Noticed for the wonders he did from the wings by Ferguson, Ronaldo let the first waves of a sea of fame and recognition wash his feet as he signed on the dotted line for Manchester United, starting out on a journey that has now ran into the transfer saga of the season.
But unfortunately, for all that he has done for Manchester United, Ronaldo falls into that category of extraordinary footballers who are defined more by individual brilliance and one man performances rather than the ability to fit seamlessly into a team structure. Despite (or maybe because of) my unending support to Manchester United, if all the Championship mist and ticker tape is wiped aside and the bigger, long term picture is seen I can’t help but believe that Ronaldo stands to do more harm than good for Manchester United in the long term, if this season is anything to go by.
Ronaldo has no doubt contributed extensively towards the club’s wins in both, the Champion’s League and the EPL, but detecting the true value of that is restricted to just quantification in terms of goals, and misses out on a few important, intangible but qualitatively crucial factors.
Over the course of this season, United showed signs of dependence on a single player, with the team actually building and revolving around an individual. A dangerous symptom not seen too often in the generally glittering history of the club.
The effect this had on their game was clear, more visible in their struggles against Barcelona and Chelsea in the CL and the way they almost succumbed to the pressure in the EPL’s final few matches, especially against Chelsea and Arsenal in the closing quarter, than anywhere else. It had become quite obvious on the field even if not on theory that if you could restrict Ronaldo and you could easily make Manchester reasonably vulnerable, if not entirely beatable.
That United managed to hang on to their silverware was primarily on account of some solid defending by Ferdinand and Co. towards the final lap of the season and also some serious contributions from players like Scholes and Tevez, all of which was largely underplayed in the midst of all the Ronaldo-fawning over.
But the real set back that United had to face because of such overdependence on Ronaldo, which runs a lot deeper than is apparent now, was the loss of touch and form of a player like Rooney.
Rooney’s muted but steady fading away this season was engineered by two factors. The first of these was the change of role that was phased in, if not actually planned, on account of the fact that Ronaldo was averaging a goal in each match and had taken over the duties of the first choice tap-in man.
Ordinarily, Rooney would be the number one hit-man, using cool, point-blank finishes and tap-ins to keep his ego and confidence healthy, and converting unreal half-chances and occasionally creating a few as an additional function.
Now, with Ronaldo taking over the first role, Rooney has found himself with little more to do than trying to pull off the difficult, convoluted finishes, and obviously, enjoy a lower conversion ratio. In the process, he looks to have lost his confidence and control over putting away even some basic goal-line opportunities.
Tevez, on the other hand, has always been a player with reasonable skill as an attacking mid-fielder, or a player operating in the hole behind the two strikers, as seen by the role he plays in the Argentine side. So, as it happened, Tevez wasn’t unsettled by Ronaldo’s dominance of the goal-mouth. The situation now remains that Tevez is still indispensable for United whereas Rooney isn’t exactly on top of Ferguson’s preference list.
The second reason behind Rooney’s reduced efficacy this season is also the reason for the overall vulnerability of Manchester United’s midfield. Scoring goals is the responsibility of the team as a whole, something that was hijacked, if that is the right word, by Ronaldo. Reduced responsibility leads to reduced motivation, and this is true for anyone, even if to varying extents.
Having followed Manchester United’s game for years, one thing that stung this season even as the club scalped a double was that both trophies could so easily have not been. The EPL success last year was decidedly more convincing than the one this year, and the Champions Trophy was won on the back of a penalty shootout and a slippery John Terry.
It wasn’t done with sheer dominance and ‘beautiful’ play. Possibly, Arsenal and Chelsea fans could feel prouder and happier with their club’s performance, given the odds and circumstances both got through (a young, semi-fit squad for Arsenal and all the manager-player turbulence for Chelsea), even though they could not get hold of any silverware.
If Ronaldo were to leave Manchester United this year, Ferguson will possibly have more to cheer about than cry. It will give the club an opportunity to pull itself back above any individual player, while performing more as a unit with a more even goal-distribution. More importantly, it will give them a chance to play the game in their old, beautiful way and not be dependent on one-man shows.
With all due respect and many thanks for his performance this season, which will probably not be matched by any other player in the near future, Ronaldo still remains just a part of the entire unit. Manchester United is a great club and a team with or without him (a statement which may stop being true if we have a couple of seasons more like this one). The moving out of Ronaldo is a situation that calls for a new hero to arise and a team like United has never been short of one. At least it would mean the club has more than just one hero.
