Age shall not wither him nor custom stale his infinite variety. Ruthless Ronnie was at it again, his 51st career hat-trick topped off with a superlative last knockings free-kick hit with a new technique. Alongside that there was the pace he should have lost five years http://www.d... ago, an efficacy of action that bordered on the supreme and the spatial awareness of a [url=http://www.footballchiefsofficialstore.com/Joe_Montana_Jersey]Joe Montana Jersey quantity surveyor. The Portugal captain gave a display that was enough to jump-start the World Cup in and of itself. But the delight of this match was that his performance was only one of many intriguing subplots.
[img]http://www.ramsshopsnfl.com/UFiles/images/nike_rams_2024.jpg[/im... dwell on the big man for a little longer, though. Thirty-three years old and off the back of another Champions League title, another 40-goal season, there remains not one sign of a weakening of his will to win. Perhaps, in fact, it is the opposite, as if the impediments that nature tries to put in his way have been transformed into just another opponent on the pitch, another obstacle to get round. On the evidence of this match Ronaldo appears even to be winning the battle with time. The pace he showed on the counterattack against Spain was terrifying. It may not be common to see him sprinting as much as this, given the way Real Madrid tend to http://... dominate the ball, but there is no doubt he still has it in him.
[img]http://www.teamusahockeyjerseys.com/image/cache/data/nhl_jerseys_new/... the [url=http://www.avalancheofficialauthenticstore.com/Andrei_Mironov_Jersey_Adidas... same time he has the cunning and mental wherewithal that only experience can bring. Even then they are tools that are available only when one is determined to use that experience to advantage. He knew Nacho was the uncommon link in this Spanish side and so, in the third minute, he ran at it. Pulling out the stepovers as if he was still a teenager, he duly drew a [url=http://www.footballramsofficials.com/rams+orlando+pace+jersey]Orlando Pace Jersey foul and stepped up to convert the penalty by sending David de Gea the wrong way. Ronaldo’s 27 first-half touches were judicious, every one; in the 16th minute a single backheeled flick on the halfway line sprang the entire Spain defence.
With his second goal, just before half-time, you would not put it past him to have hit the shot straight at De Gea just to put the Spanish keeper under extra psychological pressure. The late, uproarious third was a free-kick. Rather than being struck through the laces in the way he trademarked (before being imitated by so many others) he whipped it round the Spanish wall. He also rolled up the right leg on his short shorts before striking it, another Ronaldo innovation.
So far, so iincomparable, but that was hardly all. At the other end, weighing in at 192 pounds and standing out like a redwood in a team of bonsai trees was Diego Costa. Before the Spanish FA decided to create a national psychodrama by asserting their primacy in HR matters, Costa’s place in the team was probably the most contentious issue in camp. Was his skill set suited to a team who have a long-standing way of playing? If not, would he be willing or able to adapt himself to their needs? The answers, on this display at least, were no and not really, but rather delightfully it did not matter.
The Spanish No 19 was a one-man plan B and he was available from the first whistle. His tiki-taka teammates were not overly inclined to use his very particular set of skills but when they did Costa was in the mood for merking. His first goal began with the incidental pleasure of watching Pepe misjudge the milking of a minor infraction. It ended with that simple combination of brute strength and artisanal precision that is the mark of the former Chelsea man. Costa’s second goal, bundled in on the line from a Ryan Getzlaf Jersey Sergio Busquets knockdown was just as characteristic. He may not be able to dance round three opponents before playing a cross through a full-back’s legs, but he is certainly good for some other things.
One match, two headlines, and both delivered by men the subject of investigation by Spanish tax authorities. After a relatively lacklustre start to the tournament that would have been enough. But this game had a supporting cast of storylines, too, and Uruguay v Egypt would have loved to have borrowed any one of them.
First, there was that De Gea blooper. It seems a long time since Alex Ferguson had to attack referees after matches in order to deflect attention from the Spaniard dropping crosses. In fact it may be De Gea’s first error since 2011. But it happens to the best of them, as well as most England keepers. Then there was a dazzling display from Isco, and a severe case of stage fright from Goncalo Guedes. Oh and Nacho, a guy who has six goals in his Real Madrid career, scores his first for his country with a strike that is almost certainly through to the goal of the tournament montage if not the top three. [url=https://www.authenticcheapjerseys.us.com/]cheap nfl jerseys wholesale jerseys wholesale jerseys from china cheap jerseys free shipping wholesale jerseys cheap jerseys wholesale nfl jerseys