By Humberto Viera
08 Nov 2023, 10:34 AM EST
Portuguese coach Fernando Santos regretted that the relationship with star Cristiano Ronaldo was broken after the World Cup in Qatar, when the then coach decided to place CR7 on the substitute bench after the first phase of the tournament.
In an interview given to the magazine “A Bola” collected by the media “AS”, Fernando Santos revealed details about the eight years of coexistence with CR7 while he was in charge of Portugal.
“We do not talk anymore. “I don’t know what day it was, but we didn’t speak from Qatar,” revealed Santos, who also assured that he “had a very strong relationship with Cristiano.”
“We met at Sporting when he was only 19 years old and that relationship has strengthened since we met at the Seleção. We always get along very well. The expression is a little strong, but almost like father and son, or younger brother and older brother. We had a very close and very strong relationship, both professionally and personally. “I made a decision that was strategic in Qatar,” the strategist recalled.
Santos remembers that Cristiano “in the second half of 2022 he lived six terrible months. He lived with that misfortune that befell his home and his family. That moment affected him a lot and then there is the sporting part. Cristiano did not do the preseason. He spent two months without training.”
“In terms of the pace of play, it was at its worst. He had no rhythm. We tried, during the matches prior to the World Cup, and then in the first matches in Qatar, to give him the rhythm of the game, which was what he was lacking (…) his substitution was a strategic issue,” explains the veteran coach.
“During the first games I felt that strategically for Portugal it was better. And for him it could be better too. The thought was like this: ‘I want to change this a little, I need someone with other types of characteristics.’ But he continued to be very important,” adds Santos in the interview.
Cristiano Ronaldo was a substitute in the round of 16 against Switzerland (6-1 with a hat trick from Gonçalo Ramos) and in the defeat against Morocco (0-1) in the quarterfinals.
“Right now I would make the same decision. It was a strategic decision. First I have to think about the team and I thought strategically that it was the best decision. My technical team and I discussed this matter, it was not an easy decision,” Santos recalled.
“I separate the professional side from the personal side very well. My relationship with Cristiano has not changed at all. I hope that one day the current situation will change. If it doesn’t happen, I’m patient. I’m sad, but…” concluded the Portuguese strategist.
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