Cristiano Ronaldo’s surprisingly poor record when it comes to free-kick scoring has boiled down to bad luck for Carlo Pinsoglio, with Juventus’ spare goalkeeper eager to point out that the Portuguese superstar scores them all the time in training.
Some experts think it’s a bad luck
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner in his time with Serie A title holders has braked over 72 nets, but found the back of the net in just one of those efforts. Sporadic dead-ball displays were also done in the colors of Manchester United, Real Madrid and Portugal, but Pinsoglio was quick to protect a close friend from any criticism directed at him. Third-pick guard Juve talked about free throws Ronaldo and his ties to the legendary 36-year-old: “Cristiano always takes free throws in training and he scores them all the time. I don’t know why he can’t do it in games, maybe it’s just bad luck. I have a great friendship with him, my teammates laugh at me saying that I will go to Euro with the staff of Portugal and Cristiano. Ronaldo is a simple guy, not a star, he is quiet, he likes to laugh and joke.”
The modern icon will likely get a lot more opportunities to improve his free-kick record for the rest of the season, with Juve looking to defend his inner crown. However, questions are being asked about how long Ronaldo will hold out in Italy as he approaches the final 12 months of his contract and saw his return to Madrid controversial. Referring to the future of Ronaldo’s, Pinsoglio said: “I don’t know, but I hope so, because he has a big impact. He has one year left on his contract. I hope and think he will stay. In theory, he will stay, unless something strange happens.”
Ronaldo has to improve
Ronaldo will be determined to end the current campaign with more silverware in its name, no matter what happens after this point. Pinsoglio believes Juve could claim a 10th straight title in Serie A, despite currently sitting 10 points off the pace in third. He added: “This is a difficult moment for us, we have to improve, but there is too much negativity. I think about 2010. I was a youth player and we lost 4-1 against Fulham. Losses to Sampdoria and Napoli prevented us from even finishing sixth.