Cristiano Ronaldo wants to win the European Cup with Real Madrid but admits the club feel the pressure of La Décima.
AS reports an interview Ronaldo conducted with FIFA’s official website after winning the 2013 Ballon d’Or, in which the Portugal captain discusses his aims for club and country and on a personal level.
Asked about Madrid’s desire to win the European Cup for the first time since 2002, Ronaldo insisted he was thrilled with the challenge no matter the strain.
“It does generate some pressure, yes, but it also creates excitement too.
“Real Madrid are in the hunt for winning the Champions League every year, which is an extremely important competition and one all the teams involved in want to win.
“Let’s see if luck goes our way this year and we can claim La Décima, which is what we all want.”
Having claimed the Ballon d’Or for the second time, Ronaldo is already looking forward to receiving a third.
“I really wanted to win the Ballon d’Or for a second time, so receiving it from two legends like Pele and Platini is a privilege.
“Now I hope I can do it all again next year and claim my third.”
Ronaldo pointed to qualifying for the World Cup with Portugal as his favourite moment of 2013 and agreed that a successful tournament would be the best way to pay tribute to the late Eusebio.
“I feel a great deal of sadness about [his death]. We lost someone who was very important to Portugal, a genuine flag-bearer, so it’s natural that my compatriots around the world were deeply saddened.
“We are hoping to have a good World Cup, but you mustn’t forget we had a very difficult time in qualifying and then had to face Sweden in the play-offs – two games which turned out to be extremely complicated.
“But of course the World Cup will be a completely different challenge and we’ll prepare for it differently too
“We were all really keen to get there, particularly because it’s being played in Brazil, due to the culture over there and the fact it’s the country where the game is played most.
“For all those reasons it’s an honour, though we know it’s going to be an extremely tough competition. Our priority is getting through the group phase and then we’ll see what happens.”
