RONALDO AND PREZ
Cristiano Ronaldo admits he never imagined he would
become the first player to score 100 European goals when he first started out,
but says he is thrilled and honoured to have achieved the feat.
Ronaldo reached the milestone after netting twice to lead Real Madrid, who trained on Thursday, to a 2-1 comeback
victory over Bayern Munich in Wednesday's Champions League quarter-final first leg.
The Portugal forward was presented with a commemorative
shirt by Real president Florentino Perez on Thursday to mark the
accomplishment, and the 32-year-old said: 'It's a great honour to reach 100
goals in Europe. Yesterday was a special day, with a very important win.
'I'm very happy. I want to thank Real Madrid for the
opportunity to build a wonderful career at this club, and to my team-mates as
well.
'Many thanks to the club, my team-mates and the fans.'
Ronaldo opened his account in Europe while at Manchester
United, scoring in a 3-0 win over Debrecen in August 2005.
That was Ronaldo's only goal in his first 32 European games
for Sporting Lisbon and United, but he has now reached three figures from only
143 matches - all but three of which have come in the Champions League proper.
Ronaldo added: 'When I started scoring goals in the
Champions League, I never imagined I'd beat this record. For me it's an honour
to reach such a difficult figure. I'm absolutely thrilled, really happy.'
The striker's brace at the Allianz Arena helped his side
recover from going behind to Arturo Vidal's opener, with Vidal also wasting a
chance to double the hosts' lead when he missed a penalty.
Ronaldo levelled in the 47th minute and then, after Bayern
saw Javi Martinez sent off just after the hour, the Portuguese superstar netted
a 77th-minute winner.
That result has put reigning champions Madrid in pole
position to reach the semi-finals, but Ronaldo has warned that there is still
work to be done.
He said on his club's website: 'We've got a slight advantage
and I hope the fans can get behind us and help us, because it's going to be a
tough battle. Hopefully Real Madrid win and we get through to the semi-finals.
'We know April will be a difficult, decisive month, and the
team looks good. The coach (Zinedine Zidane) has managed things well, with good
squad rotation, and we're ready for the final stage of the season.'
Madrid defender Sergio Ramos added: 'We've taken a big step
in the tie, but there's still the return leg to come against great opposition,
who have shown that they're one of the favourites to win the competition.'
Bayern forward Thomas Muller admitted the Germans were
pleased in the end to only come away with a 2-1 loss.
'At the end we are happy that it remained 2-1,' he said on
the club website.
'So we still have every chance in Madrid. We have enough
self belief, we have the quality and passion to win in Madrid.'
No comments:
Post a Comment