Sky’s the limit for Ronaldo

Paris, October 15

Cristiano Ronaldo has lost count of the number of records he has broken, the Portugal forward said after scoring the 700th goal of his career during a 2-1 defeat to Ukraine on Monday.

“The records come naturally, I don’t look for them, the records look for me,” he told reporters after scoring his 95th goal for his country. “It’s not for anyone to reach this number and I thank everyone, team mates, colleagues, coaches and everyone who helped Cristiano become the player that he is.” However, Ronaldo said that the defeat to Ukraine in a Euro 2020 qualifier took some of the shine off the achievement.

“It’s a nice moment in my career but there was a bitter taste because we didn’t win,” he said. “We played well, but we didn’t win. We did everything we could and we had plenty of chances.” Ronaldo is the all time leading scorer in the Champions League with 127 goals, holds the record for the most goals in a single Champions League season, is Real Madrid’s all time highest scorer and Portugal’s most capped player and record scorer.

The first five goals of Ronaldo career were scored for Portugal’s Sporting in 2002-03.

He then scored 118 goals in 232 appearances during six seasons with Manchester United and, remarkably, averaged over a goal a game for Real Madrid, scoring 450 in 438 appearances over the course of nine seasons.

In just over one season with his current club Juventus, he notched a further 32 goals in 51 matches.

Despite the defeat, Portugal remained second in Group G with 11 points from six games, one ahead of Serbia, and will qualify for Euro 2020 if they win their remaining matches, at home to Lithuania and away to Luxemburg.

Racism mars England win

Group A leaders England still have to wait for their place at the Euros despite hammering hapless Bulgaria 6-0, but the focus of attention was again on the stands as the home fans caused mayhem with racist chanting that twice caused the match to be halted.

It was another England match blighted by racism from opposition fans after England’s black players were targeted with monkey chants during their 5-1 win at Montenegro in March.

The level of abuse from a section of the Bulgarian support led the English Football Association to demand an investigation from UEFA, asking European football’s governing body to open a probe “as a matter of urgency”.

Tyrone Mings was one of those targeted on his England debut, and he said that stopping the game did have the desired effect of reducing racist abuse in the second half.

Ayhan denies France

France also missed a spot in the Euros when Kaan Ayhan’s leveller snatched a point for Turkey in a match played against a backdrop of diplomatic tensions after Paris condemned Ankara for its military offensive against Kurdish forces in Syria.

Turkey remain top of Group H above the world champions on the head-to-head rule. Although France can qualify for the finals with a win at home to Moldova next month, Turkey would clinch their place by avoiding defeat against third-placed Iceland, who are four points back after beating Andorra 2-0. 

Turkey defends salutes

Turkey’s Sports Minister voiced support today for national team players who saluted the country’s soldiers during their match with France. Sports 

Minister Mehmet Muharrem Kasapoglu described the controversial goal celebration — in which players were seen as supporting Turkey’s current military operation in Syria — as a “nice salute”.  — Agencies

GOAL MACHINE

700 Goals for Cristiano Ronaldo have come from 973 matches — and he has scored at least once in 458 of those

118 of Ronaldo’s 700 goals have come during his time at Manchester United from 2003 to 2009

95 Goals for Portugal is more than double the tally of any other player to have featured for the national team. Pauleta has the second most with 47

32 That is how many goals the Portugese forward has scored for his current side Juventus in 51 matches

127 With that many goals scored in the Champions League, he is the all-time leading scorer

Bulgarian soccer chief quits after racist chants 

Sofia: Bulgarian soccer chief Borislav Mihaylov resigned today after fans taunted England’s black players with Nazi salutes and monkey chants during a Euro 2020 qualifier in Sofia, prompting match officials to halt the game twice. Prime Minister Boyko Borissov had called earlier for Mihaylov, a former goalkeeper and Bulgaria international, to go. The fallout from what English FA chairman Greg Clarke described as “probably one of the most appalling nights I have seen in football” also triggered calls for urgent action from anti-racism campaigners and politicians. A spokesman for British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said European governing body UEFA — the tournament organisers — needed to do more to tackle “vile” racism. UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin said, however, that soccer could not solve the problem on its own, and politicians must play a greater role. “The football family — everyone from administrators to players, coaches and fans — needs to work with governments and NGOs to wage war on the racists and to marginalise their abhorrent views to the fringes of society,” the Slovenian said in a statement. Reuters