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| Author: | khm1997 [ Thu Dec 27, 2018 9:28 am ] |
| Post subject: | er two-time Wim |
LISBON, Portugal -- Cristiano Ronaldo has two Champions League winner medals to show off along with his two world player of the year awards. That is, when hes done showing off his ripped physique. Ronaldos penalty at the end of extra time Saturday sealed a 4-1 victory for Real Madrid over Atletico Madrid, which led deep into stoppage time after 90 minutes. The 29-year-old Portuguese star then ripped off his shirt in celebration and struck a pose showing off his muscles. Soon, Ronaldo was being hugged by Portugals state president, Anibal Cavaco Silva, and patted on the back by Spains King Juan Carlos before collecting his medal from UEFA President Michel Platini -- who also hugged him. Just another night of Ronaldo being soccers biggest showman and undisputed current best player. "Since day one at the club Ive felt ready for this," said the Madrid star after helping end the clubs wait since 2002 for a coveted 10th European title in his fifth season there. "The pressure is making me a better player. It was worth risking (my injury) since were champions," Ronaldo told reporters. The Madrid star now heads to Brazil to cap his stellar season at the World Cup, where Group G rivals Germany, the United States and Ghana await him. Ronaldo will arrive with confidence peaking, even if his finishing fell from his own absurdly high standards Saturday. His 51st goal of the season came from his ninth attempt, including two trademark free kicks which tested Atletico goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois within his limits. One missed second-half chance seemed scripted for Ronaldo: hanging high to meet a Sergio Ramos cross, neck muscles tightening to drive his forehead at the ball. An untypically tame connection glanced the ball wide. Six years ago, in his first Champions League final, Ronaldo met the moment and ball to arrow his header into Chelseas goal and give Manchester United the lead in Moscow. The eventual manner of victory in 2008 was as dramatic as Saturdays proved. Then, Ronaldo was the only Man United player to have his penalty saved in a shootout, before Chelsea captain John Terry struck a post with the potentially decisive kick. When Edwin van der Sar sealed victory with a save, Ronaldo lay crying in the centre circle alone as teammates raced toward the goalkeeper. Still, Man Uniteds European title helped propel Ronaldo over great rival Lionel Messi in January 2009 to win his first FIFA world player award. Messi beat Ronaldo in the next Champions League final, scoring in Barcelonas 2-0 win. That night in Rome announced Messis rise above Ronaldo in footballs firmament. Confirmation came with Messis election to the FIFA honour for an unprecedented four straight years. Ronaldo stopped the streak in January on another tearful evening. His young son Cristiano stood beside him on stage and Pele also wept at this shoulder. The accolade was acclaimed as reward for hard work to hone his body and raise an already prolific scoring record. There were no tears Saturday, and Ronaldo was at the heart of the party. It was in the same Stadium of Light in Lisbon that Ronaldo lost in his first major final -- a stunning 1-0 upset for Greece over host Portugal in the 2004 European Championship. With this measure of redemption, Ronaldo closed on the three Champions League titles held by 26-year-old Messi. The World Cup stage offers Ronaldo the stage to show he can also close the gap in world player honours. . -- Floridas smothering defence returned to form just in time for the third-ranked Gators to keep their winning streak going. . -- J.R. Sweezy was the one part of the Seattle Seahawks offensive line that had avoided injuries or having to change positions this season. http://www.airmaxsuisse.ch/. The Americans, skipped by John Shuster, seized the advantage in the eighth end by scoring five points for a 7-3 lead. The Czechs pulled two back in the ninth, but Shusters team of third Jeff Isaacson, second Jared Zezel and lead John Landsteiner ended with another point to secure the last Olympic berth on offer. .The Williams siblings, with 25 Grand Slam titles between them, will have a couple of Madisons joining them, too.Madison Keys had a 6-4, 7-5 upset win over two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova on Saturday night, and Madison Brengle beat Coco Vandeweghe 6-3, 6-2 in an all-U. . American Lindsey Jacobellis was third, while Japans Yuka Fujimori finished just off the podium. Maltais, from Petite-Riviere-St-Francois, Que., earned bronze at the 2006 