Cristiano Ronaldo Arrives in Israel!

Yes, Cristiano Ronaldo has made his long awaited and anticipated arrival in The Promised Land, Israel last night.

He gave the thumbs up to the fans that were waiting for him and the Portugal National Team at the Hilton Hotel in Tel Aviv.

I believe that the media coverage will be slightly less (or maybe significantly less) than President Barack Obama and his entourage which landied in Ben Gurion Airport Wednesday afternoon.

Wouldn’t the general public love to see Ronaldo, probably a more popular figure not only around the world but also in Israel get the grand welcome that President Obama received? Wouldn’t one think a tour of the Israel museum with Ronaldo and a trip to Ramallah & Bethlehem would be a bit more interesting with one Ronaldo at the helm?

I guess one would think…

This afternoon, Ronaldo will take the pitch for the only Portugal practice at Ramat Gan Stadium before the big match at 14:45 Friday afternoon against Israel. It should be an interesting sight as hundreds of photographers and journalists will try to get some piece of CR7 in Israel. The practice will be open to the media for 15 minutes and then a press conference will follow with the Portugal coach Paulo Bento and a player. Usually this is the captain, in this case Ronaldo, but in the the world of football the old adage is, “who knows”.

Time will tell if Israel can stand a chance against a struggling Portugal, but a realist will say, no way, no chance.

But I guess that is why the games are played on the pitch and not at the press conferences or media rooms.