Cristiano Ronaldo: Bitter moments after Euro 2012

The elimination of Portugal (against Spain) in the semifinals of the Euro 2012 was a very disappointing moment for Cristiano Ronaldo. He is very sad. The Portuguese captain faced the game against the Spanish National team with high spirits and with great optimism after passing the 'group of death' and beat in quarter-finals the Czech Republic. However, the fate of the penalty shootout destroyed his dream of captaining his national team to the final and deprived him of taking the final step toward his second Golden Ball (Ballon d'Or). The double setback was a difficult moment. The Portuguese has taken refuge in his family to overcome this bitter moment.

Cristiano Ronaldo at Portela Airport (Lisbon)

Neither the tremendous tribute that hundreds of Portuguese (who welcomed the Portuguese team at the Portela Airport -Lisbon-) dedicated him, was enough to lift the spirits of Cristiano, who responded with a slight smile to the affection of his countrymen.

Cristiano Ronaldo has scheduled a few days in Portugal with his family and then will travel to a heavenly destination, where he will rest and charge the batteries ahead of next season. His next assault in order to get the Golden Ball is the Spanish Supercup, when Real Madrid will play against Barcelona to get the first official trophy of the season (22 and 29 August).

At first, Cristiano, along with Pepe, Coentrao, Özil and Khedira, will return to the Real Madrid trainings on July 27, the date on which the team will play at Lisbon a friendly match (Eusebio Tournament). From there the team will depart to Los Angeles to perform the usual pre-season stage.

On the other hand Cristiano Ronaldo has no qualms to recognize that tomorrow will encourage Spain: "I hope Spain wins because I have a lot of friends there". Cristiano explained that was Paulo Bento who proposed him to shoot the fifth penalty of the shootout: "Will you shoot the fifth? He asked me. I said yes. I was going to score".