Cristiano Ronaldo FINALLY taken down a peg! Ange Postecoglou showed elite managerial mettle with bold Al-Nassr substitution call
“My job is to try and help the players in every game with what I observe,” Postecgolou told the media when asked about his decision to substitute Ronaldo. “And look, with Cristiano, we know he hasn’t played a lot of football. So, with 10 men, to have him out there after 45 minutes – he did a great job for us in the first half – but we needed a different approach in the second half.”
He added: “I think there’s a bigger story today and that is that 10 men of Al-Nassr were unbelievable. That’s all you should write about today. Everything else doesn’t matter, because it doesn’t matter what team [we have on the pitch]. If you see 10 men in those conditions for so long, from 2-0 down to come back, that’s the only story.”
The reality is that Ronaldo is always the biggest story at Al-Nassr, but Postecoglou handled this situation perfectly. He didn’t fuel any notion of tension behind the scenes, protecting the club’s prized asset in the process, while also making sure the players who won the match got the credit they were due.
It’s exactly the kind of strong man-management that has made Postecoglou such as a successful and popular figure in the game. He has a win-at-all-costs mentality and views everyone in the squad as equals. That’s why Al-Nassr fought so hard to recover and secure their third successive victory of the season, and why Tottenham, Celtic, Yokohama F. Marinos and Brisbane Roar all won major trophies under the Australian tactician.
If he can add to his silverware haul in Saudi Arabia, and succeed longer-term in keeping Ronaldo grounded, Postecoglou will be a draw for the big European clubs again. On the flip side of the coin, if Ronaldo doesn’t play ball, the final part of his illustrious career will be looked back on as a sad, embarrassing chapter.
