"Maybe I'm too good..."

More reaction to the Roma game, FA action, and Real Madrid make up today's feast.

Such is the glow attached to Ronaldo in the aftermath of the game that pretty much all the reports on David Pizarro's comments about Ronaldo suggest it's sour grapes. Pizarro had this to say (quoted from The Guardian report ):

"Ronaldo? He's just a big-head. Some of his little tricks in the middle of the pitch were unnecessary and he needs to show some respect to his opposition," said Pizarro. "He is a great champion, but he is also very arrogant. He does spiteful things on the pitch. This is the ugliest thing for any player and, in the return leg, I will have something to say to him. You can bet that we will all have something to say about it."

Ronaldo's response (Also from The Guardian report):

"It's nothing against my rivals," Ronaldo responded. "The things I do are just part of my way of interpreting football. I have a certain attitude but I have always had that and I always will. But I do it for the good of the team and never to ridicule my opponents. I want to do my best for Manchester United but it's not showing off. I don't play the fool with anybody. I respect my adversary. If someone thinks my moves are mockery then they are wrong. It's simply that this is the way I play."

The same report also has this strange sentence:

It is not the first time Ronaldo's showboating has left him open to accusations of "disrespecting" opponents, just as Arsène Wenger accused Nani of the same thing after Arsenal's 4-0 defeat in the FA Cup fifth round in February

The accusation about accusations of disrespecting opponents is backed up with evidence ... of Nani being accused of disrespecting opponents... certainly interesting use of evidence.

(On the subject of the strange, have a look at this odd article from The Telegraph - it's "7 Facts About Christiano Ronaldo", which amounts to someone having watched the documentary on ITV4 Tuesday night and writing down 7 things they remember - it is at least sourced. See this from Giles Smith in The Times for another take on the documentary)

This article by David Miller in The Telegraph has some glowing things to say about Ronaldo,

In the media world, we too often exaggeratedly use adjectives: devastating, magical, exceptional. With Ronaldo, especially this season, he has reached a level unmatched in the Premier League since Henry scared witless every defender three seasons ago.

but concentrates a little too much on what he isn't for my liking:

While Ronaldo has an explosive impact upon a game through his technical wizardry, he has not yet achieved that pervasive control of a match possessed by Di Stefano and Johan Cruyff. Ronaldo often determines the outcome of a match by individual dexterity, but does not control the way a game is played, as did Di Stefano, the Merlin of Real Madrid, or Cruyff for Ajax.

Ronaldo can exert an irresistible force upon a result in the manner of Maradona - though not yet as magic with either foot as the Argentine or Puskas were with one - but his power is individual, radiating across the pitch as did Di Stefano, Cruyff and, at times, Best.

The FA get round to charging Sir Alex and Carlos following their completely true comments after the FA Cup tie against Portsmouth.

I choose the paper with the most malign reading of the facts for the Real Madrid story, The Daily Mail: "Real Madrid boss Schuster: Ronaldo will sign for us". What he actually said (from the same story):

"In the short term I can not see it being feasible, but I say that, in a couple of years, I think he may wear the white shirt at the Bernabeu.

"He is the star at Old Trafford and, until he wins a Champions League and some more Premier League titles, they are not going to allow him to escape."

The final word I give to Ronaldo, a quote from a match last season, quoted today in an article in The Telegraph:

No longer does Ferguson fear Ronaldo going before the television cameras. After his team's 1-0 win over Middlesbrough in last season's FA Cup, Ferguson unleashed his infamous hairdryer treatment on Sky TV's Geoff Shreeves, who had questioned Ronaldo over the award of a penalty.

"Maybe I'm too good," Ronaldo said, when asked about the penalty decision and why controversy appeared to follow the player.

Perhaps he is...