Heavy symbolism tends to align itself with the sporting greats as their ascent carries pace, given our unquenchable fascination with how they might measure up against the heroes of the past.
For Cristiano Ronaldo, it was there from the get-go in international football. In a friendly against Kazakhstan on August 20, 2003 — four days on from a headline-grabbing debut for Manchester United against Bolton Wanderers — the then 18-year-old winger won his first cap as a halftime substitute for Portugal great Luis Figo.
Over the previous decade, Figo had been the leading light of a golden generation that saw Portugal emerge from the international wilderness with strong showings at Euro 1996 and Euro 2000.
The core of those Selacao sides were drawn from the rich crop of youth talent that won back-to-back Youth World Cups in 1989 and 1991, including the likes of Paulo Sousa, Fernando Couto, Joao Pinto and Rui Costa. Figo was the standout and starred in Portugal's run to the semi-finals of Euro 2000 despite the tumultuous circumstances of his incendiary transfer from Barcelona to Real Madrid crackling away in the background.
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In 2004, Portugal hosted the European Championship and there was an expectation they could go one better despite failing to get out of the group stage at the 2002 World Cup. The Figo generation would enjoy a last hurrah and there was an exciting youngster or two to crank up the excitement.
Plus, a brash up-and-coming coach by the name of Jose Mourinho had just led Porto to Champions League glory in 2003/04, having won the UEFA Cup the previous season. Portuguese football was on the crest of an unprecedented wave.
Ronaldo certainly made a mark, for better and worse, in the tournament opener. Starting on the bench against Greece, he was brought on at the interval for Simao Sabrosa after Georgios Karagounis pounced on an error from freshly minted Champions League winner Paulo Ferreira to give the underdogs the lead.
His first meaningful involvement was one to forget, with Ronaldo's clumsy foul on Giourkas Seitaridis allowing Angelos Basinas to convert from the penalty spot.
Portugal's players and an expectant crowd at Porto's Estadio do Dragao were shellshocked but Ronaldo stuck to the task dutifully in dire circumstances. He rose highest in stoppage time to head home a Figo corner for a first international goal. In the next game against Russia, Ronaldo came on for Figo and supplied the assist for Rui Costa's game-sealing goal in a 2-0 win.
Head coach Luiz Felipe Scolari had seen enough to know the teenager could be trusted on the big occasion and they did not come much bigger than an Iberian derby against Spain with a place in the knockout stages on the line.
🇵🇹 Fancy footwork from a young Cristiano Ronaldo 😎
— UEFA EURO 2024 (@EURO2024) July 20, 2022
What’s your favourite skill move? 🕺@selecaoportugal | @Cristiano pic.twitter.com/l3Wmwcke3H
Ronaldo was handed a start and almost opened the scoring before halftime. Figo teed up Nuno Gomes for the winner that saw Portugal top Group A and dump Spain out on goal difference. That felt like a huge boost because, surely, runners-up Greece wouldn't cause them any more trouble.
A 120-minute ordeal followed versus England. A 1-1 scoreline at fulltime was 2-2 at the end of extra time. Ronaldo remained on the field at the end to dispatch his penalty before goalkeeper Ricardo proved to be the hero — saving from Darius Vassell without his gloves on before hammering home the decisive kick.
Ronaldo truly came to the party in the semi-finals, opening the scoring and providing the assist for Maniche as the Netherlands were beaten 2-1. In the final, it was Greece again.
Sensationally, lightning struck twice. Angelos Charisteas scored the only goal for Otto Rehhagel's men. Ronaldo was the player who raged most effectively against the dying of the light and his tears at fulltime stole the hearts of a nation in a similar manner to Paul Gascoigne with England at the 1990 World Cup.
Most inspiring EURO story? 🥰
— UEFA EURO 2024 (@EURO2024) July 4, 2022
🇬🇷 #OTD in 2004, Greece were crowned European champions 🏆
⚽️ Angelos Charisteas@EthnikiOmada | #EURO2024 pic.twitter.com/Fu0mgP08ZR
The breakthrough performances of their fearless teen star helped to convince Portugal fans that the end of the Figo era would not herald years in the wilderness, as had been the case after Eusebio's show-stealing turn at the 1966 World Cup.
