A criticism of Ronaldo, and of Ballon d’Or holder and key rival Lionel Messi, is that he does not replicate his form and ability from the club game onto the international scene. For Ronaldo to really go down in history as one of the world’s best players and be compared to the likes of Pele and Diego Maradona, he now has the challenge of winning an international tournament to show his pedigree.

With Real Madrid this term Ronaldo has been unplayable at times. He has become the quickest player to every reach 100 La Liga goals for the Santiago Bernabeu club, and if he nets against Barcelona this weekend and Mallorca later in the campaign, will have scored against all 19 of the other sides in the Primera Division this season. Ronaldo is Jose Mourinho’s main attacking threat, and is a key man in potentially bringing success to Los Blancos at home and on the continent.

At Euro 2012 however, things will be slightly different. There will be no Mesut Ozil, Karim Benzema or Xabi Alonso like in his club life, and Ronaldo will be handed the task of inspiring a transitional Portugal side. The golden generation of Rui Costa, Luis Figo et al have been and gone, and the nation’s fans are now desperate to see Paulo Bento’s side excel in Ukraine and Poland.

Given the pedigree of the opponents that Portugal will face, Ronaldo will have to be at his best. There is an argument that Ronaldo will be something of a one-man band for the Portuguese side, but the likes of Fabio Coentrao, Nani and Joao Moutinho are all top players and should provide an excellent supporting cast for main man Ronaldo.

Portugal face Germany, Netherland and Denmark in Group B of the tournament, and progression would be an excellent achievement. The Danes are always a difficult and combative opponent, but the Portugal outfit will be hopeful of victory over the Scandinavians. Playing against the Dutch and the Germans will be mouth-watering ties for the impartial onlooker, and be a real test of Portugal and Ronaldo’s abilities.

Ready to shoot into superstardom, Ronaldo is sure to be motivated to excel this summer, and with the eyes of the footballing world on the tournament in Ukraine and Poland, the lethal attacker can all but put himself in the history books by inspiring Portugal to glory.

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The Real Madrid star, Cristiano Ronaldo has named Diego Maradona and Luis Figo as his idols. His dream is to be labelled as “the next Figo”. He also said that it was an honour to play with the latter for Portugal.

The Manchester United legend told Sport.co.uk, “The first I remember was Diego Maradona. My dad gave me a Maradona shirt when I was very young. He used to shout shoot like Maradona, dribble like Maradona. I remember watching his goals on television and I wanted to do the same.”

He continued, “I loved watching Luis Figo. He did what every Portuguese boy dreamed about. He made it with two of the biggest teams in the world; he played for Barcelona and Real Madrid, won a lot of titles and was the biggest star on the national team.”

“I used to practice doing the same thing with the ball as Figo. Obviously it was a great honour when people said I was the new Figo. I remember meeting him for the first time when I was younger and he told me that I was a great player. That was a big day for me.”

“I loved playing with him on the national team, and I’m honoured that I got to play with one of my great heroes.”

Derbyanabella,Footballfantalk.com

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