Ronaldo pride as royal Real crowned kings again

Cristiano Ronaldo could not contain his pride after firing Real Madrid to their 11th Champions League success on Saturday with a decisive, and pre-planned, penalty in a 5-3 shoot-out over Atletico Madrid.
After two scoreless periods of extra time following a 1-1 draw, the city rivals were forced to spot-kicks.
And after Atletico defender Juanfran’s penalty came off the post, Ronaldo sparked wild celebrations at Milan’s San Siro stadium after stepping up to confidently sweep his effort past Jan Oblak.
With 16 goals in the competition, Ronaldo has finished the top scorer for the second time after his 17-goal haul in 2014.
Although he missed out on matching his previous record, his pride was plain to see.
“An unbelievable night, to win my third Champions League on penalties again, to be the top scorer in the competition again, I’m so proud,” said the Portuguese star, who won the trophy with Manchester United in 2008 — when he missed a penalty in the shoot-out — and with Real in 2014 when Atletico crashed to a 4-1 extra-time defeat.
“We work hard during the season to win this amazing trophy, so I’m so proud of my teammates, of the fans, families, of the coach.
“It’s my second year I scored more than 15 goals. The person with the season scoring record in this competition is me, with 17 goals (in 2014).
“And this year 16; or 17 with the penalty. What more can I ask for ?“
Two years after reviving Real’s bid for a 10th title, Real captain Sergio Ramos bundled home a close-range opener after just 15 minutes only for Yannick Carrasco to force extra time when he came off the bench to level for Atletico 11 minutes from the end.
Real spurned chances to secure the trophy in both periods of extra time, but kept their composure throughout a tense penalty shoot-out that went their way when Juanfran hit the post.
Ronaldo, he appeared to suggest, was never likely to miss.
“To be honest, I was confident I would score, I said to Zidane before the penalties, ‘put me the last one because I feel I’m going to score the winning goal, and this is what happened,” he said.
“I’m so proud to score the winning goal and to win the Champions League again.”
Ronaldo capped the celebrations with the trademark removal of his shirt, revealing a still muscular and toned physique, although after spurning a couple of real chances, the 31-year-old admitted his performance was far from perfect.
“It maybe wasn’t the best one, but who played unbelievable tonight? No one. It’s tough. It’s the end of the season, you don’t have power in your legs that you have at the beginning of the season.”
Zidane becomes just the seventh footballer to win the trophy as coach and player. In 2002, the Frenchman’s stunning volley was the match-winner in a 2-1 defeat of Bayer Leverkusen in Glasgow.
“I’m so proud to be part of this great club. It’s the club of my life, the one that made me who I am,” said Zidane.
Ronaldo, meanwhile, says there’s plenty more to come.
“I’m always there, in the top level. I still feel good, I still feel fresh, not tonight though!” he said.
“I showed the team that I’m there. For the good moments and the bad. This is what makes me feel proud.”

After two scoreless periods of extra-time the match went to penalties, and when defender Juanfran’s effort blasted off the bottom of Keylor Navas’s upright Ronaldo stepped up to secure the trophy for the second time in three years. In 2014, Atletico lost 4-1 in extra time after Ramos headed a late leveler at the death.
It means Real coach Zinedine Zidane has joined an elite club of players — including, notably, Johan Cruyff, Carlo Ancelotti and Pep Guardiola — to have also won the title as a coach.
Man-of-the-match Ramos said, Zidane’s arrival in January following the sacking of Rafael Benitez was “really important for us.”
“He has a great relationship with the players. We’ll be celebrating this with him!” said Ramos.
The normally reserved Frenchman, meanwhile, was overjoyed at lifting European club football’s biggest prize.
“I was given the chance to come to this amazing club, and then to coach it. I have a phenomenal team and great players who are also talented, and it was together we achieved what we did tonight,” said Zidane.
Real, inaugural winners of the competition in 1956, claimed their 10th title two years ago in Lisbon when a late Ramos leveller pushed the match into extra-time.
Atletico coach Diego Simeone had pledged his side, two-time Europa League winners in 2010 and 2012, would end their wait to finally win Europe’s premier competition.
But it took only six minutes for Real to start knocking on the door when Jan Oblak had to produce a point-blank save from Karim Benzema after Gareth Bale’s back-header.
When Ramos opened the scoring on the quarter hour, Atletico’s hopes, and morale, plummeted.
“We started the game badly,” admitted Simeone, who hinted he could now consider his future at the club.
“I think I could start thinking about my future,” Simeone said cryptically. “It puts a lot of years on you.”
Before half-time Atletico were restricted to an Antoine Griezmann shot that fizzed wide of the upright, but they were handed a lifeline seconds after the restart when Pepe barged into Torres from behind.
English referee Mark Clattenburg had no hesitation pointing to the spot but Griezmann, with seven goals in the competition this season, smashed his effort off the underside of the crossbar.
After Bale skewed an effort wide, Atletico got back on their feet to see Saul Niguez turn on Carrasco’s cross and send a half-volley wide of the post.
It prompted Simeone into some frantic arm-waving, but instead fans were left breathing huge sighs of relief as Real piled on the pressure.
At the end, Simeone said: “What really hurts me is to see the hurt of the people who’ve paid to come here — I feel a bit responsible that I wasn’t able to give them what they wanted. That’s what really hurts.”
Luka Modric sent Benzema clear but he found the chest of onrushing Oblak with the goal at his mercy.
Modric was involved again when Ronaldo shot straight at the keeper from 25 yards, and Atletico survived a huge scare when Oblak stopped Ronaldo’s effort, then had Stefan Savic to thank for clearing Bale’s follow-up off the line.
The match was turned on its head moments later when Carrasco muscled his way through Real’s central defense to smash Juanfran’s perfectly-weighted cross past Navas and send the red half of the stadium wild.
But in the end penalty misses from Juanfran and Griezmann left Atletico coming up short.
Ronaldo said: “Penalties are always a lottery, you never know what’s going to happen.
“But we showed that our team had more experience and we showed that we scored all penalties — it was unbelievable, a fantastic night.”

Source : Arab News