Four decades on from those defining performances in England, Portugal qualified for the 2006 edition in Germany. It was the first time in the country's history they had made
back-to-back World Cups.
MORE: MESSI & RONALDO: DESTINATION MUNDIAL | HOME
Ronaldo's star remained on the rise at United under the guidance of Sir Alex Ferguson. One of his main allies at Old Trafford would end up being a central figure in a World Cup incident that helped to steer the course of the single-minded footballing phenomenon we know today.
Portugal cruised through the group with three wins out of three but there were fears Ronaldo's tournament might be over when he was injured by a dreadful tackle from Netherlands defender Khalid Boulahrouz during the last 16.
That match was subsequently dubbed the ‘Battle of Nuremberg' as Boulahrouz was one of four players sent off, with the game ending nine-a-side. Maniche's goal meant Scolari's side emerged bloodied but unbowed and Ronaldo was back for the quarters.
🏴🇵🇹 England-Portugal, 2006: A tale of two acts 😡😉@WayneRooney | @Cristiano pic.twitter.com/y7SbK7afN9
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) May 29, 2022
England again. Penalties again. But first a flashpoint that did so much to shape perceptions of how a generational talent went about his business on the football field. Wayne Rooney, Ronaldo's United teammate, came into the tournament nursing a foot injury. Shy of form, fitness and much attacking support of any description in Sven-Goran Eriksson's squad, Rooney snapped and trod all over Ricardo Carvalho in a particularly sensitive area following a tangle with the Portugal centre-back.
In the ensuing melee, Ronaldo dashed over to make his feelings clear over what Rooney's fate should be. He got a shove in the chest from his club colleague before referee Horacio Elizondo flashed the red card. Then Ronaldo winked knowingly at the Portugal bench — an act of such duplicity where Rooney was concerned that in the eyes of some, admittedly mostly English, observers, it was a crime worse than trampling all over a fellow professional's testicles.
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After netting the decisive penalty and roaring with slightly maniacal delight having downed England, Ronaldo was booed during Portugal's semifinal against France by sections of the Munich crowd, at least some of whom you'd have thought would rather not see Zinedine Zidane inspire Les Bleus to a 1-0 win. He was passed over in favour of Germany's Lukas Podolski when the young player of the tournament was named.
Three years prior to his move to Real Madrid and the defining rivalries that his record-breaking stint in the Spanish capital would incubate, Ronaldo had his first chance to try on the anti-hero costume for size. He liked how it fitted.
Barracked at most Premier League grounds he visited the next season, Ronaldo inspired United to the first of three consecutive Premier League titles. He and Rooney buried the hatchet effectively and prolifically.
"In that 2006-07 season, he was breathtaking. He had fire in his belly, hunger," former United captain Gary Neville told Sky Sports in 2020. "He came back from the 2006 World Cup and his maturity had changed. His appearance and physical attributes completely changed overnight.
"He was scrawny, wiry and not very strong and then all of a sudden he was a super-middleweight boxer. He was incredible from a strength point of view and the ability to leap, change direction… everything fell into place. From that moment on you knew he was going to be really special."
In the space of two years, the tear-stained kid who mothers across Portugal wanted to hold close had become a young man who needed no looking after at all. Ronaldo was ruthless and ready to rule.
Credits and acknowledgements
The Sporting News was fortunate enough to speak to a number of experts on Portuguese and Argentine football to enhance the Messi & Ronaldo: Destination Mundial series. We would like to thank the following people for their time and input – please do check out their superb work.
Santi Bauza: Argentinian football journalist and content creator, whose credits include Copa 90, CNN and Hand of Pod.
Dan Edwards: Freelance football journalist based in Argentina, formerly the long-time South America correspondent for Goal.com.
Peter Coates: Editor of Golazo Argentino.
Simon Curtis: Portuguese football expert and co-author of The Thirteenth Chapter.
Aaron Barton: Creator of English-language Portuguese football destination Proxima Journada.
Tom Kundert: Creator of PortuGOAL and co-author of The Thirteenth Chapter
Joshua Robinson & Jonathan Clegg: Wall Street Journal sports reporters and authors of Messi vs. Ronaldo: One Rivalry, Two GOATs, and the Era That Remade the World's Game
NEXT: PART 2 | THE SECOND COMING
