Diego Maradona has offered his unique insight into the upcoming Euro 2012 semi-final between Iberian rivals Spain and Portugal and believes Cristiano Ronaldo deserves a statue in his honour after firing the Portuguese to the last four.
Writing in his column for the Times of India, the Argentine legend was full of praise for Ronaldo’s showings in Poland and Ukraine ahead of the mouth-watering semi between the two neighbours.
The Real Madrid superstar was the matchwinner in both the Seleccao’s wins over Holland, netting a double in the final Group B match, and against the Czech Republic, scoring the only goal in the quarter-final clash.
Ronaldo has long been criticised for failing to transfer his prolific form for Madrid onto the international scene with Portugal, but he has silenced many of his critics with three goals in four games to top the scoring charts at Euro 2012.
“Cristiano Ronaldo had been struggling with performance at a national level for years,” said Maradona. “The world’s best player, along with Lionel Messi, seemed frustrated and petulant when playing for Portugal.
“Luckily for him, Portuguese coach [Paulo] Bento also could bring in world class Pepe in defence, Chelsea’s [Raul] Meireles in midfield, and Manchester United’s Nani, giving him free range up front.
“After a superb couple of games, Ronaldo started playing – scoring three goals and bringing Portugal to an unexpected semi-final. It is always great to see the best in a superstar. He has shown his countrymen that he does deserve a monument in Lisbon.”
Maradona, meanwhile, has urged Portugal to go on the offensive for their meeting against the reigning world and European champions as he admits he has been ‘irritated’ by the ease with which they have gone about their business.
Spain midfielder Cesc Fabregas has likened the game to an El Clasico between Barcelona and Real Madrid as he claims the tiki-taka model employed by Spain mirrors that of his club side, while Portugal’s more direct approach is akin to Madrid.
And Maradona believes Portugal must start on the front foot with their counter-attacking game, described by Fabregas as “lethal”, key to their chances of winning.
“Stay only in defence and the Spanish will kill you,” said Maradona. “Attack them like the Italians did in their first game, and you may get an upset.
“The Spanish have played their ball possession game, risking a loss against Italy and Croatia, but generally showing that they have the best midfield, with their Barcelona superstars Xavi, [Andres] Iniesta and [Sergio] Busquets.
“Although not as sharp as [in the 2010 World Cup] in South Africa, Spain continue to dominate their games with irritating ease.”
Meanwhile, Iker Casillas, eyeing a 100th international victory in just 136 caps for La Roja, has delivered a snub to Ronaldo, his team-mate at Madrid, by insisting he “always” struggles against Spanish team-mate Gerard Pique.
“Pique has always played great against Cristiano, both at Barça and the national team,” said Casillas, who insists Ronaldo is not on top form despite impressing in his last two outings.
“Ronaldo’s season at Madrid was incredible in terms of the way he played, the goals and the records,” he said. “[But] I don’t think that right now he is at his best level.”
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