The Case for Ronaldo

A great deal has been said and written about Chelsea striker Didier Drogba recently and in the light of his outstanding contribution this season, many judges think he’s odds on to scoop the annual player of the year awards.

There’s no doubt about Drogba’s influence and the superb quality of some of his goals, without which Chelsea would be even further behind United already in the race for the Premiership title, but when it comes to awards there are other candidates to consider and none more worthy than Cristiano Ronaldo.

People talk of the pressure heaped upon David Beckham in this country after his World Cup dismissal against Argentina in 1998, but as a Portuguese accused of getting club team mate Wayne Rooney dismissed in England’s 2006 quarter final defeat in Germany, the 21 year old Ronaldo has been faced with an orchestrated campaign of sustained hatred which would have destroyed most players.

He has confronted all this unflinchingly and with great maturity and produced a string of electrifying performances for Manchester United which have won over most of his detractors and established him as a truly world class player. Indeed, in the opinion of Reading manager Steve Coppell, himself a former United winger, Cristiano Ronaldo is currently the best player in the world.

Something they don’t very often say about Didier Drogba.