Portugal’s dramatic penalty shootout victory over Slovenia was a memorable game for Cristiano Ronaldo. He missed a crucial penalty in extra time, shedding tears of frustration, but redeemed himself by scoring the first penalty in the shootout, sending the ball past Oblak. A BOLA, a Portuguese media outlet, wrote a poetic article describing the Portuguese legend and the moving match.
Oh salty sea, how many grains of your salt
Flow into these Portuguese tears!
To cross you, how many mothers cry
How many children pray in vain!
How many brides-to-be are eager to marry
All to possess you, oh sea!
Is it worth it? The answer is undoubtedly
As long as the soul is not small.
Whoever wants to cross beyond Bojador,
Must endure pain and patience.
God has given the sea adventure and abyss
And above it he also hangs the sky.
— “The Portuguese Sea” by Fernando Pessoa, a famous Portuguese poet
That day, in Frankfurt. The captain, who had saved Portugal countless times, was finally the one who needed to be saved. He had to be lifted from the ground by his teammates, given support and strength to carry on in the days to come. It was perhaps Cristiano Ronaldo’s most notable emotional breakdown on the football field.
In Frankfurt, it was time to switch roles. For twenty years, the man had remained true to his heart, gradually becoming the top player in world football, being idolized in every corner of the earth… Suddenly, the god fell and became an ordinary person. In the 12th minute of extra time, he watched helplessly as Oblak denied his penalty, and he could no longer hold back his tears.
In the stands, Dolores, Cristiano’s mother, saw her son’s suffering and couldn’t help but shed tears. The scene of her weeping spread around the world. The entire nation broke hearts with their pillar, but at that moment, the players didn’t let themselves be distracted, didn’t get flustered by Ronaldo’s mistake, but stood together and rescued him.
The game didn’t go smoothly for the brightest star in the Portuguese sky. He attempted a few free kicks, several aerial bombardments, and had an opportunity to break his goal drought in the group stage.
But then, in a moment that was incredibly rare in his career, CR7 watched in disbelief as Oblak leaped and saved his penalty. It was unbelievable, he hadn’t missed a penalty in two years. In that moment, Cristiano Ronaldo fell from Mount Olympus and crashed hard to the ground. But he wasn’t ignored: Cancelo immediately went to encourage him, Bruno Fernandes and Bernardo Silva embraced him, Diogo Costa and Gonçalo Ramos cheered for him, and his best friends Pepe and Dalot shouted words of encouragement in his ear.
Everyone empathized with the captain’s heartbreak, but everyone maturedly responded in an adult way, facing the challenges together. Together they were a fire, scattered they were like stars in the sky. This force laid the foundation for the following match – from Costa’s impressive saves to the victory in the penalty shootout.
Portugal achieved redemption. The communication between players and fans at the end was truly heartwarming. This was a family, they were never alone.
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