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2. Guiding club(s) and nation to their biggest honours
One Champions Leagues, four Premier Leagues and one Club World Cup with Manchester United. Three Champions Leagues and two La Ligas with Real Madrid. A European Championship with Portugal.
It’s not the amount of honours, though. It’s what he’s done during those campaigns, and how significant each victory has been for the side involved. His Champions League victory with United came at the end of a path-breaking season during which he smashed in 31 goals in the Premier League (and walked away with the Golden Boot, obviously) and 8 goals in the Champions League (and walked away with the top-scorers laurel, there, too). Add three FA Cup goals and that’s 42 goals he scored in 49 games all season. As a left winger. He raised the benchmark for anyone who wanted to call himself an inside-forward, and almost every season since, he’s been raising it again and again and again...
When the mythical ‘La Decima’ came about, the title that Real Madrid wanted above all else – he finished joint top-scorer in the Champions League. When the next one came about, he got them to the final with an out-of-the-world performance against Wolfsburg, scoring a hat-trick as Madrid came back from 2-0 down in the first leg to win it 3-2. In the third one, he turned in a man of the match performance, and scored a brace, to smash Juventus to smithereens. Oh and he finished top-scorer yet again.
He also inspired Portugal to the only international success in their storied history. He may not have done it with goals this time, but he hoisted the team on his back and powered them through – the sight of him leaping around on one leg is one that will remain in our memories for a long time to come.
