Ronaldo needs a Zidane moment to become a true great... this could be his year



Cristiano Ronaldo is in the form of his life heading into Sunday's Clasico

But he needs a defining moment - such as Zinedine Zidane's volley in the 2002 Champions League final - to be classed among the all-time greats

David Moyes faces a big dilemma over £37million-man Juan Mata

Find out who makes it into my top five relegation escape acts

He has been voted the world’s best player and is an icon for club and country. He is rewriting the record books and has won a treasure chest of trophies, including the biggest in club football.

Cristiano Ronaldo has enjoyed a career that 95 per cent of players could only dream about but, for all that, it is lacking a game or goal to catapult him alongside the greatest there have been.

Think about those who occupy football’s highest echelon, the names that span the ages: Pele and Alfredo Di Stefano, Diego Maradona, Johan Cruyff and Marco van Basten, on to Zinedine Zidane and Lionel Messi.

No 1: Ronaldo shows off his Ballon d'Or award at the Santiago Bernabeu back in January

Iconic moment: Pele is held aloft in the Maracana after inspiring Brazil to 1970 World Cup glory

One-man show: Diego Maradona is best remembered for winning the 1986 World Cup with Argentina

The common bond is a defining moment. Di Stefano won five European Cups with Real Madrid, scoring in every final. With Maradona, it’s the 1986 World Cup in Mexico. For Van Basten, that volley against Russia to help win the 1988 European Championship.

If scoring two goals to win the World Cup for France in 1998 wasn’t enough for Zidane, four years later against Bayer Leverkusen at Hampden Park he conjured a volley from the gods — possibly the greatest goal in the Champions League era — to give Real their ninth European Cup.

Messi sits easily alongside them. He, remember, has scored goals to clinch two Champions League finals, strikes in Rome and at Wembley that glossed all his other extraordinary achievements. I’ve always felt the greatest need those distinguishing moments.

Do not take my argument as a criticism of Ronaldo. He is a player for whom I have the utmost admiration and I can’t wait to see him in action on Sunday in El Clasico, the biggest game in football. Real and Barcelona always have the best players in the business.

All-time great: Real Madrid's Alfredo di Stefano scores in the 1960 European Cup final

Volley good show: Marco van Basten hammers home his memorable goal in the Euro 1988 final

Best in the business: Zidane's wonderstrike at Hampden Park in 2002 confirmed his star class

That tag sits easily with Ronaldo, who is producing numbers not seen since the 1930s era of Dixie Dean. He moved past Ferenc Puskas in midweek with a double against Schalke, taking his tally to 242 goals in 236 games. Of those, 171 have come in La Liga. His ratio and consistency are extraordinary.

He is made for El Clasico. If he initially found games against Barcelona difficult, he now thrives on them. And not even Messi has achieved what Ronaldo has done in this fixture, scoring in six consecutive matches. That shows how many levels he has raised his game.

When he came to England, he had skill and speed but I never worried about playing against him. He didn’t have a great record against Chelsea or Liverpool, only scoring two goals against us, and one of those was a penalty in a 4-1 defeat.

What I would say, though, is that in his final two years with Manchester United, he got as close as anyone to matching the levels set by Thierry Henry.

Winner: But Ronaldo's performance in the 2008 Champions League final was not up there with Zidane's in 2002

Strong and quick, two great feet and powerful in the air, he blossomed because his greatest strength is his work ethic. Look at his physique — he has got that from extra work in the gym, striving to keep ahead of the game.

How about those free-kicks? Ronaldo’s technique for getting the ball to dip viciously has only come through practice. He will work twice as hard as some players with half his ability.

You could see how much winning the Ballon d’Or (above) for a second time meant to him, when he was overcome with emotion. But, privately, I suspect he will feel a defining moment now could make him one of the best of all time, not just one of the best of his generation.

So, how does he do that? I don’t believe Portugal will win the World Cup but he has the potential to be top scorer in Brazil. You only have to consider his hat-trick against Sweden in the play-offs last November to appreciate the added dimension he gives to his national side.

