Ricardo Carvalho: Ronaldo shouldn't play every minute, but it's a difficult decision for the coach

Former Portugal defender Ricardo Carvalho was a guest on former Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel's talk show, where they discussed the Portugal national team and Ronaldo.

Interview Excerpts

John Obi Mikel: I know Roberto (Martinez), he's a good guy. But he coached Belgium when Hazard and De Bruyne were at their peak, and he didn't win a single trophy with them. Then he took over a Portugal side that is just as talented, with excellent midfielders like Bruno Fernandes. We all know Ronaldo is getting older, but he still has that quality around him. Yet Portugal still couldn't go all the way. What's the problem?

Ricardo Carvalho: I have a simple answer: football is not played by one person. There's another team on the field, you understand? Of course we have top players, but the opponents are strong too. For me, the key is the team's overall style of play.

Take Portugal, for example, since I can speak about the Portugal team. Sometimes the whole team needs to play more as a compact unit. Of course, the team has a superstar like Ronaldo, and everyone has to accept that. But the new generation of players might not be as accepting of it as we were back then. Do you understand?

Bruno Fernandes's quality is incredible, truly outstanding. With a player like that, how can you not control the game? Nuno is also one of the best full-backs in the world, simply unbelievable. This is what I want to say: we see them perform well for their clubs, but once they join the Portugal national team, they seem like different people, and sometimes it feels like they've disappeared.

John Obi Mikel: Do you think Ronaldo is playing too many minutes? He played every game, and every minute of every game. At the time, everyone was saying he was 41 years old. The weather was also very hot, and football is physically demanding for anyone, so everyone gets tired. And Portugal weren't playing well. Why not substitute him and let someone else play? Why didn't Martinez have the courage to make that decision and help the team succeed?

Ricardo Carvalho: In my opinion, he shouldn't play every game for the full 90 minutes. But you also have to look at it from another perspective. Ronaldo has won many honors for the team in the past. Anyone who knows him knows he always wants to stay on the field, because that persistence is what brought him success. Even if the game goes to 90 or 95 minutes, he wants to stay on because he feels he can still score.

It's really hard for Martinez to substitute him. Sometimes, even when he's tired and running less, he still thinks: "The ball will come, and I can score." He'll think: "I can score from a free kick." He's always like that.

And we all know, more or less, that our time in the national team will eventually come to an end. Ronaldo is very important to us. I think Martinez wants to keep playing him as a way of repaying him, because he has contributed so much to the team over the past three or four years, and he doesn't want him to fade away just like that.

But even when Cristiano looks tired, he still feels in his heart that the ball will come and he can score, whether from open play, a penalty, or a corner. Perhaps it's this mentality that keeps him working hard, keeps him succeeding, keeps him scoring goals, and keeps him moving toward his goal of 1,000 career goals.

This is difficult for a coach to handle, because you can't cater to just one player; there are about 26 others in the squad. If you treat Ronaldo this way, what will the other forwards think? They are also waiting for their chance to play. It affects the whole team. Still, if I were in his position, it would indeed be a difficult decision to make.

In my experience, if substitutions are made too late in a game, the effect is often the worst, because the players are already tired and can't keep up with the pace. So in my opinion, he should be substituted earlier. However, the decision isn't mine, it's Martinez's. Ultimately, I think he is satisfied with his decision. After all, Martinez substituted him in only one game, against Croatia, where Goncalo scored.

I know many Portugal fans and others are asking this question. Everyone respects Ronaldo and acknowledges all he has achieved. But if you want to achieve something in that tournament, with a 41-year-old player, you can let him play for 60 minutes first, and if he's not performing well, bring someone else on at 60 or 70 minutes. The national team must win. We all understand and cherish Ronaldo's past achievements, but for Portugal to succeed, the coach must make the right decisions at the right time. Look at the teams that won championships; they all made the right choices at crucial moments. I don't think Roberto did that well.