BBC Sport Bacaan 3 menit

A bitter end for Ronaldo - the icon who transformed Portugal

A bitter end for Ronaldo - the icon who transformed Portugal
Image caption, Ronaldo scored 146 goals and won 234 caps for Portugal

When a young Ronaldo first joined the squad, he arrived at camp with his baseball cap on backwards, enormous sunglasses and headphones turned up so loud they could be heard from a distance.

He would not take the cap off to eat among veterans like Luis Figo and Rui Costa. Luiz Felipe Scolari saw an extraordinary player who was immature and obsessed with showing off. He reprimanded him in public, then told him privately that if he changed his attitude, he would one day captain Portugal.

The first great disappointment came early, and it came at home. At 19, Ronaldo played in the final of Euro 2004 at the Estadio da Luz in Lisbon, in front of a country that had convinced itself the trophy was already on its way.

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Kutipan awal dari BBC Sport, ditulis oleh Guillem Balague. Hak cipta artikel milik penerbit.

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