Oceano Cruz: «Ronaldo theme will not affect the national team» – Thinking Football Summit

João Pinto and Oceano Cruz, former captains of FC Porto and Sporting, were at Thinking Football at the end of today’s morning, mainly addressing their experience at the service of the National Team. The issue of Cristiano Ronaldo was inevitable and Oceano began by acknowledging that it was “natural that Bruno Fernandes, who is even captain of Man. United and Diogo Dalot, for both playing with him, are more affected by what happened”, obviously referring to the recent interview of the captain of the National Team. “Anyway, I believe that this issue will not affect the Selection as a whole and we are going to enter the World Cup without thinking about it”, added Oceano, and João Pinto looked at the issue in a different way: “The interview had the impact that we know, everyone talks about it, you can understand why, but if Cristiano decided to give this interview now, it’s because he understood that it was the ideal time. is successful in the first game of the World Cup, everyone will say that it was his ‘fault’, or Fernando Santos’s, but if the national team beats Ghana, I’ll say that it was a normal victory for the stronger team.”

The two former captains, moreover, agree with the idea that Portugal “has the conditions to be world champion”, although in a competition of this kind “there is a luck factor that weighs a lot”, as highlighted by João Pinto.

“Portugal has great players and conditions to match any other team, but everything now depends on how to start the competition. Winning the first game is essential in the final stages and that can make all the difference”, said the former captain of FC Porto , while Oceano Cruz added other arguments to confirm his optimism: “In terms of talent, we make the difference. Portugal has some of the best players in the world and therefore can be the best team in the world. for things to go smoothly.”