In an interview with FIFA.com, Cristiano Ronaldo sounded off on winning the 2013 Ballon d’Or, his expectations for the 2014 World Cup with Portugal, and the hunt for anunprecedented 10th UEFA Champions League title for his club, Real Madrid. “I felt immensely proud and happy when I realized I’d won,” the Real forward said. “Winning an awardlike that requires a lot of dedication and hard work, and is the accumulation of many hours’ toil.” Ronaldo was moved to tears as he ascended the podium to accept the award. ”Now Ihope I can do it all again next year and claim my third,” he said.
When asked about his favorite moment of 2013 — a year in which he failed to win any trophies with Real — Ronaldosaid: “I don’t know if I can single one out above all the rest. Actually yes … qualification for the World Cup. I’d say that was what I remember most and was the mostemotional thing.
The Portugal captain noted that while the national team struggled to qualify for Brazil — eventually requiring four goals from Ronaldo in a 4-2 playoff series win againstSweden over two games — “the World Cup will be a completely different challenge and we’ll prepare for it differently too.” However, he stopped short of calling Portugal afavorite to lift the world’s most prestigious trophy: “Our priority is getting through the group phase and then we’ll see what happens,” he said.
Portugal, of course,was drawn in the dreaded ‘Group of Death’ alongside Germany, Ghana, and the United States in Group G.