2020-21 Season Schedule: Cristiano Ronaldo Has Mountains To Climb

As a result of the global coronavirus pandemic, all the world sporting activities have been disrupted and cut short. Hence, to install some normality in the footballing world, the 2020-21 season schedule has been slightly congested over a shorter period.

Also, there is another concern for players due to the rescheduled Euro 2020 Championship. The tournament is set to take place in the summer of 2021 by the end of the congested 2020-21 season. Meanwhile, all the 2020-21 season schedule are to be meet up so that by the summer of 2021, a new season will start in the proper time.

With the narratives above, it’s definitely going to be tough for many players especially those players who are involved in big domestic leagues, European club competitions and Euro 2020 when finally kicks off in the summer of 2021. Portugal national team captain and Juventus ace Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the players heavily affected by this 2020-21 season schedule and as he turns 36 this season, it will certainly be a challenge for him.

Number Of Games Cristiano Ronaldo Could Play From His 2020-21 Season Schedule

Here, we’re going to break it down by competitions how many games the superstar could play this season across his 2020-21 season schedule.

Italy (Serie A and Domestic Competitions)

Cristiano Ronaldo could play a maximum of 38 games in Serie A for the Bianconeri in the 2020-21 season as the Turin outfit are expected to challenge for the title and will need their star forward. Bookmakers predict that Ronaldo is expected to feature in all the league games this season provided that he’s fit. However, Cristiano is unlikely to play more than 40 games in total in Italy this season, since he won’t be participating in cup competitions until the latter stages. But should he opted to compete in the cup games, it would come at the expense of some league games.

UEFA Champions League

The five-time UCL winner is expected to feature in every Champions League game this season, so far as he’s available and eligible to play. Thus, there is a chance of adding another six games to start with. But should Juventus perform as expected, Ronaldo’s number of games in the Champions League this season should not fall below 10 games.

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EURO 2020 Championship

At the end of the 2020-21 Serie A season, Ronaldo and Portugal will likely engage in one or two friendly games to round up their Euro 2020 preparations. Then at the competition proper, the star forward will play at least three games, perhaps, one more is expected, that’s if Portugal advances to the knockout stages of the competition.

Injuries, Suspensions, and Resting

These are the factors that can influence Cristiano Ronaldo’s chances of participating fully in each of the tournaments mentioned above. At the moment, Ronaldo is sidelined after he was reported to have tested positive for coronavirus on October 13. Since then, he has missed Portugal’s UEFA Nations League encounter against Sweden the following date after the news surfaced. He also missed Juve’s last weekend trip to Crotone that ended in a disappointing 1-1 draw after the Turin giants were reduced to 10 men following Chiesa’s red card.

The Portugal captain has not seen a suspension come his way this season so far and would not have been rested at the moment if not for the coronavirus issue. Meanwhile, Ronaldo is set to miss Juventus’ next two games, including Champions League opener against Dynamo Kyiv and next weekend’s Serie A tie against Hellas Verona. Hopefully, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner will recover in time to face La Liga giants Barcelona in matchday 2 of 2020-21 Champions League campaign.

Total Games Ronaldo Could Play From The 2020-21 Season Schedule

Since Ronaldo will be out of play for at least two weeks since October 13, the chances are that he ends up seeing out about 50 games under his belt starting from the middle of September through to the beginning of July, which amounts to a period of nine and a half months. It works out on an average of six games per month and one game in every five days, even though some months could be busier than others.

Meanwhile, the 2020-21 season schedule looks difficult because of how 2019-20 came to an end after the pandemic kept footballing activities out for a period of five months. So to get 2021-22 season underway on time, this current season needed to be condensed, which will make it difficult for most players to cope.

This season, Cristiano Ronaldo has featured in two league games for the Old Lady, scoring three goals and contributing one assist. Juventus now has eight points from their opening four games after the defending champions were awarded 3 points for their unplayed game against title rivals Napoli after the opponents failed to honour the fixture.

Assumptions

Let’s consider that Portugal is knocked out of Euro 2020 at the beginning of July, it means that Cristiano Ronaldo would have one full month of rest before returning to his club for a short pre-season until the 2021-22 kick starts. But should Portugal participate in the tournament until the latter stages, chances are that Ronaldo will have a little or no rest before returning to his club in August.

Indeed, it’s going to be a tough season for players who have to deal with this, and Cristiano Ronaldo will not be the only one to feel this heat.

Now the question is, how is this condensed 2021-22 season schedule going to affect Cristiano Ronaldo’s productivity? What are the chances that he plays well and scores goals? Will there be a dip in production? And finally, will Portugal be the ones to feel the effects most? Plus, there’s the 2022 World Cup that is on the horizon also. And the tournament is marked as a farewell tournament for Ronaldo from the international football.

So what are we to expect? Feel free to share your opinion on this article in our comments section below!