IT WAS double glory for Cristiano Ronaldo in Lyon.
Portugal overcame Wales to reach the Euro 2016 final — and he equalled Michel Platini’s European Championship record goals haul of nine.
Few had expected Fernando Santos’ men to come so far in France.
But Ronaldo admitted the belief he and his team-mates shared are the secret to their success at Euro 2016 so far.
He said: “It’s what we have dreamt of since the beginning. We knew it would be a long road and we’re still in the tournament.
“We have believed right from the start. We had difficult moments, but it’s like I always say: it’s better to start poorly and have a positive ending.
“The players deserve it, the coach deserves it. The entire medical staff as well. They have been doing an excellent job with the players’ fitness.
“We haven’t won anything yet as I said a few days ago, but the dream is still alive.
“I hope that [after the final] we’ll be smiling and that it will be tears of joy in the end.
“I’ve always said my dream was to win a trophy with Portugal. We’re closer to doing it and I believe that we’ll win.
“With a lot of work, humility and the spirit of self-sacrifice, which I have always shown in my career, these sorts of things are doable.”
Related Stories
The Real Madrid winger opened the scoring against Chris Coleman’s side with a 50th-minutes header which brought his total to three for this tournament.
His only other goals in this year’s competition came in the 3-3 draw against Hungary.
Ronaldo’s first appearances at a Euros came in 2004.
The then Manchester United winger’s first goal was a stoppage time consolation as the hosts slipped to a shock 2-1 loss against Greece.
He scored another as Portugal beat Holland by the same scoreline in the semi-finals.
But suffered final heartbreak as the hosts were victims of one of football’s greatest shocks, losing against Greece for a second time.
Ronaldo had already transformed into a one of the best players in the world by the time Euro 2008 came around, and went into the tournament as the star of a United team which had won the Champions League and would go on to claim a first Ballon d'Or.
But he disappointed in Austria and Switzerland — netting only once, during a 3-1 defeat of Czech Republic as Portugal were knocked out by eventual finalists Germany in the quarter-finals.
Four years later, and Ronaldo found the back of the net three times.
He scored a brace in the 2-1 group stage defeat of Holland and the only goal as Portugal overcame Czech Republic in the last-eight.
Platini, on the other hand, scored his nine in the SAME tournament as France were victorious on home soil in 1984.
He in every game along the way — including a hat-trick in the group stage against Yugoslavia — except for in the final itself.
Leave a comment