Spanish Cesc Fabregas, coach of the Como team, said that his team’s match against Inter Milan on Sunday will be a major test to measure the progress the team has made.
Inter Milan, which is in second place, lost its unbeaten record in the Italian League this season after losing 3-1 to its traditional rival Milan in the city derby last week, and the blue and black team is seeking to return to victories in the competition.
For its part, Como's team is having a very distinguished season, as it occupies fourth place, only two places behind Inter Milan, and has achieved six consecutive victories in various competitions, the last of which was a landslide victory over French club Lens 9-1 in the Champions League.
In a press conference, Fabregas said: “It seems that you ask me every week about a new test of our team’s maturity.”
He added: "We knew that this season would be exceptional for us. There is great motivation, but we are well aware of our path."
He continued: “This is an important match; Because we are going through a good period, but it remains just a test to see how far we can reach. Inter Milan remains the strongest team in Italy, and we will see our true level after this confrontation.”
It is noteworthy that Inter Milan represents a node for Cuomo since his promotion in 2024.
In the six confrontations between the two teams since that rise, Como did not succeed in achieving any victory over Inter Milan, and was content with a single draw in the first leg of the Italian Cup semi-final, while losing in the other five matches.
Perhaps nothing is more difficult for an elite athlete than choosing the right time to retire. It is not easy for anyone, in any profession, to balance the hope of doing more with the desire not to stay longer than necessary; But it becomes more difficult for top athletes, because excessive - and sometimes unrealistic - self-confidence is an essential element in their success. Reaching the top requires a level of self-confidence that may seem unhealthy; One needs to dedicate one's life to a risky profession, overcoming all obstacles, injuries and failures. How can someone who has spent his entire life convincing himself that he is capable of conquering anything impossible, accept the idea that the journey is over, and that it is time to say goodbye?
In fact, the news of Cristiano Ronaldo's retirement from international football is sad, because we will no longer see him skillfully go past defenders, or score goals with powerful headers; Because the end of any great player's career reminds us of the fact that things are fleeting, everything in this life must end one day. But there is also another kind of sadness, related to his poor choice of timing for his retirement from international football. Over the course of at least three tournaments, there was a feeling that Ronaldo's presence had become an obstacle to the Portuguese national team. At the 2022 World Cup, Portugal coach Fernando Santos made - albeit belatedly - the decision to exclude Ronaldo from the starting lineup for the round of 16 match against Switzerland. Suddenly, the Portuguese national team gained a fluidity and flexibility in performance that it had lacked for years. In fact, the player who replaced Ronaldo, Goncalo Ramos, succeeded in scoring three goals (a hat-trick) in that match. This seemed conclusive evidence that Ronaldo's career had reached its end, or at least, that his role should be limited to being a substitute player who could make a difference when he took to the field.
However, even in the final minutes of that match, half the crowd was chanting Ronaldo's name. Some of them may have been Portuguese fans, but many were just tourists who didn't care much about the result or who would qualify; All they wanted was to see the famous star performing his famous moves. Towards the end, Ronaldo scored a goal that was clearly an offside position. He knew he was offside, but he also knew what his audience expected; So he celebrated the goal in his famous way, only to be met with the loudest cheering of the night. It was like watching Elvis Presley at the end of his career in Las Vegas; It no longer matters that he is no longer the singer he once was, because at the end of the day, he is still Elvis Presley. But the difference here is that Elves was not carrying Portugal's World Cup hopes on his shoulders!
