GOAL SCORING
Ronaldo is one of the most prolific scorers in the sport’s history, with over 650 goals for both club and country, including 120 alone in the UEFA Champions League, more than any other player.
Forwards such as him tend to fall into one of two categories: Target men who play with their back towards goals and rely on their teammates to set them up, or penalty-area poachers who finish off opportunities by feasting on half chances, rebounds and scraps.
Abetted by a technical ability that is the envy of most others, Ronaldo marries the two concepts into one dangerous, goal-scoring package. He’s not as involved in games as he once was, but he’s just as ruthless, needing only a half chance, a smidgeon of space from which to wield his special brand of magic and instantly tip the match in his team’s favour.
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As former Liverpool striker Michael Owen, a goal-scorer of some repute during his career, noted in a 2016 interview with The Telegraph: “Ronaldo [is] more interested in making the most out of half a yard of space in the penalty area than moving into areas where there are four yards hoping the ball will come his way. This is why he is breaking so many goal scoring records and is such a phenomenon.”
Some forwards need three or four chances per game just to score one. Ronaldo is more economical. He’s what the soccer nerds call a “clinical finisher.” One chance is all he needs. When he gets sight of a goal, he buries it. And if for some reason he doesn’t, you can bet he’ll bury it the next time around.
Ronaldo has also worked hard at striking the ball in a unique way, whether with the inside or outside of his cleat, so that each time it leaves his foot with more of a wobble than a swerve. This keeps goalkeepers guessing, as they can’t immediately anticipate where the ball is going; if it’ll rise or dip.
Just as important, his goal-scoring instincts are finely honed. He anticipates where the ball is going to be before it gets there. His sense of timing is impeccable.
“People often make the mistake of saying a great finisher makes you a great goal scorer. But it’s the knack of knowing exactly where to be at the right time that makes the difference between a prolific striker and a scorer of great goals,” said Owen. “It doesn’t matter how good a finisher you are if you’re not capable of working your way into positions to get chances. It’s almost taken for granted how good Ronaldo is at this.”
