Portugal’s national soccer team coach Fernando Santos has been on the receiving end of a lot of hate lately. The chief Portuguese tactician benched Cristiano Ronaldo in two crucial World Cup games. The first one was the 6-1 thumping of Switzerland in which Ronaldo was benched. Next, Ronaldo once again found himself sitting on the bench, only to come on as a substitute in the second half, as Morocco’s fairytale run in the World Cup claimed Portugal as its next victim.
Even when Portugal ran riot against a far inferior opposition in Switzerland, fans and pundits were flooding social media sites with criticism for the Portugal head coach as he benched Ronaldo. But after Portugal’s exit, it was evident that the fans blamed Santos for the loss, insisting that Ronaldo would have helped them through to the next round if he wasn’t benched for the first half.
Fernando Santos on Cristiano Ronaldo:
“There is no problem with our captain. We’ve been friends for years. We spoke before the game and he had no issue with my decision. He’s an example.” 👏🇵🇹 pic.twitter.com/vzGNMXq8TQ
— LiveScore (@livescore) December 6, 2022
After the entire debacle surrounding Ronaldo’s benching, clips of the Euro-2016 final have emerged, which shows Ronaldo shoving Fernando Santos in his technical area!
This led to further controversy in Portugal’s camp.
However, it can be safely assumed that the clip of the incident has been taken out of context to be misunderstood. Here’s what actually happened.
Cristiano Ronaldo shoves Fernando Santos in excitement at the 2016 Euro Final
The clip of the Euro-2016 final that has surfaced online, shows Ronaldo shoving his manager in Portugal’s Technical area.
The clip is from the final match of the 2016 Euros which was played between Portugal and France.
Sir Alex Ferguson waiting patiently to congratulate Cristiano Ronaldo after Euro 2016 Final.
Ronaldo’s Reaction 😍pic.twitter.com/lc3j9aLP8u
— CR7 (@theCR7en) January 18, 2021
Portugal ultimately emerged triumphant in this game, to be crowned European champions.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner started the game but was soon forced off due to a knee injury in the 24th minute. It seemed as though Portugal’s dream of winning the Euros was over. The two European giants in France and Portugal were engaged in a deadlock beyond the conventional 90 minutes. Extra time was required to decide the game.
In the 108th minute, substitute Eder scored the first and last goal of the game, which handed Portugal the win.
With just 12 minutes remaining on the clock, a lot was happening in the Portuguese dugout. Ronaldo had sprung off the bench and joined his manager Fernando Santos in the technical area. He was very excited and emotions were running high at this point. Ronaldo accompanied his manager in screaming instructions to his teammates.
Throwback to when Cristiano Ronaldo got injured in Euro 2016 final and turned to a short time coach.
Absolutely incredible. 👏🏾👏🏾
Goat 🐐 pic.twitter.com/kU6LywF1Ul— Ola Ξlixir (@thegreatola) June 20, 2019
As the clock neared the 120-minute mark, Ronaldo and his teammates were riding the waves of euphoria high. At the moment, Ronaldo was very excited. As the ex-Manchester United man could not control his emotions, he grabbed onto his manager, Fernando Santos, playfully and shoved him in excitement. Santos understood that the motive behind the shove was nothing more than excitement and passion. He let it slide and went about his business, issuing instructions to his team in the game’s final moments.
As the referee blew the whistle at full time, the Portuguese dugout roared into celebration.