Cristiano Ronaldo is not, by any stretch of the imagination, comparable to your average footballing friend. Over the course of his career, the man has shown that there is nothing that he can’t do on a football pitch, even during the course of high-tension, high-stakes professional games.
While he began his career by relying upon his uncanny ability to negotiate his way through defenses in a crowd-pleasing manner, he is now a full-fledged athletic phenomenon with physical capabilities that the world’s fittest men would nod in approval of.
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Not only is Ronaldo a physical phenomenon, he is also one of the most technically accomplished player ever to step into a pair of boots. He has scored and assisted in so many different fashions – backheels, acrobatics, long rangers, weak-footed shots, diving headers, dribbling past multiple opponents - you name it, he has either produced a mind-bogglingly perfect assist in that situation, or produced a stunner of the kind that most players would regard as the best achievements of their professional careers.
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The following is a list of his best tricks, the ones that demonstrate his supreme technical moments for Portugal, Real Madrid and Manchester United over the course of his career.
Honourable Mention:
- Acrobatic assist to Morata vs Real Betis, La Liga 2013-14
In this game, Cristiano Ronaldo had already scored a 30-yard belter that was later clocked at over 130 kph; he wasn’t settled for the game yet. With Real leading 4-0 and running Betis all over the place on their own home turf following Benzema’s goal, Bale’s free kick and di Maria’s long-range effort, Alvaro Morata was brought on for Benzema to see out some inconsequential game time and gain experience.
Marcelo ventured forward on the left wing and swung in a cross that would ordinarily whistle over most players, but Cristiano had other ideas. Having already observed the run of Morata and judged that the ball could not be met with his head, Ronaldo leapt up and diverted the ball acrobatically, back across the area.
It fell kindly for Morata, who finished off the chance before the Betis defense could react. A typical Ronaldo chance conjured out of nowhere.
10. Backheeled goal vs Valencia, La Liga 2013-14
In the 2013-14 season, the La Liga title race was, for the first time in years, closely fought by a team other than Real Madrid and Barcelona. Atletico Madrid eventually prevailed, but not before Real and Barca spurned chances of their own to win the league title.
Real, in particular, dropped points in fixtures to allow the other two competitors an edge. This game was one in which they had to earn a hard-fought point at home, despite having the opportunity to top the table.
Real were trailing by a goal against a spirited Valencia side, which had fought back from a goal down to wrest the lead at the Bernabeu. With time ticking away and the Valencia defense repelling wave after wave of Real Madrid attacks, they had to find an unorthodox way to get the ball past Diego Alves.
And so they did, as Cristiano responded the quickest to turn in a vicious, low cross by Angel di Maria into the net with his backheel past a stunned defense, who could only watch the outrageousness of the moment up close in frozen form.
9. Backheel lob to bamboozle Pique and score past Valdes, Spanish Super Copa 2012
Back in the Mourinho era, when the Real-Barca Clasico rivalry was at its bitter peak and tempers were frayed between players of the 2 sides after each contest, Cristiano Ronaldo was in some of the rudest goalscoring form of his career. Having scored in 4 successive previous Clasicos, he came into the game with the opportunity to tie a long-time record for Clasico goalscoring streaks as Real hosted Barcelona in the 2nd leg of the Supercopa.
He did so in some style as Real raced to a 2-0 lead in the first half. Gonzalo Higuain had already converted a golden opportunity to give Real a 1-0 lead. The chance was created when Khedira knocked a long ball into the heart of Barca’s defense, which was playing a high line.
Ronaldo reacted to the ball in spectacular fashion to loop the ball high over the head of Pique with his backheel, running across him while doing so. Pique could only watch in astonishment as Ronaldo then brought the ball down, steadied himself and beat Valdes as he ran back fruitlessly to stop the goal.
8. Flooring Gerard Pique and chipping Iker Casillas vs Spain, International friendly 2010
Gerard Pique has had a number of uncomfortable moments when facing Cristiano Ronaldo, and this one could be the most iconic of them all. Ironically, it came in a way that left Ronaldo fuming.
As Portugal played host to Spain in an international friendly in 2010, Ronaldo was pitted against the side that had knocked out Portugal on their way to the World Cup trophy, and the Spain defense comprised of Barca duo Pique and Puyol. Portugal broke forward on a counterattack through Ronaldo, who received the ball with the Spain defense on the back foot.
He drew Pique into himself and caused him to commit into a slide tackle, before knocking the ball past him and chipping the ball past Puyol, Xabi Alonso and Iker Casillas in goal.
The goal did not stand, however, as an onrushing Nani ruined the moment by touching it before it passed the goalline. He was incorrectly flagged by the linesman for offside as the ball had already passed the goalline.
7. Left-footed volley direct from corner kick vs Real Sociedad, La Liga 2015-16
Ronaldo was not in the best of form in the first half of the 2015-16 season, as he fell behind both Neymar and Luis Suarez in the initial phases of the season in the race for the La Liga golden boot in addition to Real’s woeful 4-0 defeat to the Blaugrana at the Bernabeu.
