Only because of the new rules, the Czech striker finished second among the scorers at the EURO. Patrik Schick, like Cristiano Ronaldo, scored five goals, and it was decided in favor of the star Portuguese that he also had one assist. The Leverkusen striker can take revenge in Eden.
“Ronaldo has been my role model since childhood. I registered it for the first time at the EC in Portugal when I was eight years old. I don’t know if we are competitors, we are far apart in age. It is similar that he is not doing very well in Manchester United at the beginning of the season. He came with great motivation to prove to everyone that he is still a great player. The comparison fits only with regard to the last EURO, but it cannot be compared to it otherwise,” smiles Patrik Schick.
Ronaldo is the king of social networks, his acronym CR7 has become a successful commercial brand. However, he is still first and foremost a footballer. Successful, famous, inspiring.
The players who are struggling in the clubs came to the meeting with the idea that they will get a kick out of it here, says Jaroslav ŠilhavýVideo: Sport.cz
“At the championship in Portugal, Milan Baroš wore blue boots, Ronaldo wore gold. So I also had gold. It actually started with football boots. I watched videos on the Internet, tried to catch Ronaldo’s tricks, tricks with the ball. But over time, you can’t just copy, you have to include something of your own. I found my style in the final,” Schick grins.
The Czechs lost 0:2 in Lisbon in June. Cancelo and Guedes gave them the goals, not Ronaldo. And he was pretty angry about it, he should have been sent off for the foul on Jemelka. “Zima often came out on him. After the match, David explained that Ronaldo was quite frustrated with him. Poor Vašek took it for him with a bruised ankle… For all of us, it was a huge experience that we will carry forward,” says coach Jaroslav Šilhavý.
Ronaldo came to the training of the Portuguese national team last, but in a good moodVideo: Sport.cz
So the recipe for CR7 would be for the Czech team… “You have to pay attention to Ronaldo, even when the game is off. He doesn’t get involved much in the defensive phase, he waits for the ball, then it’s harder to stop. He must not be free even for a moment. He is phenomenal, but the Portuguese have other great players. It’s not good to focus only on him,” points out Šilhavy.
He takes the comparison of EURO gunners with a grain of salt. “Fifty fifty, they scored the same goals… (laughs) Ronaldo goes wherever he wants on the pitch. The fifth is clearly an end, a striker,” smiles the coach.
The star is not having a happy time at Manchester United, he often just sits on the bench. What does this mean for the Czech handyman? “Cristiano is certainly looking forward to the match after the start of the season at the club and all the vicissitudes during the summer. He’s just the type of player who has the urge every time. How frustrated he was not to score shows his mentality and hunger. Even at his age, he still has great performance. It’s a big challenge to defend him a second time, but we saw that the Portuguese team is not just him,” goalkeeper Tomáš Vaclík echoes the coach.
