RONALDO - Where's the spark gone?

Christiano Ronaldo was head and shoulders above any other player last year, but in this campaign, something is clearly missing. What is it?

Last season, he was quite rightly named double footballer of the year in England and followed that up by winning the World and European footballer of the year awards at the end of the year. They were richly deserved, but even prior to last season many critics had placed question marks over his record against the so-called ‘bigger teams’. The Portuguese star soon put that theory to bed by scoring in the Champions League quarter final and the final, as well as scoring goals against Arsenal and Liverpool in the domestic campaign.

The winger had a sensational season in 2007-2008, scoring 42 goals (although this included many penalties, and free kicks), and that was not even playing as an out and out centre forward. However, he was deeply disappointing in Euro 2008, and the on-going ‘is he’ or ‘is he not’ transfer saga with Real Madrid became the stuff of legend, almost like a scene from Footballers ' Wives.

This season he has not been the same player of the last two (he scored 23 goals in 2006-2007, and won the PFA and Football writers' awards the previous season too). This could be put down to a whole host of factors, but I have a few different ideas I’d like to suggest.

Firstly, does he feel he’s achieved everything he needs to achieve? Despite still only being 24 years old, maybe the Portuguese star’s hunger has faded slightly. He is, by all accounts, a very individual player, and perhaps winning those four awards all in one year have gone to his head. This may be consciously or subconsciously, but this season, the appetite doesn’t seem to be there. Last season, for example, he got kicked all over the place by defenders game after game, and often just got up and got on with it. This season, however, he seems back to his old tricks of complaining to referees, rolling around on the floor, not to mention play-acting.

I do have sympathy with him, of course. He is a skilful player who obviously gets pinpointed as a target by full-backs and does get rough treatment from opposing players. However, he should be used to this by now, and he dealt with it brilliantly last season. Even Liverpool fans begrudgingly respected him.

Have referees grown tired of him and his reputation? Ronaldo has certainly, in the past, not covered himself in glory due to his constant diving and perceived lack of sportsmanship (World Cup 2006 is the notorious example). He is a winner, and that is to be applauded, but it seems to me that more referees have latched onto to his petulant attitude this season, and started to show less sympathy for the man. If any of you watched the Fulham game recently or the Manchester derby in December, you will know what I am getting at. He can lose control when things don't go his own way.

In my opinion, the most important reason, is the Manchester United team selection. Last season, the boy from Madeira had Rooney and Tevez scuttling around doing most of his donkey work and creating the space he needed. They pulled so many players out of position, that Ronaldo would so often find himself in a one-on-one scenario with the opposing full-back. With his pace and skill, of course, there was usually only one outcome. Now, Dimitar Berbatov, an incredibly gifted, but annoyingly lazy player, is not prepared to do that donkey work. Therefore, Ronaldo is asked to do more on his own, and create the space by himself. Maybe he is not capable of doing this game after game, and his creative ability is hence, being restricted. It is certainly something I have noticed, and hasn’t been addressed. Manchester United though, are still winning most of the time, and that’s all that matters. Sir Alex Ferguson hasn’t got time to focus on one player, however good he is.

Is he possibly just low on confidence? It may sound ridiculous to say that such a 'confident player' like Ronaldo is actually lacking confidence, but I think it is a possibility. He went to Austria and Switzerland last summer hailed by most, as the best player in the world, and correctly too, based on his stunning performances both in the Premiership and in Europe. However, both he and his team were a huge disappointment. He scored against the Czechs in the group stages, but that was pretty much all he did. His team crashed out to Germany in the quarter finals with Ronaldo aggressively shut out and doubled-up on by the Germans. He also constantly delivered poor cross after poor cross, but it seemed to escape the media attention just how bad he was, due to the Madrid transfer fiasco. He may have been feeling the affects of a hard season, but big players perform on the biggest stages don’t they? Did this shatter his confidence? Did he expect to dominate the tournament? Instead, Portugal’s Iberian neighbours, Spain, stole all the headlines, and Ronaldo was sent packing on an early plane back to Manchester, or Madeira, or Madrid, or, who knows…??

Is his mind elsewhere? This is possibly the reason most people will point to. He has stated on many occasions that he wants to join Real Madrid. He could just be sulking and doesn’t want to play in Manchester anymore. He knows the fans can’t feel the same way about him and he knows his popularity in England (not Scotland) was always low anyway. Now, even his own fans dislike him. He has lost that devastating edge, it’s clear for everyone to see. He is a fantastic dribbler and gets the crowd on their feet with his pace and sensational close ball control. However, maybe the Old Trafford faithful don’t want to jump on their feet anymore. They won’t jeer him, but maybe they are sick of what they perceive to be Ronaldo’s sulking and arrogant attitude. It is, after-all, the club that have made him into the star he is today, and currently the Premiership's most marketable player. Real Madrid are hardly setting the world alight either, as Liverpool’s demolition of the ‘Galactico’s’ demonstrated. It must be very puzzling for the Manchester United supporters.

Finally, there is the injury. He had an operation on his ankle at the beginning of the season. He may well be still recovering from this. However, that would rule out any excuse of tiredness, following on from a hectic 2007-08 season and Euro 2008, because he’s had an extended break. He did though, came back in October, so you would expect him to firing on all cylinders by now. He is not.

So what conclusion can we draw from all this? Maybe Ronaldo is not as good as we all thought, or maybe he’s just going through a blip in form. He still has 17 goals this season, and has scored more goals in recent weeks, perhaps suggesting a return to form. He is a fantastic player who is as good as anyone in the world when on song. Players do have dips in form, and he is only 24. It would also be very difficult for him to reproduce last year’s form ever again. Last season was a one-off.

On the other hand, it’s not just about the goals, it's his whole demean-our. He’s lost that spark, and it has to be said, there is proof that some players peak early in their careers. The other Ronaldo, Raul, Michael Owen, Alessandro Del Piero, Robbie Fowler are to name a few. Even players like Lee Sharpe and Andrei Kanchelskis at Manchester United did. Has the great Christiano Ronaldo peaked? Last season, he was being talked up in some quarters as the world’s greatest ever player. Perhaps this was a little premature.

Time will tell, but if Portugal’s current position in their World Cup qualifying group is a fair reflection of their form, then Ronaldo will not even be in South Africa next year. Such a consistent performer in recent qualifying campaigns for his country, it seems he has been under-performing at international level too.

After saying all that, he’ll probably score a hat-rick against Aston Villa on Sunday now. Watch this space….