Happy wanderer: Cristiano Ronaldo savours the atmosphere
before kick-off as he sparked an outbreak of hysteria akin to
Beatlemania.
Bearing in mind that Cristiano Ronaldo can be seen
posing, six-pack out, in red Armani underpants on the front cover
of Vanity Fair magazine, it is perhaps provocative to say that he
has had a quiet build-up to the World Cup. But if that had been the
case, it changed on Tuesday.
In the unlikely setting of the Wanderers cricket ground in
Johannesburg, Ronaldo sparked an outbreak of hysteria akin to
Beatlemania.
The former Manchester United star appeared just past the hour
mark in Portugal's 3-0 victory over Mozambique and the noise,
already relentless due to South Africa's vuvuzela phenomenon,
increased markedly.
The two countries, linked from colonial days, and in football
via Eusebio, played for the Goodwill Cup in an atmosphere raucous
with goodwill. At full-time Ronaldo, Portugal's captain now, lifted
the cup, waved to the crowd and was then submerged in a scrum of
photographers.
These were the sort of images that FIFA, the tournament
organizers - not forgetting Portugal - will have been relieved and
delighted to see.
Extra satisfaction will have been derived as this came hours
after the World Cup lost another of its potential stars, and
another Manchester United player, when Nani withdrew from the
Portugal squad with a damaged collar bone.
That news broke early in the afternoon, and was a
depressing addition to Rio Ferdinand, Michael Essien, Michael
Ballack, and possibly Didier Drogba and Arjen Robben. In those
circumstances, the tournament needs all the stardust it can
get.
Thankfully at this magnificent tree-lined ground, some appeared.
Like the arrival of Diego Maradona at Argentina's training session
in Pretoria on Sunday, this acted as another wave of the
anticipation now breaking on the shores of this World Cup.
In one way it was unforeseen. Over the past few weeks Ronaldo
has not received the acres of coverage devoted globally to Lionel
Messi, Wayne Rooney, Drogba or even the Jabulani ball.
But when six minutes after replacing Simao to participate in a
convincing second-half Portuguese performance, Ronaldo lined up a
35-yard free-kick, the Jabulani had lift-off and so did the
Wanderers stadium.
Nani was here to witness his colleagues' effort but it was a
bleak scene. Nani remained in his tracksuit. He has, of course,
blossomed at Old Trafford last season in the wake of Ronaldo's
departure to Real Madrid.
The injury represents a serious blow to manager Carlos Queiroz,
another Portuguese football man born in Mozambique. Portugal, after
all, are in the same group as Brazil and Ivory Coast. Losing Nani
was not part of the gameplan.
But for Nani, read Danny. That is Danny Miguel, a 26-year-old
attacking midfielder who opened the scoring from a typical pass by
Deco. Danny's finish, beating the hitherto rock-solid Mozambique
goalkeeper Otshudi Lama, revealed composure.