What’s the story?
Portugal and Real Madrid talisman Cristiano Ronaldo has stated that it would be a dream for him to win the FIFA Confederations Cup with Portugal this year in Russia after he guided his nation to the Euro 2016 crown last summer.
Speaking to FIFA.com, the Portugal forward said, “It will be the first time Portugal compete for the Confederations Cup trophy. It's going to be beautiful and will stay on our CV.”
"Obviously, it's a dream to win, but we know it's going to be hard as some great teams will be there. But, in football, everything is possible,” he added.
In case you didn’t know…
The Confederations Cup is an international tournament played by the winners of the tournaments held by the six confederations (UEFA, CONMEBOL, CONCACAF, CAF, AFC and OFC) along with the World Cup holder and the host nation.
Cristiano Ronaldo captained his nation to an unlikely Euro Cup win last summer as Fernando Santos’ men overcame hosts France in the final in spite of Ronaldo getting injured just 16 minutes into the decider. It was Portugal’s first ever major trophy and they will, consequently, participate in this year’s Confederations Cup starting in June in Russia.
Portugal is grouped with Russia, New Zealand and Mexico in Group A while Chile, Germany, Australia and the winner of the African Cup of Nations constitute Group B.
The heart of the matter
It has been a terrific year for the 31-year-old forward from Madeira, who’s lifted the Champions Trophy, UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup with Real Madrid in addition to captaining Portugal to their first international trophy.
The icing on the cake came this week as Ronaldo was voted as the FIFA Best Men’s Player award as well as bagging the 2016 Ballon d’Or a month back. A win in the Confederations Cup would serve as the cherry on top as he aims to complete an almost perfect season, with Real Madrid also in the driver’s seat to winning the La Liga this season.
Speaking after the FIFA Best Player Awards, Ronaldo admitted that it would be nothing short of a dream to win another international trophy with his nation.
What Next?
Though Ronaldo’s comments don’t come as a surprise to fans around the world, the 31-year-old will be keener on beating Barcelona and Atletico Madrid to the La Liga trophy this season, a competition they haven’t won since the 2011-12 season.
After beating Lionel Messi to one more Ballon d’Or, Ronaldo would also probably look to better Messi on a personal front and win the next one too.
Sportskeeda’s take
The Confederations Cup is surely an important competition in international football. Brazil have won the competition four times- more than any other team. There are a couple of really good teams in Germany and Chile, in particular, Portugal and Cristiano Ronaldo will have to come up against and it will be no easy task to lift the trophy with tired legs at the end of the season.
But that’s the ‘dream’, right? The Confederations Cup would be one more feather in Cristiano Ronaldo’s cap in his pursuit of footballing greatness.
