Tears and sweat for fading star

Portugal's Ronaldo is not the force he once used to be and that could hurt their chances going forward in the Euros

- SWAROOP SWAMINTHAN

IT'S that now iconic pose you have likely seen more times than you have wanted to. Cristiano Ronaldo sizing up a freekick in the vicinity of the penalty box. On more than one occasion in the pre-quarterfinals against Slovenia on Monday, the Portugal captain struck a similar pose. A few metres away from the dead ball, the 39-year-old stood and scanned the vast green grass in front of him, like a predator.

Unfortunately for him, that's when the fun stopped. He struck the ball sweetly enough but it didn't trouble the keeper, Jan Oblak. You could even say only the pose is iconic, everything that follows isn't. After the end of the Slovenia game, one of the sport's greatest goalscorers had taken 60 direct freekicks at all major senior international competitions. He had converted just one. Of course, this isn't to talk about Ronaldo's competence when standing over a dead-ball.