Cristiano Ronaldo: Al Nassr Head Coach Rudi Garcia Vows Not to Change Game Plan

Cristiano Ronaldo: Al Nassr Head Coach Rudi Garcia Vows Not to Change Game Plan

Martin Moses
updated at April 12, 2023 at 8:23 PM
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  • Al-Nassr Head Coach Rudi Garcia has asked his players not to change their playing style to suit Ronaldo
  • Ronaldo had a difficult time on his debut with Al-Nassr players always trying to lay out passes for him
  • Garcia has expressed optimism that they will find a balance to help Ronaldo integrate into the squad

Cristiano Ronaldo has been dealt a mini-blow after Al-Nassr Head Coach Rudi Garcia revealed he won't change his style to suit him.

Ronaldo finally made his long-awaited debut in Saudi Arabia when he played for the entire 90 minutes against Al-Ettifaq.

Cristiano Ronaldo, Al-Nassr, Rudi Garcia, debut, Saudi Arabia
Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates with a team-mate after winning his first match in the Saudi Pro League against Al-Ittifaq at Mrsool Park Stadium on January 22, 2023. Photo by Khalid Alhaj/MB Media
Source: Getty Images

He was instantly made the captain of the side but struggled to find the back of the net. Last week, he scored twice during a friendly game against Lionel Messi's Paris Saint-Germain.

Al-Nassr struggled to get the five-time Ballon d'Or into the game with Garcia admitting as much. Garcia stated that his players tried so hard to always pass the ball to Ronaldo.

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The former Lyon manager has promised not to change the basic tenets of his game to accommodate his new striker.

"It’s very important for the players to play normally and not always try to give the ball to Cristiano. I told them they need to make the right choices on the pitch. Tonight, I think that sometimes we had good positions to cross but not enough people in the box – and sometimes no Ronaldo and no Talisca. We need to work on that, to have one of them in the box and maybe the other playing outside the box," as quoted by Goal.

Garcia has however admitted that Ronaldo's presence in the club will boost his side calling him one of the best players in football history.

Talisca praises Ronaldo

Sports Brief had earlier reported that Brazilian forward Anderson Talisca has paid glowing tribute to Cristiano Ronaldo following the latter's maiden appearance for Al-Nassr on Sunday evening.

Talisca argued that the former Real Madrid and Manchester United forward is unparalleled in football, adding that the Riyadh-based club were delighted to have him on board.

The 28-year-old ex-Benfica marksman scored the only goal to hand Ronaldo a winning start to life in Saudi Arabia. Reflecting on Ronaldo's impact on his official debut, Talisca hailed Cristiano.

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Martin Moses
Martin Moses is a sports journalist with over five years of experience in media. He graduated from Multimedia University of Kenya (Bachelor of Journalism, 2017-2021)
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