The Portuguese coach was praised when he gave Ronaldo a substitute
Ronaldo was the captain, but was a substitute when Portugal beat Switzerland 6-1 in the 1/8 round. Although coach Santos affirmed that this was a purely professional choice, many people said that it was actually the result of Ronaldo's reaction after leaving the field early in the 1-2 defeat to Korea in the final round of the group stage.
On December 7, Ronaldo was controversial again when he went to the gym with the main squad instead of playing with the substitutes, even though he only entered the field at the end of the Swiss match. A day later, Record (Portugal) reported that Ronaldo threatened to abandon the 2022 World Cup campaign and leave Qatar, if not guaranteed a starting spot, when arguing with coach Santos at the team's headquarters. Both the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) and Ronaldo immediately denied the incident.
When asked about the controversy related to Ronaldo in Portugal today, Meulensteen told talkSPORT on December 8: "Actually I'm very happy not to be the Portuguese coach right now. But I am also sad to see the Such a situation happened at the biggest football festival on the planet."
"It's a message for all to see who manages the team, and there is no greater player than what Portugal is trying to achieve, which is winning the World Cup," he insisted.
Meulensteen worked with Ronaldo from January 2007 until the Portuguese striker joined Real for a record price in the summer of 2009. The 58-year-old former assistant hopes Ronaldo and coach Santos will have many frank talks to resolve. thoroughly problem. According to him, Ronaldo still has a certain role, but it must match the criteria of Portugal.
Meulensteen predicts Ronaldo will continue to not start the quarter-final against Morocco, but expects the 37-year-old striker to make a difference if he comes on in the second half. "Who knows. Ronaldo could come on in the last 30 minutes to score the decisive goal and turn the world upside down," Meulensteen predicted.
Before the 2022 World Cup, Ronaldo once caused a storm when he claimed to be betrayed by Man Utd, asserted that he did not respect incumbent coach Erik ten Hag and criticized his predecessor Ralf Rangnick ... in an interview with journalist Piers Morgan. Therefore, the 37-year-old striker was terminated by Man Utd before the expiration of half a year.
While still playing, Meulensteen became a youth team coach at Dutch club NEC Nijmegen. In June 2006, he led Danish club Brondby IF on a three-year contract, but resigned after six months.
Meulensteen worked in the youth team from 2001-2006, the reserve team from 2005 to 2006, before working as an assistant for the first team of Man Utd from 2007. He spent six successful years, helping Sir Alex Ferguson to win the Premier League. England in 2009, 2011, 2013, English Super Cup 2008, 2010, 2011, Champions League and FIFA Club World Cup 2008. In June 2013, Meulensteen parted ways with Man Utd when new coach David Moyes brought his own assistant team.
After that, he worked as an assistant to Guus Hiddink at Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala, led Fulham, Maccabi Haifa, Kerala Blasters and is currently assistant to Graham Arnold in Australia - the team lost 1-2 to Argentina in the 1/8 round of the World Cup. 2022.
