Why playing Ronaldo on the wing can keep him centre stage for longer

Liga
Why playing Ronaldo on the wing can keep him centre stage for longer

With Cristiano Ronaldo’s declining assist rate, Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane has made a tactical tweak to get the 31-year-old back to his absolute all-round best, writes Graham Ruthven.

There was once a banner displayed at the Santiago Bernabeu that depicted Cristiano Ronaldo in a way that wasn’t quite to his liking. Standing as he does before a free-kick – chest puffed out, shoulders raised – his figure was shown as a Transformer of some kind. Optimus Prime Goalscorer, perhaps. But the Portuguese was rumoured not to have taken too kindly to the portrayal.

It was surely meant as a compliment, playing on the notion that the Real Madrid number seven is as close to a footballing robot as there is. He has been so good over the past six years that it’s only reasonable to assume that someone somewhere deserves credit for building him in a lab. Ronaldo, however, took it as a slight on his often mechanical public persona.

Of course, that perception is of Ronaldo’s own making. There is not a more conscious player in world football, with the winger very deliberately becoming more of a centre-forward to combat the natural effects of ageing. In that sense, he probably wishes he was a robot.

Indeed, as a forward playing as the focal point of Real Madrid’s attack Ronaldo has been able to increase his efficiency, only expending energy when he really needs to or when it most likely it will result in a goal. And that is currency with which Ronaldo counts his efficiency – goals.

It might not be enough any longer, though. His scoring record for this season is still as astonishing as ever – netting 34 times in 32 appearances for Real Madrid – but his contribution has been notably on the wane. The notoriously harsh Madrid press has noticed – calling him out on a seemingly weekly basis – and Zinedine Zidane has noticed too.

But unlike Rafael Benitez before him, Zidane has taken steps to arrest Ronaldo’s declining influence. The former Ballon d’Or and World Cup winner has gone against the grain of what the player himself believed to be best for him. When some claim Zidane has found a way to revive the old Ronaldo, they really mean it.

Under Zidane, Ronaldo has been restored as a winger. Against Espanyol and in the following match against Athletic Bilbao, the Portuguese was told to predominantly stay on the flanks, resulting in Ronaldo producing his two best performances of the season so far. He scored five goals and contributed an assist over those two games, illustrating the worth of Zidane’s tactical tweak.

Naturally, Ronaldo’s instinct still sees him cut inside with frequency, often interchanging positions with Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale. But when Zidane has played him as a winger, the 31-year-old has looked back to something nearing his best. Recent injuries to Benzema and Bale have meant Zidane has had little choice but to field Ronaldo as a central forward (as he did in the 1-1 draw against Malaga on Sunday). The Real boss now at least has an idea of how to make the most of his prolific player, though.

Zidane has prepared for Ronaldo’s future by looking at his past. At Manchester United the player was his bombastic best. There is no doubt that in Spain he has become a true legend of the sport, with his goalscoring exploits beyond anything previously achieved, but it was in England – when he played predominantly on the wing – that the Portuguese was a real show-stopper.

There was a freedom to his play that has perhaps been restricted in recent years. With Ronaldo more concerned with winning and his general performance than his goals tally, the Portuguese was a more enjoyable player. He was easier to appreciate, easier to love and embrace. That is the player Zidane wants to uncover once more.

It goes against convention that Ronaldo can eke out the best of his remaining years out on the wings – where he has to run harder and for longer. Logically, the number nine role is where Ronaldo should be best served as his physicality declines, but Zidane has proved the contrary to be true.

With Bale still sidelined through injury, and Benzema also a doubt, it seems unlikely that Ronaldo will be used as an archetypal winger against Atletico Madrid on Saturday. Instead, Zidane will probably play him as something of a lone forward supported by either Jese Rodriguez or James Rodriguez (who is also struggling with a thigh injury). Against a defensive unit as strong as Atleti’s, Ronaldo might find it particularly tough going.

The old Ronaldo might never truly return. No matter what the Real Madrid support depict, he isn’t a Transformer and at 31 his game has suffered of late – and will continue to suffer in the coming years as natural decline sets in. But by recapturing the essence of the old Ronaldo, Zidane might find a way to keep his best player at the top for a little while longer.