Last Saturday, Antonio Cassano ignited the controversy in Italian football with explosive statements. “I think he failed,” said the former footballer about Cristiano Ronaldo’s performance at Juventus.
According to him, the idea of signing the Portuguese was due to the urgent desire to win the Champions League, a title that avoided the Bianconera team more recently in 2015 and 2017. With CR7 in the last two years, things have not changed.
Now, everything Cristiano did could be classified as a “failure”? Here we show you his numbers and performances since he left his boyfriend Real Madrid to start a new adventure in his career.
“El Bambino” claimed in the media that, with Ronaldo on the field, “they did worse than before” in the top European competition. The most recent three editions of the competition, without Cristiano obviously, left a balance of elimination in the round of 16 (2015-16), the second final (2016-17) and elimination in the quarterfinals (2017-18); the other two with the Portuguese finished in the quarterfinals (2018-19), eighth (2019-20) and are currently in the eighth final against Porto (match they lost in the first leg with 1-2).
Thus, in terms of results, it could be said that it works evenly. It remains to be seen what can happen this season. Of course, the need for the title is non-negotiable.
On the other hand, it is worth detailing the Portuguese’s influence in each of the two editions she played. In 18-19 he scored six of the 14 goals scored by his team in the tournament, almost 50% of the production. He was also a great hero in the round of 16 against Atlético de Madrid with a treble (3-2 globally) and scored the only two goals for his team in a draw against Ajax (2-3 globally). Absolutely nothing to blame.
The following season, his goal-scoring output dropped to four goals in eight games, but he still appeared in the second round with a double against Lyon, but did not reach a goal difference. Thus, it can be said without any problem that he fulfilled in scoring. He appeared in the brackets of direct elimination with at least two goals, which few footballers manage to score, and was the MVP of his club in those games.
Cassano’s other argument is that “Cristiano doesn’t fit in with Andrea (Pirlo) ‘s ideas”, a situation he compared to Maurizio Sarri and, in this sense, “participates a little … these three years ”.
Now, analyzing Cristiano’s statistics in previous seasons, the sample of his participation and influence is demonstrated.
In the 2018-19 season he scored 28 goals and gave 10 assists, ie he generated 38 goal actions in 43 games. He finished fourth in the scoreboard and fifth in the assistant table. Also, of course, to score the only goal in achieving the Super League that year.
He finished 19-20 with an average of 0.8 goals per game, producing 37 goals and five assists in 46 games. In the League he scored 31 of the 76 goals for his team, almost half of them were his!
Currently, under the baton of Andrea Pirlo, his performance has gone further. He has 26 goals and three assists in 29 matches, a situation that leaves him with a guaranteed direct participation in every match at Juventus. All this with 36 years.
Thus, during these three years at “Vecchia Signora”, CR7 participated directly in 109 goals (91 scoring and 18 assists) in the 118 games they played. If you participate a little, such as if you participate a lot.
Based on all the above, it is undeniable that the great duty of the Portuguese star goes through the titles, being something collective. It’s clear. However, analyzing his individual performances, there is no doubt that he managed to offer and gave the team a quality leap. Perhaps the final equipment is missing, the total responsibility of the service coach, so that his voracious scoring completes a firm, organized and efficient system.