The Real Madrid forward has been getting into the festive spirit and sharpening up his set-piece accuracy with a few seasonal training drills in his back garden
Cristiano Ronaldo’s ability over a dead-ball has been questioned at times, with the Real Madrid superstar not converting as many free-kicks as he would like. His famous preparatory pose has all too often let him down, with a knuckleball approach to striking a set-piece seeing him send more efforts into the wall, or into orbit, than he does the back of the net. The Portugal international is a grafter, though, and not the type of character to let a few failures get him down. He has reached the top of his chosen profession, as a four-time Ballon d’Or winner, by meticulously working on his game and ironing out any flaws. That will often mean putting in extra hours at the training ground or gym, or sometimes working on his free-kick routine in his back garden with a group of snowmen lined up as a wall!
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@dwyanewade, Happy Holidays. This one is just for you #raiseit www.nowraiseit.com
A video posted by Cristiano Ronaldo (@cristiano) on Dec 16, 2016 at 12:05am PST
Ronaldo finds the back of the net with ease, as he bends an effort around festive opposition. Maybe there is a lesson to be learned there – that he does not need to hit through the middle of the ball every time he is presented with a sight of goal. Ronaldo's 500 in Opta numbers It is, however, difficult to question a man with such an impressive CV. He was back on target against Club America at the Club World Cup on Thursday, with a late strike in that semi-final encounter taking him to 500 in club competition.
That is some record, given that he has taken in just 691 appearances, so perhaps it is best just to leave him and his seasonal friends to it and accept that the 31-year-old knows best. > ..... - Goal