4 June 2006, by Tom Kundert

Scolari admits Ronaldo fears

“Cristiano has to learn how to deal with provocation”

Cristiano Ronaldo has been warned by Luiz Filipe Scolari that he must learn to control his temper better or he will risk seeing red in Germany.

In last night’s match against Luxembourg, the Manchester United winger grabbed Strasser by the neck and threw him to the ground after he suffered a bad foul. Fortunately for Ronaldo, the referee calmed down the situation and showed the two players yellow cards.

One week earlier Ronaldo had been involved in a similar incident in Portugal’s match against Cape Verde, again earning a yellow card when in the World Cup it could well have been red.

“This is worrying me, of course it is,” commented Scolari. “Most adversaries will try to wind up Cristiano and he has to learn how to deal with it.”

“He has to have his head in the right place and not react in that way: opponents now know that if they foul him he will react.”

Scolari substituted Ronaldo in the second half after he again clashed with a Luxembourg defender, but Big Phil believes Ronaldo will correct this weakness before the World Cup gets underway.

“He’s part of a squad and we will show him the difficulties he’s going to face in the next matches. Cristiano’s got a good character and listens to his team-mates, so I believe he will change.”

The player himself recognised he had erred and promised to eradicate that part of his game. “I could show you my leg [where he suffered the foul] but it doesn’t justify my reaction.”

“I suffered some bad fouls, and sometimes we can’t contain ourselves and lose our heads. That’s what happened. I apologise and hope there will be no repeat in the World Cup.”