When a player enjoys such overwhelming stardom, and remains the center of attention no matter how slow or heavy his movements seem, making the decision to retire becomes more difficult. By virtue of his status as the most prominent soft power exported by Portugal, Ronaldo has also turned into a political issue. One minister publicly stated that Ronaldo could not be left out of the squad, given the amount of revenue he brings in and what he represents for the Portugal brand. Portugal is not a country full of international stars. Ronaldo's presence continued at Euro 2024, where he was seen crying after missing a penalty kick against Slovenia. The extent of his fame and his inflated “ego” distorted reality, so that everything became centered around him, ignoring the presence of other extremely talented players on the team. Incredibly, this situation continued at this summer's World Cup; He was disrupting the flow of play, constantly demanding the ball, and sometimes he would move towards the left wing to block Rafael Leao. At one point during the match against Spain - which turned out to be his last match in the World Cup - Ronaldo launched a counterattack, but he lacked speed, which forced him to turn the ball back and pass it to his full-back, wasting the opportunity completely. There was something almost painful about seeing a player who was once a symbol of footballing explosiveness and speed end up in this situation.
Therefore, some intervention was necessary. This generation of Portuguese players - who have the ability to compete for major titles, not just the European Nations League - could not continue to suffer while carrying this heavy burden on their shoulders. It came from Jorge Jesus, the admirably frank 72-year-old national coach who took office after the World Cup. Jesus Cristiano Ronaldo was not included in the second half of a tight match that ended with Portugal defeating Norway. Despite Ronaldo's claim that he was promised playing minutes - and even if there was such an agreement, it would be illogical to deprive the coach of his right to adapt to the circumstances of the match - Ronaldo left the camp angry. This behavior may indicate that his excessive self-esteem is negatively affecting his judgment on matters. Ronaldo asked the coach to admit his “mistake” during a press conference, which the coach did not do, which prompted the Portuguese star to leave the team.
Although he became the first player to score in six different editions of the World Cup, during the edition that was held in the summer of this year, the biggest controversy surrounding the Portuguese national team revolved around whether he should continue as an automatic starter. His participation in recent tournaments seemed like a flammable fuse, as cameras were constantly watching for any reaction from him when he was replaced or excluded from the starting lineup. At a time when the Portuguese national team has a golden generation of players, this excessive focus on Ronaldo seemed to be a distraction for the team. In a statement last June, Ronaldo said: “It is always like this. When things go well, they say (Cristiano is a good player), and when they go bad, they say (Cristiano is a retired player, he is old). This is how things will always be.”
Assuming that the decision to retire from international football was not merely a maneuver to pressure Jesus’ departure, the story ended there: a fine of 255 euros and a 30-day suspension during a period in which Portugal was not playing any matches. Ronaldo will now return to the Saudi Professional League to continue his quest to score his thousandth goal. The Portuguese Football Federation, for its part, announced its intention to organize a tribute to Ronaldo, “through which fans and the entire country can once again celebrate a player who has given us so much,” according to the federation’s statement. But the irony is that a press report revealed that the Portuguese star rejected the proposal of the Football Association in his country to honor him after he announced his retirement from international football. The Portuguese newspaper Observador reported that Ronaldo refuses to return again to play a final match in a Portuguese shirt to honor him due to the tension in his relationship with Jesus, the current coach. The newspaper added that a phone call between Ronaldo and Jesus was scheduled to take place on Thursday, arranged by the President of the Portuguese Football Federation, Pedro Proensa, but this step did not take place. She pointed out that Ronaldo, a five-time Ballon d'Or winner, does not intend to communicate again with the Portugal national team coach, so the idea of extending a final official invitation to him as a form of honor has been ruled out.
Jesus had told Portuguese Channel 11 about Ronaldo’s retirement: “This is his decision alone.” We actually had a chance to talk about this before the first recall. I asked him to stay with me because I needed him by my side, but I have to accept his decision. He is a global role model, a role model for Portugal and the national team. He is a player who has given a lot to the national team over all these years. It is a symbol of Portuguese youth, and most of its fans are young people. I had the opportunity to work with him for a year at Al-Nassr. He will always remain a symbol of our national team, our people and our history.”
Ronaldo was an exceptional player, and will always be remembered as one of the greatest players in history, and a rival to Eusebio for the title of the greatest player in Portuguese history, but his history was undoubtedly damaged by being in international football for too long, and by the feeling that a player who was at his best able to decide matches on his own, eventually became a burden on his national team. His international career was great, but it could have been better if it had been a little shorter!
* The Guardian service