It would take him a gigantic effort to bring his best goalscoring form back for the second half of the season. The very first glimpse of his in-form future self was found in this game against Real Sociedad.
Having squandered a penalty before scoring off another, Ronaldo and Real were tied at 1-1 against the Basque club. With the match screaming out for a moment of brilliance to break a deadlock, it got what it needed as Ronaldo diverted a corner from Marcelo past a crowded defense into the Sociedad net with a left-footed volley in spectacular fashion.
The cherry on top of the cake was the fact that Ronaldo scored this goal while having to retreat backwards from the far post, while also having to aim for the near post to find a clear path for his shot.
Real eventually scored another through Lucas Vazquez for a 3-1 win, but this goal was the turning point in Ronaldo’s personal form for the season.
6. Left-footed rocket long ranger vs Portsmouth, Premier League 2005-06
In Ronaldo’s earlier days at Manchester United, he was already a scorer of goals on important occasions, as well as a scorer of brilliantly technical goals. He produced a top-notch moment in this Premier League game against Portsmouth, blasting the ball into the net on the half-volley past a helpless Dean Kiely in goal as United scored 3 past the Portsmouth defense to win by 3-1.
The goal is made even more memorable by the fact that it was scored with Ronaldo’s left foot.
5. Inch-perfect knuckleball freekick into the top corner vs Portsmouth, Premier League 2007-08
One of the moments that set the seal on Ronaldo’s best years at Manchester United was his free-kick goal against Porstmouth, which Sir Alex Ferguson has described as the best free-kick he has seen.
With the ball located around 25 yards from David James’ left-hand post, it was not the most favourable angle for a right-footer to shoot from. But Ronaldo had other ideas, as he produced a venomous shot that cleared the wall before dipping straight into the top corner of James’ near post.
The ball was struck with such power as to leave no goalkeeper any chance of saving, yet it travelled in a trajectory that would be extremely difficult to replicate even for the most skilled practitioners of free kicks in the world, with the perfect amount of movement and dip as to fox the goalkeeper.
4. Rocket long-ranger from 40 yards vs Porto, Champions League 2008-09
Ronaldo has won every single personal accolade he has had the chance to win over the years, and the effort that fetched him the inaugural edition of the Puskas award is certainly worth mention on this list.
With United underperforming at home and bringing a 2-2 scoreline to Portugal for the Champions League quarterfinal, the onus was on the team’s big guns to earn them a victory. Ronaldo took the initiative in the most emphatic manner possible, capitalizing on the acres of space he found in the middle third to uncork a shot from a distance of around 40 meters from goal.
Making perfect contact, he guided the ball on a bullet-like trajectory into the far corner of the goal – with goalkeeper Helton having absolutely no chance of stopping the 125 kph shot.
3. Bullet header with an incredible jump over Patrice Evra, Champions League 2012-13
In one of the most emotionally charged encounters of his career, Ronaldo marked his first appearance against former club Manchester United with a near-superhuman goal.
Angel di Maria swung in a cross from the left wing at a fairly unreachable height. The ball passed over the defenders upto the near post without harm, but Ronaldo, who was running in at the far post, leapt around 30 inches above the ground, sustaining his jump to make clean contact with the ball as a hapless Evra found his face a few feet from Ronaldo’s knees.
This goal has helped conjure up one of the most iconic images from the legend’s career. In the context of the match, it eventually gave Real a 1-1 draw, which they capitalized upon with a 2-1 win at Old Trafford in the second leg.
2. Freekick goal vs Arsenal from over 35 yards out, Champions League 2008-09
A number of players in football history have been routinely able to silence critics over the course of their careers, but not many of them have been able to leave commentators with eggshells on their faces like Cristiano Ronaldo did in this particular game.
Having earned a freekick down United’s right wing, over 35 yards from goal and on an angle very unfavourable for a right-footed kick-taker, Ronaldo then proceeded to produce a strike of pure power and dip that bent its way inside Manuel Almunia’s near post and beat him for pace.
Ronaldo’s freekick might have gone in because of a goalkeeping error, but that takes nothing away from the amount of quality required to produce a goal of such improbable proportions.
1. No-look backheeled goal past a crowded defence vs Rayo Vallecano, La Liga 2011-12
The cake for Ronaldo’s most improbable goalbound effort is taken by this shot against Rayo Vallecano in the 2011-12 season, when Real Madrid won their last La Liga title.
Mesut Ozil took a corner kick from Real’s left wing, which ricocheted off Sami Khedira and a Rayo defender and fell closest to Cristiano. As the ball moved away from goal, Ronaldo took a couple of steps to follow it, overtook the ball and expertly directed the ball past a crowd of defenders inside the far post.
The goal is an improbable watch for football fans everywhere, and has gained notoriety on a number of online forums as one of the most outrageous goals ever attempted or scored by a professional footballer.
