Ronaldo has disappointed his fans in Euro Cup so far

New Delhi: Portugal in general and its captain Cristiano Ronaldo in particular have failed to impress so far in the European Cup. The latter’s performance has been more disappointing, to say the least. What is worse, the star footballer missed a penalty against Austria on Saturday, sending a shock-wave through his fans.

Every one in the crowd expected the ball to easily go into the Austrian net . Even his opponent had the same belief. But ball hit the post and returned to the field which was subsequently cleared by a defender. It was something rare for a footballer of his calibre.

Though comparison is odious , he is often compared with Barcelona’s captain Lionel Messi . Messi is doing remarkably well and breaking one record after another.

Several reasons are being given for Ronaldo’s poor performance in the European Cup matches, one of them is his health. Whatever may be the reason, his bad form is costing the team dearly. It has to struggle hard to find its place in the group of 16.

Portugal has played two matches so far and it has not won either. The match with Austria ended goalless. In the first match against Iceland, a new entrant, it had scored a goal but the match had ended in a draw. What has hurt his fans most is that instead of reflecting on his own performance he has been critical of the Iceland team. Iceland had a “small- minded” strategy and played a defensive game.