Cristiano Ronaldo stood on the halfway line with his hands on his hips, looking up to the sky in anguish. For Portugal, it was the same old story. As at the 2010 World Cup, neighbours and bitter rivals Spain ended their Euro 2012 dream.This time, heartache came in the semi-finals on penalties. The particular nature of Ronaldo's role in the Selecao's downfall also provided a weighty stick for detractors of the polarising superstar to dish out some beatings."Cristiano Ronaldo demanded the last penalty," said Nani, who scored Portugal's third spot-kick before Bruno Alves hit the cro sbar and Cesc Fabregas ensured Spain got out of an often dicey 0-0 draw with a 4-2 shoot-out triumph."I said to the coach I would accept any order," Nani added, trumpeting his selfle sne s for good measure. It was not a quality readily a sociated with Ronaldo at this juncture.In 2009, he left Manchester United for Real Madrid, placing himself at the forefront as European football's most tempestuous domestic argument went nuclear. Barcelona, with Lionel Me si, Pep Guardiola and an underpinning of La Masia's collective excellence went toe-to-toe with the eternal enemies from the capital, starring Ronaldo and with Jose Mourinho leading a brutal and mercile s all-star Larry Johnson Jersey collective.As Sid Lowe points out in his book , which documents the rivalry up until that era of crescendo, the lightside/darkside Barca-Madrid dynamic is shot through with multiple shades of grey. The two institutions Len Dawson Jersey and the players who represent them are often more alike than those with vested interests on either side of the divide would ever dare admit.MORE:But categorising both camps as such was an irresistible shorthand as Guardiola led the Blaugrana to three consecutive league titles and Champions League glory in 2008/09 and 2010/11, with Madrid under Mourinho responding to take the Spanish title in 2011/12 amid continually implausible hauls of points and goals. By this point, Me si and Ronaldo had made the Ballon d'Or another battleground, turning it into an annual two-man argument.Therefore, as Ronaldo absorbed the weight of his nation's despair in Donetsk, plenty viewed it as a moment of ultimate hubris. His preening desire to be the man who sealed the victory, wanting another unforgettable showreel moment for his collection, prevented him from saving his team.You could also interpret Ronaldo being on the fifth penalty as an act to spare any of his colleagues the most high-pre sure moment, to shoulder the burden he had increasingly taken on for a Portugal side who outplayed Spain by most measures and were desperately unlucky on the night. The queue of people lining up to make that argument felt somewhat shorter.Ronaldo had been wearing his national team's armband for four years, taking on the captaincy before Euro 2008 at the age of 22. It was the latest show of faith from Luiz Felipe Scolari, who had filled the father-figure role for Ronaldo with Portugal as Alex Ferguson did during those formative years at United.At club level, Cristiano was ramping up his goalscoring output and Portugal began to see the benefits as he plundered eight goals during qualification. The tournament proper would be a different story as an ankle injury took its toll.He helped himself to a goal and an a Tyrann Mathieu Jersey sist in the second group-stage win over Czech Republic, which meant a valuable game off as qualification was secured with a match to spare. Unfortunately for Portugal, their dubious reward for claiming top spot was a quarter-final against Germany.The team that had hustled their way past Argentina in a home World Cup two years earlier were taking flight as a dynamic outfit under Joachim Low. Through Bastian Schweinsteiger and Miroslav Klose they raced into a 2-0 lead. Nuno Gomes reduced the arrears, converting on the rebound when Jens Lehmann denied Ronaldo. Lukas Podolski a sist Bastian Schweinsteiger finish This goal opened the scoring in Germany's 3-2 win over Portugal at EURO 2008 ! | | UEFA EURO 2024 (@EURO2024) It was almost 2-2 at the break as Ronaldo cut in from the left in trademark fashion and fizzed a shot just past the far post. Germany had the breathing space they needed when Michael Ballack followed Klose's lead by converting a Schweinsteiger free-kick, meaning Helder Postiga's header to set up a grandstand finish was too little, too late.That lo s brought down the curtain on the Scolari era and his succe sor was appointed with Ronaldo in mind. Carlos Queiroz forged his reputation during two stints as Alex Ferguson's number two at Manchester United, either side of a le s succe sful season in charge of Real Madrid's galacticos.On paper, it looked like a flawle s alliance but did not account for Queiroz veering towards ultra-defensive tactics. After recovering from his ankle problem, the first three games Ronaldo played in qualification for the 2010 World Cup all finished 0-0.The Selecao became an utterly miserly outfit under Queiroz, conceding three goals in 16 matches prior to South Africa 2010, but Ronaldo paid a terrible price. In 18 games during the Queiroz era, he scored twice and disgruntled Jordan Lucas Jersey murmurs among Portugal fans that they were getting a shadow of the man Madrid made the most expensive footballer in the world began to grow louder.An unhappy marriage found some familiar faces to supply divorce papers. David Villa's 63rd-minute goal was the culmination of Spain chipping away at Portugal's granite wall in Cape Town. Vicente del Bosque's team were on their way to a historic World Cup triumph, while their beaten Iberian counterparts were soon looking for a new head coach.Lleg el da!!! Grandes recuerdos contra Portugal!!! David Villa (@Guaje7Villa) "Ask Queiroz," Ronaldo tersely responded to a reporter when quizzed on why Portugal had lost to Spain. A chaotic 4-4 draw in Euro 2012 qualification against Cyprus followed by a 1-0 lo s to Norway, each without an injured Ronaldo, did not provide the required answers for prolonged employment.Paulo Bento, Ronaldo's former teammate from Sporting CP, took up the reins for a rebuild without Deco, Tiago Mendes and Simao Sabrosa, who had retired from international football to underscore the bitter feeling the 2010 campaign engendered.Bento's Portugal were undoubtedly a team between generations but the coach loosened the shackles so that Ronaldo's attacking Harrison Butker Jersey brilliance could flourish. No longer ploughing a lone forward furrow, with the alternating support of Postiga or Hugo Almeida he rattled home seven goals in eight remaining Euro qualifiers, including a brace as Bosnia-Herzegovina were hammered 6-2 in the second leg of the playoffs.MORE:The forlorn, misfiring Ronaldo of the South African misadventure was gone. A swaggering La Liga champion was ready to bring that form to bear at Euro 2012. A lo s and a win in their first two matches against Germany and Denmark left Portugal with an all-or