Cristiano Ronaldo is a human being—it's official. The man may run La Liga with deer-like agility and eagle-like precision, but his international form yet again leaves, well, a lot to be desired (think World Cup 2014). In tonight's matchup between Portugal and Austria, the No. 8 in the World Portuguese side seemed like a shoe-in—particularly when they were awarded a penalty in the 79th minute. Of course Ronaldo took it—he's Ronaldo—but then he did something he rarely, rarely does: he missed.The shot was supposed to be historic. Ronaldo would have become the first person to score a goal in four different European Championships, had he scored. But, alas, he was perhaps a little too precise, as he hit the left post dead on and simply could not believe it.He seemed to handle the upset decently in the moment (there's still time, right?), but after getting called offsides with a ball-in-net in the 85th minute? Too much for the man to handle:
Flashes of a Brazilian flame-out, and portrait of human despair.But before you trot out the delicious schadenfreude of watching this cocky human wax figure actually recognize his own humanity in high definition—particularly after he basically did nothing for the Champions League Final earlier this summer, only to make a free kick, and take all the credit—he also did, well, something really human.
A pitch invader came across the grounds just to get a chance to meet Ronaldo for a selfie, and actually got to him. Obviously not a great time for Ronaldo. But instead of pushing him away and letting security do their thing, CR7 handled the fan with grace, warding off security guards, making a memorable moment out of a moment that Ronaldo would rather forget. Class.
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