Olympic Games and is set to return to the Games this February in Sochi, Russia.SOCHI, Russia – Jeff Carter has played alongside the likes of Peter Forsberg, Claude Giroux, Rick Nash, Daniel Briere, and Anze Kopitar, but not one of them stacks up to Drew Doughty in one key department. "Hes probably the most skilled guy Ive ever played with and Ive played with some pretty good players," Carter said after a close 2-1 overtime win against Finland. "When his confidence is going [and] hes feeling good about himself he can do anything out there. Its pretty amazing to watch." Doughty scored both Canadian goals – including the upset-preventing overtime winner – late Sunday evening, lifting his country to top spot in Group-B and a berth in the quarterfinals. On a grand Olympic stage that features the highest caliber of talent this game has to offer, the 24-year-old from London, Ontario stands out as one of the very best. "I forget about everything thats going on around me and Im just focused in on that game and having fun," he said. Third in tournament scoring after the preliminary round, Doughty leads Canada with four goals – including one in each of the three games – and five points, totaling nearly 20 minutes of ice-time against the Finns. No apparent fear or uncertainty seems to exist on his part, no matter the venue. Doughty is willing to force the action and assert himself on centre-stage, if and when the moment presents itself. This was clear again in overtime at Bolshoy Ice Dome when he deposited a Carter feed beyond the pads of the nearly-unbeatable Tuukka Rask. It was perhaps most emphatic during the 2010 Olympics when he proved a revelation as a 20-year-old for the gold-medal winning Canadian squad. "Confidence," said Carter in a word. "When you put all his skill with that confidence its pretty amazing." And maybe his personality has something to do with that no-fear persona on the biggest stages, which also included a Stanley Cup with the Los Angeles Kings in 2012. Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Doughtys defence partner here in Sochi, describes him as "pretty loose" and "funny". A teammate for two-plus seasons with the Kings, Carter agrees, calling him "one of a kind for sure", always with "a smile on his face, bouncing around, laughing, having a good time." Those easy-going quualities seem to translate to the ice.dddddddddddd "He plays loose out there," Carter said. "Hes not scared to try and make plays too and I think thats what make him such a dynamic player." Doughty carries a cool about him on the ice that makes every one of his movements seem controlled and purposeful, almost as if nothing else out there matters in the scheme of what he has to offer the game. His passes are crisp and on the tape. His daring rushes look as though they were designed beforehand, each stride, angle and movement carefully calculated. His instincts with the puck make it seem as if he is just a step ahead of what lies next. "Thats what Drew does," said Carter of Doughty, the No. 2 overall pick from the 2008 draft, who is logging 26 minutes per game for the Kings this season. "He does it all year for us [in Los Angeles] and probably doesnt get as much recognition as he should because of the time zone and what not." Doughty doesnt look nor appear nervous on this stage, but says he was four years ago in Vancouver during that first Olympic stint. But the nerves that bubbled there were not for the reasons one might think. It had nothing to do with the pressure of bidding for gold on home soil, but was more about his youthful place on a veteran roster that featured aging stars and future Hall-of-Famers like Scott Niedermayer and Chris Pronger. "I was just a little young guy there, had so many older guys around me that I didnt know whatsoever," he said. "I was nervous mostly because of that, not because of the fans and the pressure and the country and all that, it was just meeting all these All-Star players." If not leaning on Niedermayer and Pronger for wisdom, Doughty made sure to stash other hints for success. "Just watching them thats all I had to do," he said. "And I learned so many things just watching those guys play and it helped me out for this one for sure." Doughty looks like hes just having fun, like the intensity of all that lays around him has no bearing. Facing a large horde of media after his overtime winner he stepped toward a microphone and began to speak only to be reminded that he needed to actually speak into the microphone. Cool and jovial, he responded with a sarcastic crack, "I actually gotta talk into the microphone?" ' ' ' |
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