Belgium to be without their most potent forward

On the Ronaldo media front. Here’s George Boateng, Middlesborough captain leading by example. If you can’t stop him on the pitch, I guess you can always threaten him off the pitch.

thisislondon

Posted from  United States

Get over it. Get a life. Get a good player to talk about… It wasn’t a dive. My advice to the brits, who are old enough to know this, is simply: don’t get mad… get better… You clearly need it.

Posted from  Netherlands

I find this stuff too unbelievable, Luis… (PT) http://www.maiseuro2008.iol.pt/noticia.php?id=788229&div_id=1391

Posted from  Netherlands

My Portuguese isn’t great, but can someone confirm that in the Belgium’s player rectification of his statements, he said “not to spare the shins of the opponents”, well I guess that is better than saying “we are going to take him out in the first 2 minutes”. Unbelievable indeed!

Posted from  Canada

Here’s the original (dutch):
http://www2.vrtnieuws.net/cm/vrtnieuws.net/sporza/voetbal/Rode%2BDuivels/070319_duivels_maandag

I put here now the PT version and I’ve also translated it to ENG (below):

Nicolas Cornu, porta-voz da Federação belga, disse à Lusa ter falado na terça-feira com o guarda-redes e assegura que este defendeu «um jogo agressivo, empenhado na vitória» e as suas declarações foram «mal interpretadas» pelo jornalista da «Gazeta de Antuérpia».

«Aos dois minutos de jogo, devemos agir de maneira a que Ronaldo saia do campo numa maca», é a frase de Stijnen que está na origem da polémica. Questionado ontem pelo jornal Derniere Heure sobre esta declaração, o guarda-redes rectificou, mas não alterou muito o sentido da sua opinião. «Não peço aos meus colegas de equipa que lhe partam uma perna», garante, acrescentando ter querido dizer que a selecção belga «deve jogar com muito carácter» e «não poupar as tíbias» dos adversários.

ENG:

Nicolas Cornu, spokesman of the belgium federation, told Lusa (news agency) to have spoken tuesday with the keeper and states he suported an “agressive match, commited to victory” and that his statements had been misinterpreted.

“On the 2nd minute of the match, we should act in such a way that Ronaldo leaves the pitch on a strecher”. This is Stijnen’s sentence, that caused all the fuss. Questioned yesterday by newspaper Derniere Heure, the keeper corrected his views, but didn’t change much. “I’m not gonna ask my team mates to break one of his legs”, he assures, adding that what he meant was that “the Belgium team should play with a lot of character and should not spare the adversaries shinbones”.

Honestly, I think it’s just a mind game. If they loose the match, they’re really out, I think. We won’t be in a nicer spot neither. But if they really mean business, the world has’n yet seen Petit on a bad day… And I hope they don’t “bite the bate”, like they didn’t against Holland back in the WC…

http://www.maiseuro2008.iol.pt/noticia.php?id=788229&div_id=1391
http://www.maiseuro2008.iol.pt/noticia.php?id=788149&div_id=1391

Posted from  Netherlands

Just a quick question for everyone. In the game vs. Serbia, if you were Vidic and Ronaldo was coming at you with pace would you risk a tough tackle knowing that an injury to CR could seriously dent your clubs title hopes? On the other hand if you don’t tackle him and he gets by you than you look really bad and its not really fair to your National teammates. Just wondering what everyone would do?

Posted from  Canada

Daria, I would make the tackle (with no malicious intent) and I believe most/all professionals would do likewise. World class athletes are extremely competitive, they play in the moment.

Posted from  Canada

also, thanks Pedro for the translation. I tried an internet based free translator but it wasn’t that great, your version seems more accurate.

sidenote to Daria: I think being a respected clubmate, one would be less likely to make malicious/sloppy/rash tackles though!

Posted from  Canada

There are tackles and tackles, Daria… A hard tackle is part of the game. A tackle “made” hard, should not be…

Not being able to steal the ball doesn’t make you look bad, whether against CR or against John Doe. Against CR you even have an excuse, which he doesn’t have, unless he puts up breathtaking performances every weekend.

What DOES make you look bad, is to threat a guy (on the newspaper, on top of it), just cos he’s better than you…

I really don’t know. I just hope it’s a nice football match and that we bring the 3 points home.

Posted from  Netherlands

Frankly, the players’ answers would be more interesting than ours…
I asked a French guy who currently lives in my house about it, and he said that every man from his country would be proud to confirm that he would kill people for his nation. That’s a bit strange, and it’s exactly the reason why I can’t stand l’équipe française.

Posted from  Austria

We’ll sort this out once and for all! Stijnen didn’t mean what he said, he meant that we had to defend hard, not give Ronaldo any space.
The Belgian media just likes to exaggerate, make a big thing out of everything.

And by the way, the biggest fouls were made by the Portugees.

Michael – I’m not sure I agree with your assessment. There were plenty of fouls to go around for both sides, but did you see the obvious penalty on Ronaldo? Wrapping your arm around a guys neck and dragging him down is still a foul, I think. And in the box, a penalty for sure.

Posted from  United States

Worse, Ronaldo got YCed for that?!?!

Posted from  United Arab Emirates