As Morocco's dream run continues, becoming the first ever African nation to qualify for the World Cup semifinals, one of the biggest names in the game has become a headline casualty of their incredible feat. Cristiano Ronaldo, at the age of 37 and what surely seems to be his last World Cup has crashed out of the tournament in the Quarter Finals stage along with his Portuguese teammates.
Touted as one of the favorites to lift the trophy come December 18, thanks to Cristiano’s unmatched legacy and a new golden generation consisting of superstars like Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva, and Joao Felix, this comes as one of the massive upsets of this tournament which has already provided underdog stories for the ages.
Portugal’s reputation as a footballing heavyweight though is something of a folklore built on the legacy of one man’s unquenchable thirst to be the absolute best there ever was. A brief look at the nation’s footballing history shows that the country has qualified for the World Cup seven times. The first was in 1966, the second time was 20 years later in 1986, and the third was in 2002. Since 2002 though, which can be termed as the beginning of the Cristiano Ronaldo Portuguese revolution, the team has consistently qualified for the world tournament. Therefore there is an assumption by the newer generation that Portugal as a footballing country has always been heavyweights as the fans today have never experienced the truly dark days of Portuguese football where they used to consistently fail to even make it to the tournament let alone dream of winning it. Ronaldo ever since breaking onto the scene has sometimes almost single handedly carried the country to the biggest stage in world football with repeated individual heroics to help them across the line. Most memorably in a World Cup qualifiers play off against Sweden back in 2013 where he scored a memorable hat trick to help his nation past a Sweden team bolstered by famous talents such as Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Read: Ronaldo benched against Morocco in World Cup quarterfinals
Cristiano Ronaldo though is at the very top of the footballing legends food chain where even the little factors make a telling difference, and this is the World Cup we are talking about. His comparisons are with the likes of Pele, Maradona and Messi, with two of the three having won the World Cup and Lionel Messi proceeding to the semis in what seems to be his one last dance as well. One trophy though won’t be the one which defines the illustrious career of a champion athlete who has broken records of all sort in both International and Club levels. If this was the last time we saw Cristiano Ronaldo donning the Portugal shirt, he will be leaving with his head held high not only as the highest scorer in the history of Portuguese football but also as the highest goalscorer in the history of football period.
Read: Portugal look to end Morocco’s World Cup run
Even his most ardent critics and doubters may have shed a tear or two watching this absolute legend of the game leaving the World Cup stage for one last time in tears. Football may have won with Morocco proving yet again that the beauty of the game lives on, and that it belongs to everyone but the price fans around the world had to pay has been a big one. One of the most loved and the greatest players in history has bowed out of world football’s biggest stage for the very last time. No matter where his career takes him from here, the world of football will forever be grateful for the unimaginable, unforgettable and unbelievable contributions Cristiano Ronaldo has made for the beautiful game.