Football: ‘I hoped Ronaldo’s injury would be more serious’

Russia coach Capello admits it’s difficult to stop Portugal captain.

MOSCOW: Russia coach Fabio Capello admitted he had hoped the injury to Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo would be more serious and that he would miss today’s World Cup Group F qualifier in Moscow.

“Honestly speaking, I was hoping that Ronaldo’s injury would be more serious,” Capello told a news conference. “Of course if he didn’t play, then it would be much easier for us to defend.”

The Real Madrid forward hurt his left shoulder attempting an overhead kick in Sunday’s Spanish league match against archrivals Barcelona.

A medical examination revealed Ronaldo’s injury was not serious and he is expected to start. “Portugal are a top-notch team and tonight, once again, we’ll go over the tactical schemes on how to play them,” said Capello, who replaced Dick Advocaat following Russia’s poor showing at Euro 2012. “As for Ronaldo, it’s always very difficult to stop him.”

Published in The Express Tribune, October 12^th, 2012.