Despite a Hex, Ronaldo Works Magic
World Cup 2014: Cristiano Ronaldo Defies a Witch Doctor
MANAUS, Brazil — The World Cup arrives every four years, and without fail it brings a good and possibly even true story about a witch doctor.
This particular witch doctor put a curse on the knees ofCristiano Ronaldo in February. These are not just any knees. The reigning world player of the year, Ronaldo is so agile and elusive that he is the only man known to have dated Kim Kardashian without marrying her for a reality show.
And this was no random application of the dark arts. The witch doctor happened to be from Ghana, which, like the United States and Germany, was drawn into the same group as Ronaldo and Portugal.
The spell involved something about four dogs, a special spirit and a whammy so potent it could not be cured by medical science, television evangelists or juice therapy.
“They can never see what is causing the injury because it is spiritual,” Nana Kwaku Bonsam, whose name translates as Devil of Wednesday, told a Ghanaian radio station, Angel FM. “Today, it is his knee; tomorrow, it is his thigh; next day, it is something else.”
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Really, if you’re going to be a witch doctor, you couldn’t have a better name than Devil of Wednesday, although one wonders why Dr. Devil is giving interviews to an outfit named Angel FM.
Scoff if you will, but Ronaldo seemed to arrive in Brazil with the knees of an aging N.F.L. lineman. Tendinitis in his left knee, to be specific.
His own doctor told a Portuguese newspaper that the injury could threaten Ronaldo’s career. The doctor suggested that Ronaldo take two months off. Ronaldo suggested that no one flies off to South Beach in the middle of the World Cup.
At training Friday, Ronaldo wore what was described as a brace on his ailing knee. Still, the Americans never doubted he would play on Sunday. This is soccer, after all, where players are writhing in agony one second and doing the Riverdance the next, having been magically sprayed with WD-40 and oven cleaner.
Plus, Portugal lost its opener, 4-0, to Germany. And four other players were already absent Sunday because of suspension and injury. Paulo Bento, Portugal’s coach, put his team’s situation in dire terms: “Either we win or we start packing our suitcase.”
So you’re thinking, wow, you have 23 players and only one suitcase? Talk about traveling light. But we move on.
Even a hobbled Ronaldo would be dangerous, warned Tim Howard, the American goalkeeper who joined Manchester United of the Premier League along with Ronaldo in 2003. Howard knows as well as anyone that Ronaldo is not all hair gel, preening good looks and six-pack abs.
“He’s the single hardest working player I’ve ever been around, on and off the field,” Howard said.
And that was just a reference to eyebrow plucking.
Not to mention, Howard added, that Ronaldo is big and strong and fast with impeccable control; gymnastic balance; a heavy, dipping shot and unmatched skill at getting the ball to heel, sit and roll over like a dachshund.
On Sunday, the Americans started five midfielders, trying to enhance their possession and cut off the supply to Ronaldo. To get in his way, to jostle him at times. To bottle him up the way children bottle fireflies.
“He never really got into a rhythm,” the defender Matt Besler said.
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And yet there was a risk in focusing on Ronaldo and ignoring others.
“If we pay too much attention to Ronaldo, someone else will beat us,” Howard said beforehand.
In the fifth minute, his caution became prophetic as Nani, Portugal’s other wing, pounced on an awkward clearance by Geoff Cameron. Portugal 1, United States 0.
Portugal, too, sought to avoid a desperate reliance on Ronaldo. He scored all four of the team’s goals in a two-legged playoff victory over Sweden to qualify for the World Cup. And he led Real Madrid to its 10th European championship. But to think Portugal could defeat the United States solely on a gilded performance by Ronaldo, Bento said, would be a “terrible mistake.”
“I would never put on his shoulders the responsibility of solving our problems,” Bento said.
On Sunday, Ronaldo wore an apparent lightning bolt shaved into his head and a long-sleeved jersey, suggesting he was immune to the heat and humidity of the Amazon. His first pass wandered out of bounds. Then he brought the crowd alive with flamboyant dribbling, making the ball stop and start as if it were a student driver with a manual transmission.
Still, he did not seem fully fit or comfortable. He showed frustration at his lack of touches in the first half, bounced a long shot to Howard and ballooned a free kick over the crossbar.
At halftime, Ronaldo changed to a short-sleeved jersey. If he felt cooler, he was still not sharp. He bore in on Howard from the right flank but shot wide and ran his hand through his hair in annoyance. Soon, Jermaine Jones curled a blast inside the far post for the United States, and the game was tied at 1-1.
Portugal was frantic now for a win. But crosses to Ronaldo were thwarted repeatedly. Then Clint Dempsey chested home what seemed to be the winner for the Americans.
Jurgen Klinsmann, the confident American coach, had talked of his respect for Ronaldo and his desire to put him in his place. Until the final 39 seconds, the plan seemed to work. But Ronaldo needed only a moment to show his resilience and sense of drama.
Five minutes into added time, Michael Bradley lost the ball. On the counterattack, Ronaldo curved a perfect cross from the right flank. Silvestre Varela headed it home to rescue a 2-2 draw for Portugal. Howard could only put his hands on his head.
“Football’s cruel sometimes,” he said.
Hope is thin, but Portugal is still alive. Ghana remains, and the witch doctor must conjure another potion.
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