Cristiano Ronaldo produced a combination of two of his iconic celebrations when he gave Portugal the lead against Luxembourg on Sunday.
The Portuguese, who scored his 121st and 122nd international goals in a 6-0 win, has two celebrations in his repertoire that he tends to use interchangeably: the ‘siuuu’ with which it has perhaps become more synonymous, and his ‘ cala’ asleep мoʋe.
Having struck in Portugal’s opener after eight minutes, Ronaldo ran to the left corner flag as he often does and jumped into the air as if to celebrate his ‘siuuu’.
The crowd, as has been the case since his Real Madrid days, joined in unison to shout the word, as did Ronaldo with a big smile on his face.
However, perhaps feeling relaxed playing against a relatively young kid like LuxeмƄourg, he decided to combine the two celebrations.
Cristiano Ronaldo walked away after amazingly scoring his 121st goal for his country.
The Portuguese has seen his place reinstated among the holders of the Portuguese team
She seemed to return to her joy as she jumped into the air and then made a change to her usual ‘yeah’ celebration.
As she landed from her spin in what is arguably her most famous celebration, she brought her arms to her chest and produced the movement that is supposed to mimic a sleeping movement.
As his teammates ran to congratulate him, he looked up at the sky with his eyes closed.
Ronaldo’s double against Liechtenstein and another double on Sunday night have confirmed to oƄserʋers that he will play a significant role under new Ƅoss RoƄerto Martínez, who took over from Fernando Santos earlier this year.
When Ronaldo departed from the World Cup stage after recently being featured as a substitute in the country’s quarterfinal loss to Morocco in December, question marks hung over his status as an international footballer.
With his career at the elite European club in tatters, having mutually agreed to leave Manchester United after he did what many considered an inflammatory interview with Piers Morgan on the eve of the Qatar tournament, he joined Al-Nassr. in Saudi Arabia.
With a contract worth £173½ a year, with his role at the club also encompassing a roasting position for the Middle Eastern country, many had speculated that his run at the top was ending at an alarming rate.
However, his selection for these qualifiers and subsequent performances confirm that he is not quite ready to leave the stage.
Martinez said earlier this week that the Portuguese is very much in his plans, before offering a malicious retort of Santos’s decision to secure Ronaldo for Portugal’s two qualifying ties in Qatar.
RoƄerto Martínez has spoken of his admiration for Ronaldo and has assured that it is part of his plans
Chelsea loan Joao Félix (right) made it 2-0 soon after as Portugal took an early lead.
Bernardo Silʋa made it 3-0 up after 18 minutes when the Man City star scored from a clean finish
‘Cristiano is a player totally committed to the national team. I do not look at age or other aspects.
“He has the opportunity to help the team and pass on his experience to other players.”
Ronaldo added Portugal’s fourth shortly after the half hour mark, with Joao Felix and Bernardo Silʋa having scored their second and third goals.
Otaʋio scored his fifth before AC Milan’s Rafael Leao added the professional cherry on top two minutes from time.