Penalty Kick Ethics

After this weekend's recent Ronaldo vs Xabi Alonso dispute over who should take the second penalty kick that would eventually be Real's sixth goal of the game, I was bothered about the entire situation. Through long boring lectures at University, I began to redirect my focus from class to the incident. This was what I read on Goal.com which displayed the dialogue between the two Galacticos:

"Cris, give it to me...because I haven't even scored one goal. Let me score one. Let me."

"The next one, I promise you,"

"No, stop. Give me this one. Come on, give me the ball"

If you can't figure out who is who, well I'm sorry, you'll be confused for the rest of the article. This is according to Spanish TV station, Canal. Now I'm not trying to bring anymore attention upon the subject intentionally but it's a subject that must be addressed. This is a Real Madrid issue, and this is a Real Madrid blog. Now, I've read peoples comments about their thoughts about the subject but after observing and talking to some of my trusted football minds, there are a couple different mindsets to how this argument should have been avoided.

First let me dissect Ronaldo with my own thoughts. Everyone knows that Ronaldo has a huge ego. I believe his intentions are team orientated but I think he is transfixed and obsessed with being the player that makes the difference for the team. He also loves his image and reputation. This works both ways. It's positive because Ronaldo hates losing. He will do whatever he can to make sure his side wins, including taking on a lead-by-example role. He has a passion for the sport like few others. However, his passion leads to temper at times. His lead-by-example role makes him believe that he HAS to be the one to make the difference. For example, when he missed the penalty against Ameria and Benzema thumped home the rebound, he didn't celebrate with the Frenchman because he was so upset that he was unable to convert the go-ahead goal himself. His talent is great but it gets to his head as seen in this latest incident. So if Ronaldo can balance the two mindsets between passionate and prick he will go on to achieve more than he comprehends at this point because he has trouble doing what I just described. He does want the team to win. He knows he can't win without them and often when asked about himself in the press he deflects the praise and focus to the club or the team. He did this most recently when Marca reported his warning to Lyon when he made these statements:

"This is the team that is waiting for you and is going to do everything possible to beat you."

"I played well but the team was better. We are a hell of a team."

It's either Ronaldo has good intentions and is team orientated or he just had to find a more modest way to say "I am ready for you and I will beat you all by myself." It's up to you what you'd like to believe. I want to trust that he is a team player for this great club that he won't cause dressing room problems, but his personality always hints in the other direction. Anyway let's get into the ethics and morals of this spat.

I personally have my own opinion of what should have gone down. When Alonso asked to take penalty, Ronaldo, like a good teammate should do, should have smiled back at the Spaniard and said "Yeah, sure Xabi. Common now, get one!" I think it's childish and selfish that Ronaldo didn't grant his teammate (who is just as vital to the team in a more quiet way in my opinion) a goal that has so elusively avoided him. A goal for Alonso would surely lift pressure off his shoulders and maybe lead to a couple more. From what I've seen, most people feel the same way. The correct way to deal with situation would be for Pellegrini (who handled the Guti situation like a true professional) to pull the two aside before training and say something along the lines of:

"I don't know what was said, what it was about, or who was in the wrong. But you two are teammates in the greatest team on the world, professionals. We haven't got time or room for this kind of behavior on this team. Your actions against Villarreal were childish and reflect badly on the Team, the Club, and Yourselves. We're past this. We will hear nothing more about it. Shake on it and get your asses out to training."

Then Ronaldo, realizing he was in the wrong, gives the next penalty to Xabi Alonso. Everything goes back to normal and it's an issue of the past.

I ran the topic behind my close friend and brilliant football mind, who sees the game in a way most people don't see it. He said that the coach should already have the penalty takers set in stone and that without question about who has scored and who has not, that person takes it. That was a wise view I thought. It would have been understood by the whole team and the conflict would have been avoided. It's always a mystery on who will take the penalty for Real. It goes almost by a criteria system. Something like, if Ronaldo hasn't already scored then he takes the penalty and if Ronaldo has already scored but draws the penalty, he takes it, unless he is physically unable. Or if Ronaldo draws it and doesn't want to make his new best friend Kaka upset, he sometimes lets him take it. It's too confusing. How about Ron takes them. If Ron is not on Kaka takes them. If both are not on Xabi Alonso takes them. Simple and affective.

My friend also brought up the point that maybe, as harsh as it may sound, Alonso should get out there and score himself instead of asking for a handout from Ronaldo, who earned the penalty and is primarily the penalty taker (according to the ridiculous criteria lol). This is interesting too because automatically people want to blame Ronaldo's ego for the confrontation. It's hard for me to say Ronaldo was right but maybe Xabi Alonso would want a more memorable goal for his first tally in a white shirt, like one of his midfield blasts where he catches an unsuspecting goalkeeper off his line from around the center cirlcle. I have been wanting a Xabi Alonso goal no matter how it comes but could it possibly be that that wasn't the Spanish international's place? It's a perspective that I didn't think of and I know it was overlooked by many. Just something interesting to think about.

This all comes right after I was expressing my view of "Ronaldo is becoming a good team player" on The Offside comment section. So I'm little stressed on what I should think. I know people have opinions on this. I'd love to see who agrees or who looks at the football world a little differently. I was debating on whether or not to write about this but I think it's a good topic that needs addressing. Hopefully this situation has already been dealt with by our loved Club who always remains image conscience.

Hala Madrid

Bobby