Cristiano Ronaldo calls for unity

Madrid, Jan 10 (IANS) Real Madrid striker Cristiano Ronaldo has made a call for unity in the team after scoring a hat-trick to take his side into the Copa del Rey quarters.

Ronaldo scored the first three goals in Wednesday night’s cup tie as Real Madrid defeated Celta Vigo to come back from 1-2 down after the first leg and took a 5-2 aggregate victory on what had been a difficult night for Madrid, Xinhua reports.

Madrid coach Jose Mourinho was once again booed by the supporters in the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium after his decision last weekend to keep goalkeeper Iker Casillas on the subs’ bench.

Casillas was in goal for Wednesday’s game, but that didn’t save Mourinho from being booed. The final result was in doubt until Ronaldo’s third goal of the night in the 87th minute.

“We should all stop criticising, because now it is the moment that we all have to be united. We are still in with a chance of winning the Champions League and the copa,” said Ronaldo afterwards.

Ronaldo missed out again to Lionel Messi in the award of the Balon D’Or for the best player of 2012, which was announced Monday, but he said he was delighted with his form as he responded to the disappointment, which is his fourth in four years, in the best possible way.

“It is an honour for me to score so many goals for this club. I feel as if I am in very good form at the moment. We have all come back well after the Christmas holidays and we want to carry on like that until the end of the season,” he said, adding that he could feel the affection of the fans in the Bernabeu, although he refused to commit his future to Real Madrid.

“I am not going to talk about other clubs, I have a contract and I am happy here, but everything is possible in the world of football,” said Ronaldo.

IANS 2013-01-10 20:10:07