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Where does Cristiano Ronaldo rank?
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Was last season the best we've seen at that spot?
Along with the Champions League draw today, we had the unveiling of the UEFA European Club Footballer of the Year – given to Cristiano Ronaldo. He was also given the forward of the year award.
While the current season is already underway, it’s worth diving back into Ronaldo’s epic 2007-08 season just for a second on the day of this award. Yes, he might dive, and wear too much hair gel, and look like he’s going to lose it every time he stands over a free kick, but he is undeniably one of if not the best player in the world at the moment.
42 goals overall, 31 in the Premiership season, three in the FA Cup, and eight in the Champions League including the first goal in the Moscow final. Obviously he played a huge part in the double that came home to Old Trafford last season, and that becomes more evident with each game he misses in this young season as the Reds struggle a bit to score.
But the point of this post is not to laud over the numbers, but to try and figure out where the season ranks, as I’ll bet solid money right now that we won’t something like it for a while. It’s odd to see him get a FORWARD of the year award, too, because the more accurate term for him would be an attacking midfielder. He often comes all the way back to midfield to pick up the ball and is arguably the most dangerous when he makes the long runs down the left wing.
That description doesn’t fit many forwards I think of today, and while Ronaldo does have forward-like finishing skills up front, he goes far beyond the normal duties of a striker and starts with the ball way further back on many occasions. So the questions are, 1) What position do you think accurately describes Ronaldo’s spot? Winger? Attacking mid? Forward? Something else? And 2) If you consider him to be a mid or winger, is this the greatest season we’ve seen from a non-pure forward?
