31.05.2019 » Cristiano Ronaldo season review - First year in Italy
Cristiano Ronaldo has completed his first full season at Juventus, with the Portuguese superstar guiding the Bianconeri to their eight consecutive Serie A title, Supercoppa Italia and the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League. While Juventus did not win any European trophy – against what some of the best betting deals were suggesting ahead of the start of the Champions League knockout stages – this season can't be called a bad one for the five-time Ballon d'Or star for sure. Although, it can be said that the Old Lady may not have had a great season but without a doubt, Ronaldo just proved once again why he's known as the greatest footballer in the world. Dominating the Premier League in England with Manchester United and having conquered La Liga with Real Madrid in Spain, the 34-year-old grabbed hold of the throne in Italy with Juventus in his debut season, so one can say the Portuguese had a successful campaign in yet another country.
Cristiano Ronaldo - All his 28 goals for Juventus in 2018-19:
Numbers' Game
The forward won the MVP award recently because of the way he impacted and changed the landscape of the Old Lady. Let's talk stats first. The Portuguese international netted 27 goals, the fourth highest in Italy's top tier and provided 11 assists in all competitions for the Serie A champions. All that in 28 starts and one substitute appearance.
In the Champions League, Ronaldo recorded six goals to his name and provided two assists in nine matches – being the only scorer for all of Juventus's goals in the knockout stages of the competition. It was Ronaldo who single-handedly lifted his side into the quarter-finals of the Europe's elite competition, with a memorable hat-trick against old-nemesis Atletico Madrid at their home ground.
The Serie A Player of the Year winner smashed 177 shots this season, more than any other striker in the entire Europe this season and provided 48 key passes for his side...
Cristiano Ronaldo was known as the goal-scoring machine for Real Madrid, having netted 451 goals in 438 appearances for the club. However, many believed to see the 34-year-old be more of an impactful, complete team player as well.
This time, he looked sharper, quicker and improved his vision of reading the game for his teammates, being able to go past opponents, making intelligent runs and finding his teammates at the right time and space shows how much the forward has improved his involvement within the game by simply accelerating his qualities to another level altogether.
Records broken
Ronaldo already cemented his name in the history books of the Serie A just within the first half of the season, by breaking a few records with ease. The Portuguese talisman scored 10 times in the next 10 games after the fourth match of the season, and became the joint-fasted 10 goals in Juventus history.
The former Manchester United legend also managed to win his 100th Champions League game with Juve's 1-0 win against Valencia during group-stages.
The former Sporting forward scored against Genoa in October, which helped him become the first player to grab 400 league goals in Europes "top five leagues" by playing for the biggest clubs – Manchester United, Real Madrid and now, Juventus. Ronaldo also became the fastest Juventus player in history to reach the 10-goal mark in a debut season, in just 16 appearances. And, the winger managed to write his name by being the goal-scorer for the Old Lady's 5000th Serie A goal.
Impact in Juventys and Italy
After arriving from Real Madrid on a 100-million-euro deal, plus a reported 30 million euros a year, the Italian media hailed such a signing as "the deal of the century".
The club's value at the Stock exchange in Milan, reached a staggering 133 per cent due to his arrival last July. Shares jumped by 30 per cent after his magical hat-trick that pushed the Serie A champions into the quarter-finals of the Champions League. Of course, his shirt was the most bought in Italy as well.
The Madrid and United legend brought the world's attention to Italian football and changed the tag of the Serie A into making them look like a serious league to follow. The Portuguese talisman proved that despite Juventus dominating the league since the past eight years, the Italian league still remains a platform where the best players can perform at their highest level.
What's Next?
With the arrival of a new manager and somehow making a statement during this summer's signing, Juventus need to pull every strings possible to make sure Cristiano Ronaldo is used in the right manner for him to grant them their long-awaited European trophy as the five-time Ballon d’Or needs a system and a group of young-talented blood to follow the experienced five-time trophy holder of the Champions League to be next year's winners.
For now, Ronaldo will head into the off-season break as the goal-scorer targets to fire Portugal in the UEFA Nations League glory, with their first meeting against Switzerland next week.
However, let's all agree to the fact -- without thinking twice – that Cristiano Ronaldo's debut season for Juventus has very much been a success.
Author: Ali Mangi
Cristiano Ronaldo next game for Portugal is for the UEFA Nations League on June 5 of 2019, against Switzerland. You can watch Portugal vs Switzerland, USA vs Jamaica, France vs Bolivia, Liverpool vs Tottenham, Brazil vs Qatar, and Belarus vs Germany, all matches provided from our live footy game pages.
Portugal next game:
Portugal vs Switzerland kick-off time (05-06-2019):
Beijing (China) | UTC/GMT+8: 02:45
Jakarta (Indonesia) | UTC/GMT+7: 01:45
India (New Delhi) | UTC/GMT+5.30: 00:15
Italy (Turin) | UTC/GMT+2: 20:45
Spain (Madrid) | UTC/GMT+2: 20:45
Portugal and England (Lisbon/London) | UTC/GMT+1: 19:45
Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) | UTC/GMT-3: 15:45
New York (United States) | UTC/GMT-4: 14:45
Los Angeles (United States) | UTC/GMT-7: 11:45
Sources: ronaldo7.net / cnn.com / goal.com / ft.com
