Ronaldo comforts disconsolate Pepe as Portugal's veterans make cruel exit at Euro 2024
Hamburg (AP/PTI): This time, they weren't Cristiano Ronaldo's tears.
Instead, the Portugal superstar's role was to console a weeping teammate after a painful exit from their last European Championship — and, who knows, potentially their final major international tournament.
Pepe, a defender still excelling for his country at the remarkable age of 41, was dejected as he sobbed on the shoulder of Ronaldo in a embrace lasting about 15 seconds following Portugal's penalty-shootout loss to France in the quarterfinals in Hamburg on Friday.
Two Portugal stalwarts. A combined age of 80. It was quite the sight.
“Soccer is very cruel," Pepe said.
Ronaldo cried himself at Euro 2024 — after having a penalty saved during extra time of the last-16 match against Slovenia just four days ago. He cried at the 2022 World Cup after Portugal lost to Morocco in the quarterfinals.
Maybe he was out of tears, because this time he simply looked into the sky, appearing to be disappointed and rueful.
Ronaldo will be 41 when the next major tournament rolls around — the 2026 World Cup, jointly held by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Can he stick around until then?
Well, he is still captain of his country — the holder of a men's record 130 international goals and 212 international appearances.
He is still churning out full games for his country. The only time he didn't complete a match at Euro 2024 was in the group stage against Georgia, when he came off in the 66th minute with Portugal assured of advancing. He played the entire 120 minutes against Slovenia and France.
And he still clearly commands the respect of his teammates and coach, Roberto Martinez.
Yet Ronaldo, who now plays his club soccer out of the global spotlight in Saudi Arabia, has now gone eight games without a goal in major tournaments. That takes in all five of Portugal's matches at Euro 2024 and its final three at the World Cup in Qatar.
He was almost completely shackled by France center backs William Saliba and Dayot Upamecano, with Ronaldo's only clear chance coming in extra time when he finally escaped his marker but couldn't hook a shot on target from a cross from the right.
Ronaldo converted his penalty in the shootout but it wasn't enough, And then he had to take on the role of comforter for Pepe.
“I won't say it publicly," Pepe told TV station Canal 11, when asked what Ronaldo said to him. "But we feel it a lot. Contrary to what many people think, we feel it a lot.
"We feel the frustration of not winning a game, of being eliminated in such a big competition as the European Championship, knowing that we had a lot of quality to go through. That's the pain we feel.”
Portugal coach Roberto Martinez echoed those thoughts, saying "the tears are tears of frustration.”
“When you play against better opposition, there are no tears but this is hard to accept,” he said.
Martinez added that Ronaldo had yet to make a call about his international future, saying things were “too raw” and that Portugal was “suffering a defeat as a team — there are no individual decisions at this point.”
Pepe was slightly more open, even if he still left things unclear about his future.
"I will have the opportunity to speak in the future," he said. “I don't want to speak about it (now) because tomorrow people might be speaking about my future instead of talking about this process."
Ronaldo finishes his European Championship career on a record 14 goals. That's five more than his nearest rival, Michel Platini, who scored all of his at one tournament — Euro 1984 — including two hat tricks.
Ronaldo is the only player to go to six editions of the European Championship. He had scored at each one before arriving in Germany.
Euro 2024, however, proved a tournament too far.
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People should not be judged by caste, wealth or language: Mohan Bhagwat
Raipur (PTI): RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Wednesday said people should not be judged by caste, wealth or language, adding that the country belongs to everyone.
“The first step towards harmony is removing feelings of separation and discrimination from one’s mind and treating everyone as one’s own,” Bhagwat said, addressing the Hindu Sammelan at Sonpairi village in Chhattisgarh’s Raipur district.
“The entire country belongs to everyone and this spirit is true social harmony,” Bhagwat said.
Bhagwat stressed the need to revive family interactions, saying families should spend at least one day a week together, engage in prayers according to their faith, eat home-cooked food together and hold meaningful discussions, Bhagwat said, calling the discussions ‘mangal samvad’.
“People often fall into bad habits when they feel lonely. Regular interaction and dialogue within families can help prevent this,” the RSS chief said.
Bhagwat called for social harmony, environmental responsibility and disciplined civic life, urging people to rise above divisions and work collectively for society and the nation.
The RSS chief said the first step towards social harmony is removing feelings of separation and discrimination.
He said temples, water bodies and cremation grounds should be open to all Hindus, describing social work as an effort of unity, not conflict.
“Do not judge people by caste, wealth, language or region. Treat everyone as your own. The entire India is mine,” he said, describing this approach as samajik samrasta (social harmony).
Public facilities and religious spaces should be open to all, he said, calling it a work of unity rather than conflict.
On the issue of addiction, Bhagwat said loneliness often pushes people towards addiction.
He underlined the concept of ‘kutumb prabodhan’, stating that individuals must reflect on how much time and resources they devote daily to society and the nation.
“If the country is in danger, families are also in danger,” he said, calling for values to be practised at home and in daily life.
Expressing concern over global warming and environmental degradation, Bhagwat urged people to begin conservation efforts from their homes by saving water, adopting rainwater harvesting, reducing single-use plastic and planting more trees.
He also advocated the use of one’s mother tongue at home, respect for Indian attire and promotion of swadeshi and self-reliance by buying locally made products, except where imports such as medicines are unavoidable.
Bhagwat called for strict adherence to the Constitution, laws and civic discipline.
He said the Constitution’s preamble, fundamental duties and citizens’ responsibilities should be read and followed regularly, along with traditional social values like respecting elders and helping the needy.
The work of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, that began from a small 'shakha' in Nagpur, has now spread everywhere, Bhagwat said.
