Can Cristiano Ronaldo Lead Portugal to Euro 2016 Success This Summer?

It all seemed so easy for Cristiano Ronaldo in the summer of 2004.

Twelve years ago, a 19-year-old Ronaldo helped Portugal reach the final of the European Championships.

This was a different Ronaldo; slimmer, less muscular and even less confident on the ball, but his raw talent was still obvious, and it helped take the hosts Portugal to their first ever final of a major championships.

Emerging from the shadows of Luis Figo as his country’s most important player, Ronaldo earned a place in the team of the tournament, and scored twice, including when Portugal beat the Netherlands in the semi-finals.

It meant Portugal arrived for the final at the Estadio da Luz along the streets of Lisbon crammed with excited fans who appeared to already be hailing them as the winners. It was fate. This was their moment.

Of course there would be no happy ending, and in the tournament’s biggest-ever shock, it was instead Greece who became European champions with a 1-0 win.

This proved to be a devastating loss for the young and tearful Ronaldo, but it seemed that a player with his genius would soon win a tournament.

Since then Ronaldo has won every trophy possible in club football with Manchester United and Real Madrid, as well as his three prized Ballon d’Ors, but a trophy on the international stage has so far proved beyond him.

Ronaldo has got close, taking his country to a semi-final appearance at both the 2006 World Cup finals and the last European Championships in Poland and Ukraine, but he has failed to repeat the success of 2004.

Having already turned …

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