There were 92 minutes on the clock. Real Madrid were two goals to the good and another win over their red and white neighbours was assured. Cristiano Ronaldo had blasted a shot towards goal only for David De Gea to punch the ball skywards. As the ball dropped down, Cristiano arched forwards and let it bounce of his back and straight into the path of Xabi Alonso. Cue absolute indignation from the Atletico players and a national debate about whether such actions are good for football, or a show of disrespect towards your rival. Forgive me if something has passed me by, but is football not supposed to be entertaining? Do we pay money to watch boring sideways passes, wayward shots, over hit crosses, mistimed tackles, tap-ins and route one football? No? Thought not.
No, we pay money for the chance to witness something special. We pay money to watch Robinhos stepovers, Ronaldinhos tricks, Beckhams free-kicks, Xavis passes, Messis wondergoals. And yes, Cristiano Ronaldos 'back' passes. Labelled as an 'Espaldinha' in Spain, Cristianos moment of indulgence has split the country in two. Those seemingly jealous of a man who has the world at his feet and is currently propelling Real Madrid towards another spell of domination and those who don't see anything wrong with him giving the watching (and paying) public what they want.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic did something very similar last season against Mallorca, playing a pass of his back whilst on the run to give Messi a shooting opportunity. I don't remember the big Swedes action receiving the same thorough examination. Sadly, what we are seeing is a baying section of the public taking any opportunity to berate a player who is capable of the extraordinary and knows it. Don't get me wrong, the Portuguese winger does not help his cause with the odd dive, arrogant comment and those infamous strops. But his latest trick drew me to chuckle and applaud. 'Bravo Cristiano' I thought.
What CR7 did was pure entertainment. For me, it embodies what football is all about. Who doesn't get that warm feeling of nostalgia when remembering Higuitas scorpion-kick save against England? Blancos two-footed ball hop? Or Ronaldinhos no-look passes? Hell, I was even a fan of that poor young Brazilian, Kerlon, who used to flip the ball onto his head like a performing seal to dribble past defenders. Was it against the rules? Of course it wasn't. Instead of ridiculing players capable of lighting up matches with moments of magic, let's save the vitriol for players who cheat, break legs, and get fellow professionals unfairly sent off. Or we'll get to a stage where we'll be saying...'Come on now Lionel, don't put that defender on his backside again, you'll hurt his feelings' or 'Cristiano, please refrain from putting an almighty amount of swerve on your free-kicks, the goalkeeper didn't sleep for days after the last one'. Is that what we want?
As seen on SBNation: http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/2010/11/9/1804408/cristiano-ronaldo-back-pass-entertaining-or-insulting