Cristiano Ronaldo is always a matter of discussion among football fans and critics. And now, for all the Czech fans who will support the national team, in this evening’s debut against Portugal in the European Championships in Germany, it will be a nightmare. But not for Karel Poborskyformer midfielder elected 4th best Czech footballer of the decade by the Czech magazine Lidové noviny.
The former Manchester United and Lazio midfielder – among others – instead wants to see CR7 on the pitch and as a starter because he considers the Portugal captain one of coach Martinez’s weak links. The scorer of the famous hat-trick against Vítor Baía, which allowed the Czech Republic to beat the Selecao 1-0 in the quarter-finals of Euro ’96, told the Czech news agency CTK the following.
The broadside. “I take my hat off to what he did, thanks to his enormous self-confidence,” began the 52-year-old Czech. However, he added: “I’ve been saying for a long time that he will be one of Portugal’s weakest elements if he starts. The fans of both teams – the words gathered by Record – will go crazy for him but, at his age, he’s not that good to build the game and press. This is why I prefer him to start (from the beginning, ed.)”, Poborský’s comment is more similar to a poisonous dig towards the former Juventus striker.
