Finally, World Cup 2018 is upon us. I don't know about you, but this is the sporting event which I have been waiting ages for. The main reason boils down to one man, and one man only - Ronaldo. Although comparisons with Messi are bound to take place amongst fanboys, some people are claiming that in footballing terms, he is the greatest of all time. Compared to Pele or Maradona, I don't think you could ever go that far, although those legends obviously played football in a very different era, which may have been physically harsher in terms of fouls, but were probably easier in terms of competitive standards. Hell, even in Portuguese football, there is still a strong case that he will never be the GOAT, given that he will, to many, always walk in the shade of Eusebio (without doubt the finest footballer ever from Africa).
With that in mind, love him or hate him, wouldn't it be fantastic to see him actually win the most important trophy of them all? His entire life story makes for one of those Greek epics which used to enthrall us as kids. Poor dude from a crappy island shows immense talent as a boy; gets taken under the wing of a cunning yet wise mentor (hint: Alex Ferguson, not Mr Miyagi); starts off by pissing off all those around him, who disregard his talent in favour of their favourite son (are the BBC broadcasting Russia 2018 on whichever tropical island Rooney is tanning his arse on?); is sent to some primitive land full of fierce natives (Madrid has that effect on people), and then, like Odysseus, he returns from the wild, having beaten everyone before him in sporting combat to face that one final challenge which will make him king of Ithaca. While there may be some pathos if Ronaldo was to fail at the very final hurdle, as we all love a happy ending in life, it would be so much more heartwarming if he was to win that final remaining trophy which has eluded him
The only question is, once Ronaldo does win the World Cup, what happens with his life then? I can't imagine him sitting around with all those other washed out pundits in the TV studios nattering away like fishwives. Something says to me he will want to achieve something else which is "great", so the story won't be over when he hangs up his boots for that final time ...
