4 greatest managers who never coached Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo is widely regarded as one of the best players to have graced the beautiful game.
During a hugely successful two-decade-long career for club and country, he has scored goals and won big titles galore. To name a few, the five-time Ballon d'Or winner is the top scorer in Real Madrid, Portugal, Champions League and European Championship history.
Still going strong at the age of 36, Ronaldo returned to Manchester United this summer after leaving the club on a world-record transfer in 2009. Over the years, the most prolific scorer in men's international football has played under a plethora of fine managers. Some of them include Sir Alex Ferguson, Jose Mourinho, Massimiliano Allegri and Zinedine Zidane, to name a few.
However, Cristiano Ronaldo hasn't played under a few notable managerial names in the last two decades. On that note, here's a look at the four best managers who never managed Ronaldo:
#4 Diego Simeone
Diego Simeone is one of the top managers in the game at the moment. Under the Argentine's tutelage, Atletico Madrid have evolved from mid-table mediocrity to La Liga contenders and Champions League regulars.
The 51-year-old has been at the Atletico helm for a decade now. During this period, the Rojiblancos have won two La Liga titles, and also made as many Champions League finals. Cristiano Ronaldo's Real Madrid thwarted Simeone's men in both European finals though.
In the 2014 final, Ronaldo was one of the Merengues' three scorers in extra-time as Real Madrid clinched their long-awaited La Decima with a 4-1 win. Two years later, the two teams again clashed in the Champions League final. Once again, Los Blancos emerged triumphant, with Ronaldo this time scoring the winning penalty in the shootout.
A year later, Ronaldo's hat-trick in the first leg of the semi-final of the competition ousted Simeone's Atletico.
Diego Simeone: "If Cristiano Ronaldo was not a football player, I would have already won 3 Champions League titles with Atlético Madrid." https://t.co/fN9t8pD9Xf
After leaving Real Madrid for Juventus in the summer of 2018, Ronaldo continued to be a thorn in Atletico's flesh.
The Rojiblancos thought they had one foot in the 2018-19 Champions League quarter-finals after taking a 2-0 first-leg lead. However, a Ronaldo hat-trick helped the Bianconeri win 3-2 on aggregate.
Simeone has since admitted that Ronaldo is more than a 'football player'. He also lamented how the Portuguese has almost single-handedly thwarted Atletico's Champions League hopes at least thrice.
Ronaldo happens to be the only player to score a hat-trick against Diego Simeone's Atletico Madrid.
Cristiano Ronaldo is the ONLY player to score a hat-trick vs Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid... he’s scored 4 (FOUR) hat-tricks against them. https://t.co/AFVfRDBemZ
Apart from his Champions League exploits against Simeone's Atletico, Ronaldo has also scored two La Liga hat-tricks against them.