Cristiano Ronaldo Not The Only Fruit

• Reuters, Thursday, June 12, 2008 1:45 PM

Are you sick yet of swooning commentators at Euro 2008 grandly pronouncing that Cristiano Ronaldo is The Best Player In The World? Bored with all the media speculation about his possible multi-zillion dollar transfer from Manchester United to Real Madrid? At least Czech coach Karel Brueckner offered a more sensible perspective after Ronaldo helped to defeat his team Wednesday.
 
"Cristiano Ronaldo is a very dangerous weapon and could be the best player in this tournament, but Portugal are not just about Ronaldo," Brueckner said. "They have many brilliant individuals. Deco is also a strong player, no doubt about that. He was possibly the best player in this match. He is the brain of the Portuguese team, he takes responsibility."
 
The Czech coach was also more encouraged by his team's losing performance than he had been by their dour 1-0 victory over Switzerland in the tournament's opener: "We proved that we could play good football, not only in defense but also in attack. We created more chances, especially in the first half, than we had in our first match. Our problem was simply that Portugal played excellent football." The Czechs must beat Turkey in its final game Sunday to progress to the quarterfinals.

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