It was, in many ways, surprising. After all, this was Ronaldo’s first game back at Old Trafford since he left United and his goal with about 20 minutes remaining lifted Madrid to a 2-1 victory Tuesday and secured Real’s passage to the Champions League quarterfinals on aggregate, 3-2. If ever there was a situation to celebrate, this would seem to be it.
And yet Ronaldo stayed calm, as if not wanting to rub it into his former team. Perhaps, too, his reticence was an acknowledgment of the bizarre circumstances that led to his decisive goal.
Indeed, even Ronaldo would admit that he was not the story of the night. Neither was United Manager Alex Ferguson, who surprisingly left one of his top scorers, Wayne Rooney, out of his starting lineup. Instead it was Cüneyt Çakır, the Turkish referee, who seized the spotlight in this hotly-anticipated Round of 16 showdown with a startling decision to send off Manchester United midfielder Nani in the 56th minute, leaving United to play more than a half-hour with only 10 men.
The decision surprised everyone — most especially Nani, who had lunged in with his foot in an attempt to play the ball away from Álvaro Arbeloa. Both players rolled on the ground in apparent pain, and Çakir reached for his pocket as he waited for Nani to get up. A yellow card seemed likely.
As United trainers helped Nani to his feet, however, Cakir showed red. Nani stopped short, staring and a group of United players sprinted at Cakir, screaming in anger. Ferguson stormed to the sideline, shouting and pointing.
But Çakir was undeterred and United, which led 2-1 on aggregate after a Sergio Ramos own-goal early in the second half, was left to hope it could contain Madrid’s ample attackers with one fewer player.
Not surprisingly, United could not. Los Blancos pulled even 10 minutes after the red card when Luca Modric ripped a curving shot from about 25 yards out, banking it into the net off the inside of the goal post. About three minutes later, Gonzalo Higuaín whipped in a cross that found Ronaldo, who turned it in as he hydroplaned on the slick turf. That made it 3-2 and all but ended United’s hope at another season of titles both in England and Europe.
Çakir’s decision took the focus off Ferguson’s own controversial call — dropping Rooney. Even before Tuesday there had been plenty of speculation about which players Ferguson would choose for this match and, in the hours leading up to the game, it seemed to be the dominant topic of conversation. Ferguson, the United manager since 1986, has earned a reputation for making unexpected choices but leaving out Rooney will surely be remembered as one of his most provocative, if only because of Rooney’s stature with the club.
Ten years ago when United also faced Real Madrid in a memorable Champions League match, Ferguson dropped another star from his lineup — that time it was David Beckham — but the circumstances with Rooney are different. Beckham’s relationship with Ferguson was already strained — who can forget the episode where Beckham’s face was cut by a cleat Ferguson kicked? — and he was already seen to be on his way out at United (he joined Real Madrid the next season).
With Rooney, there is — or at least was — nothing close to that sort of animosity. Rooney, 27, has been at United since 2004 and while he has been linked to the occasional transfer rumor — most recently there were reports that Paris St.-Germain might be interested — Rooney maintained that he was only interested in playing for the Red Devils. Match nights like these, he has said, are what he most enjoys.
As early as Saturday, though, there were rumblings that Rooney, who has been a staple for Ferguson in big European matches since scoring a hat trick in his Champions League debut in 2004, could be left out since Ferguson might want to protect the away goal United scored in the first leg. Then, when Rooney played all 90 minutes in a 4-0 rout of Norwich that day — while Danny Welbeck was a substitute and Robin van Persie came off once the game was in hand — even more suspicions about Rooney’s status were raised.
Rooney’s exclusion meant van Persie was the lone striker with the veteran Ryan Giggs making his 1,000th career senior team appearance supporting him and Welbeck, who scored in the first leg, playing on the wing.
Welbeck played with good energy and Giggs, despite his age, 39, was the best player on the field for much of the game. But none of their performances will be remembered as much as Çakir’s, whose decision brought a stream of vitriol from the United players at the final whistle. Rio Ferdinand led a charge of players who stomped after Çakir, with Ferdinand sarcastically applauding in his face before being led away by his teammates.