Ronaldo's Gold Medal Dreams Over

Home - Safe and Well
By Chris O'Brien
August 20 2004

Sir Alex Ferguson will be delighted to hear that Cristiano Ronaldo's Olympic campaign has ended in disappointment. Portugal have been knocked-out of the competition at the group stages following defeat in Athens, meaning Ronaldo will be back at Old Trafford much earlier than previously expected.

Manchester United have been boosted by the news that Cristiano Ronaldo will return back to Lancashire earlier than expected after Portugal's early exit from the Olympic Games.

The 19-year-old has been hoping to pick up a gold medal for his country, but Portugal have been knocked out of the competition at the group stage after losing to Costa Rica in what was their second defeat in three matches.

Ronaldo was suspended for the final group game after picking up bookings in opening qualification matches against Iraq and Tunisia. It must have been so frustrating for the highly-rated winger watching his side take the lead before losing out 4-2 to the underdogs, meaning an early plane home for the squad.

After not playing the final group game, Sir Alex Ferguson may deem the youngster fit enough to go straight into the squad for the Premiership clash against Norwich City on Saturday. This is unlikely, but it's a massive boost to the Red Devils to have Ronaldo home so early, with some reports suggesting prior to the tournament that United would not select Ronaldo until November, giving him time to recover from the Greek adventure.

Meanwhile, centre-half Gabriel Heinze continues on his mission to pick up a medal. The summer acquisition will play at the heart of the Argentinean defence as they play Portugal's conquerors, Costa Rica, in the last eight of the Olympics. Victory for the Argentines will mean Heinze will be playing two more games in Athens, and would be likely to pick up at least a bronze for his efforts.