Katia Aveirothe sister of Christiano Ronaldohad a lot to say about the poor performance of Portugal during his World Cup opener. She, like many of her brother’s most vocal supporters, did not question the lack of creativity on offense.
There is a much deeper problem and it starts with the basics.
International football fans will be curious to see if the Portuguese team can show signs of life in the next match. They, like Aveiro, would like to see her superstar sibling get more touches.
Katia Aveiro is a pop star!
I’ll be honest. As a more casual football fan, I didn’t know Cristiano Ronaldo even had a sister. I definitely didn’t know she sings. Katia Aveiro has over 1.5 million followers on Instagram. That was news to me too.
Aviero started her music career under the stage name ‘Ronalda’, after her brother, but has since switched to her own name.
The 48-year-old sister of the man known only as ‘Ronaldo’ shared her thoughts on her brother’s opening match at the World Cup. Portugal drew 1-1 with DR Congo as -350 betting favourites. It was a surprising result. Disastrous even.
Aveiro posted the following criticism (translated) on her Instagram story:
“Magically they forgot how to: • pass the ball around • win the ball back • launch counter-attacks. The game was all about passing backwards in midfield… Strange World Cup. Very strange.”
She did not mention her brother by name. She also did not comment on his poor play.
Cristiano Ronaldo is receiving a lot of criticism at the World Cup.
Ronaldo’s most passionate supporters wonder if his teammates are trying to sabotage their star player. Fernandes, Vitinha, Joao Neves and Pedro Neto have been inundated with claims that they deliberately stopped him from playing a part in the match.
It didn’t help that Neves said Cristiano Ronaldo is “no different” to any other player in the squad.
“We know what Cristiano has done for us, for our national team and for the football world. But right now he and we know he is no different. He’s just another player helping out here. He is no different from the others. He is here to contribute, just like all of us.”
Many football fans took his comments as a joke. He and his teammates are annoyed by the spotlight always on Ronaldo.
I don’t necessarily see it that way, but the figures do raise some questions. Portugal had 75% possession and 26 crosses, but could not get the ball to Ronaldo after 66 minutes. He had fewer touches than almost any starter. Should he get the ball more often?
Ronaldo did not play well in the opener. Not only did he have two huge chances in the 68th and 73rd minutes, he often looked like he was taking up space on the pitch. There wasn’t much power. His positioning was poor. He has yet to score a goal without a penalty in a major competition.
Despite this, Portuguese manager Roberto Martinez is not willing to give up his star player only just now. The Portuguese team will continue to live and die under Cristiano Ronaldo. His sister hopes his teammates will play better around him, but she also needs her brother just as much as his teammates. Her criticism also applies to her high-profile sibling.
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