“I am at Manchester, heart and soul”

2006-08-24
Cristiano Ronaldo passed his first test of whistling “with a lot of concentration”


“There’s only one Ronaldo”. The chant was repeated endlessly by the Manchester United fan during the game against Charlton, but mostly at the end, when the Portuguese player shifted the bench to thank his supporters. He closed his fist, beat his chest on the United emblem, and was delirious. “I was saying to them that they are here, inside. I wanted to thank them in a clear way for all the support they gave me, and that they particularly gave me in this game, and I told them that I am at Manchester in heart and soul”, explained Cristiano Ronaldo to Gestifute Media, moments before leaving The Valley.

During the game, whistles were heard. Cristiano knew this would happen. “It’s a phenomenon that’s going to happen every time we play away, but I’m calm”, he assured. But still with a vivid experience of this night, his first test which he ended up passing with distinction. “I concentrated hard on the game and the moment the whistling started I tried to make sure that it was nothing to do with me, that is, I tried to think just about the game”, he justified. Of course the noise reached his ears. “I had to hear it, I’m not deaf”, he joked, before saying that he ended up blocking his ears and dedicating himself exclusively to the game.

A game which mirrored the superiority of Manchester throughout the 90 minutes and that ended with the team of Cristiano Ronaldo having an advantage over their rivals Chelsea (who lost yesterday). “In the first half we hit the post, and the crossbar [this with his own right foot], but we never stopped believing that victory was possible”, recorded the player who Gestifute represent, recognising that the slip-up by Chelsea “was important”, given that Manchester United now has a points advantage. “We are going to keep playing as we have been because this season will be even longer than last season, and we know that the title is a long way off”.

At the individual level, Cristiano Ronaldo felt better in this second match, and promised “to get better with each game that goes by”, of which his next starts next Saturday. “Everything should keep going as well with these first two games” is the biggest wish of the player who, tonight, practically silenced The Valley.