Fernando Santos: Cristiano Ronaldo needs help from his teammates in Euro 2016
Portugal coach Fernando Santos believes Cristiano Ronaldo cannot lead team to Euro 2016 glory alone, but says he will crucial to what they do in France.
With host France, World Champions Germany and defending Champions Spain are favorite to lift the crown in summer, Portugal have outside chance of winning the Euros, and their progression in competition heavily relies on Real Madrid forward, who has been struggling with injures in recent weeks.
“Ronaldo is important for Real Madrid, but he is at least as important for Portugal, if not more,” Santos told Marca.
Fernando Santos: Cristiano Ronaldo needs help from his teammates in Euro 2016
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“If you have a player who scores 50 or 60 goals per season, someone who could score from out of nowhere, he is always going to be important. It’s impossible to quantify how important he is.
“But not even Cristiano can do it all on his own. Nobody can win games on his own. You are always going to need your team-mates’ help. But there is no denying he is hugely important.”
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“We are always talking about players having to be 100 per cent, but that’s not the reality. There are always exceptions,” Santos added.
“Ideally, everybody would be 100 per cent fit, but nobody would leave out Cristiano if he is at 80 per cent. We are keeping a close eye on his fitness.
“It would be different had he been seriously injured. We would not have called him up if we thought he couldn’t play.”
They needed to rest,” Santos told Spanish sports magazine Marca. “It’s better for everyone that they arrive happy and with that extra bounce after achieving their aims.”
If we think of the generation of players we have had, it’s about time,” Santos said.
“Portugal should have already won a European title but just like Spain, they took their time and now they have managed to win several trophies.”