Cristiano Ronaldo is finally getting an attacking partner he can count on.
Andre Silva, the 21-year-old forward who is about to make his debut in a major tournament with Portugal, has been successfully teaming up with Ronaldo to give the European champions an impressive attacking force entering the FIFA Confederations Cup.
Together, the young Silva and the veteran Ronaldo have scored 18 goals since they started playing alongside each other following the Euros last year.
Photo: AFP
Silva, who has just moved from FC Porto to AC Milan in a transfer worth nearly 40 million euros (US$45 million), has scored seven goals in eight games since his debut with the national team in a friendly against Gibraltar in September last year.
“It’s a dream to be playing with Ronaldo,” Silva said ahead of Portugal’s Confederation Cup debut against Mexico yesterday in Kazan, Russia. “I’ve always imagined myself playing with him. I’m very happy to be playing alongside our captain.”
Few players have succeeded alongside Ronaldo in Portugal’s attack recently.
Nani, Ricardo Quaresma and Eder were in the squad when Portugal won the European championship last year, with Eder scoring the extra-time winner in the final against host France, but none made it to Fernando Santos’ squad for the Confederations Cup, the World Cup warm-up event.
Silva has been compared with a young Fernand Torres, the former Spain striker currently playing for Atletico Madrid.
The tall forward is a constant danger on set pieces inside the area. He is cool and calm when he has chances in front of goal.
In addition to being an idol, Ronaldo also serves as a mentor for the talented young forward.
“Cristiano talks to me and gives me advice,” Silva said. “He’s been playing this game for several years, I’m just starting. I try to listen to him and he tries to help me as best he can. I think that we communicate well and we have a good understanding and that leads to these good results.”
Ronaldo scored twice and set up Silva’s goal in the team’s 3-0 win at Latvia in European World Cup qualifying last week, the team’s last match before yesterday’s Group A opener against Mexico at Kazan Arena.
The duo scored goals in the same match three other times — World Cup qualifiers against Hungary, Andorra and the Faroe Islands.
Silva’s first goal with Portugal’s main squad was an 86th-minute close-range strike against Andorra, capping a 6-0 rout in which Ronaldo scored four times. It was only Silva’s third match.
In his next game, Silva scored a hat-trick against the Faroe Islands, when Ronaldo added one goal in another 6-0 victory.
“Since I joined the national team I’ve felt very welcomed,” Silva said.
More than 180 years of horse racing came to an end in Singapore on Saturday, as the Singapore Turf Club hosted its final race day before its track is handed back to the Singaporean government to provide land for new homes. Under an overcast sky, the air-conditioned VIP boxes were full of enthusiasts, socialites and expats, while the grounds and betting halls below hosted mostly older-generation punters. The sun broke through for the last race, the last-ever Grand Singapore Gold Cup. The winner, South African jockey Muzi Yeni, echoed a feeling of loss shared by many on the day. “I’d
Former world No. 2 Paula Badosa has withdrawn from this week’s Wuhan Open, organizers said on Tuesday, amid a racism row over an online photograph. Tournament organizers said the Spaniard had pulled out of the WTA 1000 tournament, citing a gastrointestinal illness, hours before her first-round match against Australian Ajla Tomljanovic. News outlets including Britain’s the Telegraph earlier reported that Badosa had posted a photo on Instagram in which she appeared to imitate a Chinese face by placing chopsticks on the corners of her eyes. The photo was taken last week in a restaurant in Beijing, where she reached the semi-finals of the
PREDICTION: Last week, when Yu’s father made a wrong turn to the former champions’ parking lot, he said that his son could park there after this year With back-to-back birdies on the 18th hole, Kevin Yu fulfilled his driving range-owning dad’s prediction that he would win the Sanderson Farms Championship and become Taiwan’s third golfer to claim a US PGA Tour title. The Taoyuan-born 26-year-old, who represented Taiwan in the Olympic golf at Paris, saw off Californian Beau Hossler in a playoff at the Country Club of Jackson, Mississippi, on Sunday. Having drained a 15-foot putt to claw his way into the playoff, Yu rolled in from five feet on the first extra hole, ensuring he joined Chen Tze-chung (LA Open in 1987) and Pan Cheng-tsung (RBC
LeBron James and eldest son Bronny James claimed a piece of NBA history on Sunday after making their long-awaited first appearance alongside each other for the Los Angeles Lakers. The duo appeared together at the start of the second quarter in the Lakers’ 118-114 preseason defeat to the Phoenix Suns in Palm Desert, east of Los Angeles. While LeBron James impressed with 19 points in just 16 minutes and 20 seconds on court before sitting out the second half, Bronny found the going harder with zero points in just over 13 minutes on court. The younger James attempted just one
RSS