Cristiano Ronaldo has been crowned the best player in the world. But his coach Carlo Ancelotti has stated that he hopes for even bigger things from his superstar in the coming year.
"Cristiano has been playing very well," the Real Madrid manager stated, according to ESPN. "Winning the Ballon d'Or was a great motivation for him, and it will be the same again for the next year. It was not a weight on him.
"Now he has more responsibility as the holder of the Ballon d'Or, we can ask more from him," added Ancelotti. "It is difficult to ask more from someone who has scored more than 60 goals in a season, but I have the courage to ask for even more."
For four years, Ronaldo, despite his best efforts (and they were quite good) had to watch as Messi was crowned the king of soccer. In 2013, he caught a huge break. Messi was injured all year round and thus less fortunate. This made it easier for Ronaldo to shine. But it was not all luck. The Portuguese superstar, who scored 69 goals in 59 games in 2013, finished the year with 18 goals to start the 2013-14 season and broke Messi's Champions League group stage goal record with nine tallies. He also led Portugal to the World Cup finals with a hat trick against Sweden and four goals over two legs.
What more could be asked of Ronaldo in 2014? More goals? While more than 70 goals would be a terrific feat, what Ronaldo really needs is to win a few trophies while still scoring at the rate he has in the past few months. Many have criticized Ronaldo's win because he did not win a single trophy, but a victory in that department plus the same goal scoring brilliance would likely be what Ancelotti wants from Ronaldo; it would also help his quest to secure his second straight Ballon d'Or.
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