Magic moment: Lionel Messi celebrates scoring in the 2011 Champions League final at Wembley

That leaves the Champions League. People will say Ronaldo has scored in a Champions League final but neither his goal nor performance in Moscow defined that game in the manner of Steven Gerrard and Didier Drogba respectively when Liverpool (2005) and Chelsea (2012) won it.

Real will be confident of reaching the semi-finals now after being drawn against Borussia Dortmund, and if Ronaldo could lead them to the final in Lisbon, he would have the perfect stage to deliver the performance of a lifetime.

His first couple of seasons at the Bernabeu were complicated because Real were competing with the greatest Barcelona team of all time but, even still, his trophy haul of one La Liga title and a solitary Copa del Rey does not do justice to his talents.

It is looking like he will win La Liga again this season but is that enough for Real, given their history in Europe? Is it enough for Ronaldo? If he was never to win the Champions League with Real, how would their supporters view him?

On the brink of greatness: Could the Champions League final be Ronaldo's stage?

That’s why I feel he needs something else to set him apart and that’s why a triumphant display in Lisbon on May 24 could be his destiny.

Should he get the goal to give Real their 10th triumph in the finest competition of all, he would finally have the legacy his work and desire so richly deserve.

Moyes faces big dilemma over £37m Mata

Manchester United got a great lift when they beat Olympiacos on Wednesday with the kind of pacy, energetic performance you expect of them.

The displays of Ryan Giggs and Danny Welbeck in that 3-0 win, however, mean David Moyes faces a couple of big decisions, because their input came from positions Moyes has tried to strengthen by spending £27.5million on Marouane Fellaini and £37m on Juan Mata.

You could see the impact Giggs and Welbeck had on Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie. United suddenly had pace and penetration in their movement, while Giggs’s brilliant range of passing gave them space to run into and opportunities in front of goal.

Masterclass: Ryan Giggs was outstanding in the heart of United's midfield on Wednesday night

Oh, Danny boy: Welbeck put in an impressive shift for United in Mata's absence

So it will be interesting to see how Moyes deploys his two major signings going forward and how he shapes his team, as you cannot imagine he has spent £65m for them to be bit-part performers. Neither Fellaini nor Mata are quick and on a pitch as big as the one at Old Trafford, a lack of pace is always highlighted.

Mata reminds me of Dimitar Berbatov. He was brilliant for Tottenham and he looked every inch a Manchester United player before he signed. But White Hart Lane has a smaller pitch than Old Trafford and Berbatov didn’t have the speed to get around it. Similarly, Mata stood out at Stamford Bridge, which is also tight.

There is no doubt he has talent but does Mata have the legs for Old Trafford’s wide open spaces?

Back in action: Mata is expected to return for United against West Ham on Saturday

My top five... Escape Artists

This has been a season when the clubs frantically fighting relegation have changed managers in the middle of the campaign to try to save themselves.

Will West Bromwich’s Pepe Mel, Felix Magath of Fulham or Cardiff’s Norwegian import Ole Gunnar Solskjaer be as successful as this quintet?

1 Joe Royle (Everton 1994-95): Royle was already a club legend before he pulled Everton back from the brink. They were bottom when he took over from Mike Walker in November 1994 but finished five points above the relegation zone and won the FA Cup for good measure.

The Great Escape: Joe Royle (second left) celebrates Everton's 1995 FA Cup triumph

2 Alan Curbishley (West Ham 2006-07): When he arrived six months after West Ham had taken Liverpool to the wire in the FA Cup final, Curbishley (right) looked to have jumped on to a sinking ship. Seven wins from the last nine matches, including a 1-0 win at Old Trafford, saw him beat the odds.

3 Roy Hodgson (Fulham 2007-08): It wasn’t as bleak for Hodgson as the situation now facing Magath, but Fulham had won just twice and were 18th in the table when he was appointed in December 2007. Twelve points from their final five fixtures saw them stay up.

4 Harry Redknapp (Portsmouth 2005-06): It was a controversial call to bring Redknapp back after he had spent some of the last season at Southampton — but it worked a treat. Pompey finished four points clear of the drop zone.

5 David Pleat (Luton 1982-83): Pleat has to make the line-up because I vividly remember him running across Maine Road, wearing brown shoes and dancing a jig, after he had saved Luton and condemned opponents Manchester City to the drop.