5 reasons why Cristiano Ronaldo should only play as a centre forward
Whether you want to celebrate Cristiano Ronaldo’s fourth Ballon d’Or award or not, it’s pretty hard to deny how influential a figure he is in world football.
A massive football personality, the Portugal international knows how to make his mark on any game – whether he is scoring iconic penalties before ripping his shirt off or acting as the leading light from the substitutes’ bench as his team-mates go on to earn Euro 2016 glory, he has a habit of turning up for the big moments, even when he’s not on the pitch.
Officially the greatest player in Europe once again, the Real Madrid star will certainly feel confident about helping his side capture the UEFA Champions League trophy for the second consecutive year.
He’s clearly a brilliant attacking player, even at 31 years of age, so let’s examine why the La Liga maestro should concentrate on refining his role as a centre forward.
#1 Ronaldo is getting on – time to conserve his energy
His transition from winger to a more traditional centre forward hasn’t happened overnight, but it’s nonetheless an interesting phenomenon.
Not everyone will always agree on who’s the best player of all time but Ronaldo will forever be mentioned in the same breath as Lionel Messi, Pele, Johan Cruyff, Maradona, Marco van Basten and Zinedine Zidane. However, because he is a truly self-perpetuating model of improvement he will want this new phase of his career to go as smoothly as the rest of it has done.
Plus, he’s not a young guy anymore and although he’s not quite reaching for the walking stick just yet, his role as a striker could help him perform at a high level till his desired age of retirement of 40 years.
Transforming from a galloping winger to an intelligent 18-yard poacher will still allow him to use his exceptional close control, wicked trickery and clinical finishing, but it’ll also complement his guilty pleasure for not exactly busting a lung and should see him avoid more injuries. His youngest years might well be behind him, but his most revolutionary may be still yet to come.