Cristiano Ronaldo's Euro 2016 final touchline role matched anything he's achieved on the pitch

Tony Evans11 July 2016

Cristiano Ronaldo cried, Luis Figo yawned. The gilt-edged, 24-carat stars who bookended the unfulfilled Portuguese golden-generation era watched from the sidelines as their national side claimed their first significant trophy last night.

Portugal’s 1-0 victory over France in the Stade de France was not powered by galacticos. Ronaldo, the single genuine superstar on show at Euro 2016, was a bit-part player in the final but it is impossible to keep the man from Madeira out of the spotlight.

The Portuguese win was built on a down-to-earth team ethic. The goalscorer, Eder, lasted seven months at Swansea City and was shipped out to Lille in January. Jose Fonte, who made his international debut a month before his 31st birthday, helped beat off repeated French attacks. They and their team-mates confounded the theories that Portugal could not succeed without Ronaldo. Yet their injured captain was still able to show his knack of producing the unexpected.

It seemed that Dimitri Payet’s seventh-minute challenge had ended Ronaldo contribution to this final. He limped about for another 17 minutes before he was carried off on a stretcher. The 31-year-old sobbed.

No one imagined Ronaldo was doing anything more than shedding tears of self-pity. The Real Madrid forward has a reputation for being egocentric. Team-mates become extras in Ronaldo’s triumph. Sometimes he gives the impression that he does not need them to win matches. Annoyingly, this has often been true.

Ronaldo likes to ice his face after games so his skin looks smooth and taut on camera. It was easy to imagine him chilling down those puffy eyes in preparation for the post-match media scrum.

The Ronaldo who emerged from the tunnel during the second half defied expectations. Like his great rival Lionel Messi, the Portuguese had never won an international tournament. Messi retired from playing for Argentina last month after their defeat on penalties by Chile in the Copa America. The Argentinian missed a spot-kick in the final’s shoot-out and walked away from the national team.

The Portugal captain took a different route. He strode into the cauldron of the Stade de France with the intensity of a man who can still contribute to the cause. On the pitch, Ronaldo leads by example rather than encouragement. Last night he morphed into a different kind of talisman. He prowled the sidelines coaxing, cajoling, commanding; demanding his team-mates deliver victory.

Portugal vs France: Euro 2016 final in pictures

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When Raphael Guerreiro was taken off the pitch with cramp deep in extra time, Ronaldo virtually manhandled the defender back on to the playing area, urging fortitude for those nervous final minutes. Sir Alex Ferguson and Jose Mourinho, two of the Portuguese’s former managers, would have nodded their heads in appreciation. There was no attempt to hog the limelight. For once it looked as if the consummate PR professional had forgotten the cameras were following his every move. He shared the technical area with his coach Fernando Santos and even gave the 61-year-old a matey shoulder bump as the seconds ticked down. He looked like he was having fun.

It will be intensely satisfying to Ronaldo that winning the Henri Delaunay Cup gives him the advantage in the ongoing game of one-upmanship with his nemesis Messi. The Barcelona forward may be the best player in the world but World Cups, Copa Americas and Euros are the gold standard of the game’s greats. Last night may well cause Messi to reconsider his self-imposed exile from Argentina.

For Ronaldo, who has been the premier European player for a decade — and briefly the world’s finest before Messi flowered fully — this tournament has enhanced his reputation, even though the wear and tear of age is beginning to show. France 2016 will be remembered for the glimpse of a human Ronaldo as much as his genius. It has been on show too rarely.

Finals like last night’s have been seen too often, though. Figo seemed bored with the action on the pitch and he was not the only one. There was something compelling about Portugal’s performance, though. The build-up in tension as France’s dominance turned to self-doubt gave the game a taut unpredictability.

It was part thriller, part French tragedy, the show enhanced by Portugal’s ensemble cast. For a nation obsessed with golden generations, this was an object lesson in teamwork. The Portuguese squad in Paris might give themselves a different nickname. As the first Portugal side to win a trophy they should settle for this: the silverware generation.

The golden boy was not able to contribute much on the pitch last night but Ronaldo was part of the victory. The way he acted after his injury added to his lustre as much as any gameturning display in his career.

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