Football journalist Adrian Durham has weighed in on the recent internet debate sparked by Portuguese striker and forward for Serie A club Juventus Cristiano Ronaldo’s goalscoring prowess after he scored an amazing header against Sampdoria on 18 December.
He is not slowing down, is he?
— Matchcentreng (@matchcentreng) December 18, 2019
Cristiano Ronaldo scored an incredible 8ft 5in header in Juventus win against Sampdoria.
The portugese jumped high and almost seemed to hang in the air for seconds before blasting a header home from an awkward angle.#Matchcentreng pic.twitter.com/iA8sAgFIu0
Durham did little to conceal his exasperation on TalkSPORT’s show Drivetime, claiming he was sick of everyone “banging on and on” about the incident, saying:
“Ronaldo jumped up to head a ball and it went in… And all of a sudden it’s gone viral and it’s as if nobody has ever jumped in the air to head a football.”
When his co-host, former England cricketer Darren Gough, argues that the striker’s “hang-time” is unbelievable, “like he’s flapping his wings,” the journalist goes off on a rant:
“He is NOT hanging… There is no hang time at all! He’s jumped up and then he’s hit the ground afterwards! He’s not hanging in the air, they’ve slowed it down!
The sports broadcaster then adds fuel to the fire by feeding into the long-standing Messi-Ronaldo rivalry, pointing out:
“And I tell you what, there was a better header ten years ago in to the Champions League final, Lionel Messi against Manchester United. If you compare the height of the two players, look at how high Messi jumps…it’s an incredible goal from Messi.”
Claiming to be sick of fans fawning over everything Cristiano Ronaldo does, Durham continues:
“What, do you think he has special powers that make him hover in the air? It’s just Ronaldo, he jumped and he landed! And do you know what? He actually jumps too high! He actually heads it on the way down, so he didn’t need to jump that high. So Ronaldo actually got it wrong!”
Naturally, fans took a dim view of the journalist denigrating their idol.
Na man... this clown really claiming Messi’s header ten years ago was better is complete proof how willingly blind they are for him. Ludicrous!https://t.co/tK3eu7SUtx
— ©️JJ®️ (@CRFC4ME) December 21, 2019
Tbh I respect Messi alot but the best this man could do is to appreciate Cristiano Ronaldo's leap despite being a fan of Messi rather than allowing hate to blind his eyes. Let's appreciate both
— Carlos Martial(Fan) (@CR7FC10) December 21, 2019
Was about to tweet this.. but its better u did.. man ppl will say anything to spread negativity and hate..
— DYBALAMASK (@DYBALAMASK15) December 21, 2019
What a loser.
— tsup (@tsup05264704) December 21, 2019
— DYBALAMASK (@DYBALAMASK15) December 21, 2019
Hmmm. Reineri (however you spell his name) coach of sampdoria said Ronaldo’s header gave the whole stadium their money’s worth for the ticket. I guess one small moment of brilliance does make some difference?! Still not sure I agree fully with this. But it’s interesting. pic.twitter.com/9BPYYg9Wn1
— ©️JJ®️ (@CRFC4ME) December 21, 2019
Other fans were tickled by the firey rivalry evident among Ronaldo-Messi fans.
And it sure did rattle a certain fan base.
— Ultimate10 (@CIassicMessi10) December 21, 2019
Some fans seemed to be losing interest in the debate, though.
Same header all week. We’ve been over this crazy! 😝
— ©️JJ®️ (@CRFC4ME) December 21, 2019
Cristiano Ronaldo’s towering header against Sampdoria on 18 December on the stroke of half-time had wowed fans, with many rushing online to drool over their idol’s athleticism and prowess, with replays of the incident making the miraculous “hang-time” look even better.
Ronaldo has just scored a far post header where his feet were higher than the crossbar....it’s only a slight exaggeration. Ridiculous leap. pic.twitter.com/rRdewWyy1V
— Dee Updates (@DeeUpdates_) December 18, 2019
