worlds-best-footballer/story-e6frf9if-1225792632290 Henry is top, Ronaldo is in 3rd spot, there are 5 Barca players in the top 10. The only Australian in the top 50 is the Schwatter at 48. Henry is 32 years old, so he's doing ok. I've always liked his too-cool-for-school celebrations (or non-celebrations) and the way he would control the ball and defender, without actually touching the ball. Very too-cool-for-school.
Chris
Guest
They're not in the world cup yet
cab711
Guest
Sigh, I was hoping Portugal wouldnt be in the WC.
Chris Correia
Roar Rookie
Very true, but we have yet to see those players (the new signings) shine as of yet for RM. Seems Real has now allocated Kaka as the chosen penalty taker after Ronaldo has flourished in his first few games to keep the Brazilian on the score sheet. There is no question Ronaldo is the toast of Madrid and he has all the ingredients to pull a crowd just by his name being on the team line-up.
David
Guest
I hope RM lose everything that club is te worst thing to hapen to football! They have no youth development they just spend money to ge players. Fonza Barca
whiskeymac
Guest
well they said the same of cantona. (and when they lost Ince, Beckham, Keane, and before that Laws and Best and Charlton no doubt.) they are top of the table still and playing as well as they did last year. Sadly for non man utd supporters they always seem to do well despite losing a player and get a result they dont deserve. Liverpool are the ones who struggle when their star(s) arent there ie gerrard and torres. as for real struggling w/o ronaldo... this si still a team with benzema, kaka, raul, alonso etc .... why bother spending the money on these guys if everything hinges on the portugueser?
Michael
Guest
Would be a Mr. Wedding posting here would it? I think each of these big players are used to playing in a system catered specifically for them. Kaka at Milan, Ronaldo at Madrid, Benzema at Lyon. It will just take a while (and maybe a new manager) to come up with a system for them all to show their worth.
Chris Correia
Roar Rookie
Very true Robbos, they are not the same team without him and I can't see them having the same dominance they've had the past three seasons.
Robbos
Guest
This man is such a great player & I feel his infuence on any side he plays in would be great. Man U without Ronaldo do not look like the old Man U, although Giggsy has stepped up. What is Kaka doing?
eh
Guest
boo hoo Real.
Luke W
Guest
For me, this is more a reflection of how Kaka has been unable to take the next step in his career. He was white-hot in hs first few years at Milan, but the last few years he has really been unable to keep up with the likes of Messi and Ronaldo as one of the great individual players. At first I gave him the benefit of the doubt seeing as Milan was having some serious problems, but he hasn't impressed me greatly at Real either.
Freud of Football
Roar Guru
Let's take this back to another issue. Adrian Mutu got a massive fine based on his transfer fee. What if Ronaldo (who is obviously the heart and soul of every team he plays in) is out partying after a win in the CL Quarter finals, slips and wrecks his knee. We can see how badly his absence has affected Real so conceivably they would get knocked out of the CL and if they don't have a big lead in the table, also succumb in La Lige. So according to the precedence set in the Mutu ruling, would we expect him to pay Real 80 Million Pounds just because he is so valuable to them?