Has Ronaldo been a success at Juventus?

Has Ronaldo been a success at Juventus? It’s been two years since Cristiano Ronaldo lit up Turin. Ronaldo’s move was a new step in a different direction. It was a new challenge that would see him act as the club’s talisman in their hunt for European glory. With two seasons under his belt and a resultant of zero Champions League titles, has Ronaldo been a success Juventus? Let’s find out

While Juventus have edged every team in Serie A for nearly a decade now, their major challenge has always been to climb up the European ladder to win the Champions League title. Thus was the reason for Ronaldo’s arrival in the summer of 2018. It was seen as a symbol of hope, to restore lost European glories at a stadium that was once feared by the whole world.

Cristiano Ronaldo‘s arrival offered a ray of hope but it still didn’t overshadow the competition and the challenge associated with it. Ronaldo was one perfect piece in a big puzzle that was scattered and required more than just a simple fine-tuning. Juventus possessed a fairly ageing squad that lacked the hunger to present itself as a big threat on the European stage. The prolific Portuguese took up the challenge to take Juventus back to the top, but little did he know about the underlying problems at the club and their inability to replace their aging top stars.

The Serie A teams are famous for having a very tactical outlook in every game. It’s a league that has given birth to some of the greatest defenders in the history of football, like Fabio Cannavaro, Alessandro Nesta, Paolo Maldini, and the list goes on. This was the challenge that awaited the aging but yet the best had to deal with. Initially, the Portuguese legend’s inability to find the back of the net led to questions being asked about his ability and if he even was good enough anymore. It was only a matter of time before Ronaldo hit the ground running and this paved the way for a goal-scoring spree and an undesirable role of carrying a team through some of it’s most difficult matches in recent memory.

It’s been almost a year ago since Ronaldo along with his team-mates were tasked with overturning a two-goal deficit against an almost impermeable defence of that of Atletico Madrid. The game ended in Juventus’ favour with Ronaldo taking home the match-ball after yet another trailblazing performance in the Champions League. Fast forward to this year, Juventus found themselves in a similar situation with Ronaldo having to step up once again, but the past failed to repeat itself although Ronaldo bagged a brace, in a fairly overwhelming bout between two equally desperate teams.

It’s fair to say that Juventus lack the quality of a top team to conquer Europe once again. This often puts them in a situation where they have to depend on their best player to deliver the goods. While the five-time champions league winner is no stranger to such pressure, it brings the question of how long can they depend on him without getting under his skin?

On the back of a frustrating European campaign, it was the end of a short but yet long tenure for Maurizio Sarri, whose departure seemed implausible and the successor was questionable. Andrea Pirlo was handed over the reins merely hours after Sarri was shown the door. The Italian’s appointment was met with a mixed reception, given his lack of managerial experience. Such an appointment can either be the make or break in a team’s pursuit of potential European glory and Cristiano Ronaldo’s career going forward.

Has Ronaldo been a success at Juventus? its definitely a matter that’s up for debate, but from an objective standpoint, it’s best to trace his time with his reason for arrival. The reason is Champions League glory, something that has eluded Juventus for a long time now. It should be noted that Ronaldo has another two years left on his contract and is not willing to back down but the question stands, Is Ronaldo going to achieve the improbable? we’ll find out.