Genius of Cristiano Ronaldo could lead Portugal to Euro 2008 title

Geneva: Cristiano Ronaldo whines like a toddler. He dives like a swan. He wears a perpetual smirk. You just want to smack him.But he's soooo good.

Ronaldo made a typically dazzling run that set up Portugal's first goal, struck a laser-beam drive for the second and dished off on a breakaway for the third in a 3-1 victory over the Czech Republic on Wednesday, putting his team in the quarterfinals of the European Championship.

And, of course, after he scored, he made one of those trademark winks with his right eye. The wink that says: ''Ain't I great?'' The wink he displayed after he helped get Manchester United teammate Wayne Rooney ejected from a World Cup match two years ago.

''Ronaldo may be the best player of Euro 2008,'' Czech Republic coach Karel Bruckner said.

No disagreement was heard.

If Portugal wins its first major football title, the 23-year-old midfielder named after Ronald Reagan likely will be the reason (his full name is Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro, and Reagan supposedly was his father's favorite actor).

With swiveling Elvis Presley hips and Houdini-like feet, he embarrasses defenders in a manner not seen since Diego Maradona in the 1980s. One moment, he's on the left. Then, he's on the right. Sometimes he pushes up into a striker position.

Zdenek Grygera followed him around so much, you'd think Ronaldo had magnets in those pine green boots _ available in stores, by the way, starting July 1 at a US$300 suggested retail price.

Every time he got the ball and started a run, a roar rose throughout the stadium, starting with the fans closest to the field. Then the sound spread throughout one-deck Stade de Geneve like a wave.

His play is so elegant, like the rues and places in this cosmopolitan city, far more stylish than the strasses and platzes of Germanic Zurich, Basel and Bern. He sticks out among his peers, like the Jet D'Eau fountain that spurts water above Lake Geneva in the city center.

No, make that like Mont Blanc, the Alp that towers above town.

Other players exchange jerseys with an opposing player after the match. Not Ronaldo, no sir.

When the final whistled sounded, after his last burst up the field, he exchanged congratulations with teammates and walked over to the seats on the near side. He stripped off his sweaty white shirt and gave it to a Portuguese fan, who naturally already was wearing a red Ronaldo jersey.

''The team is mature and we are on the right track. We are among the favorites,'' Ronaldo would say a few moments later.

He tried to talk team. We know it's about him.

As Portugal seeks calm and stability, he leaves fans around the world wondering whether he will try to break his contract with European champion Manchester United, which runs through 2012, forsaking millions of pounds in search of even more millions of euros.

He scored 42 goals in the recently completed season, the third-highest total in club history behind Denis Law (46) and Ruud van Nistelrooy (44). It wasn't just the total. It was how he scored.

There was the Dec. 23 game against Everton, when he took a pass from Carlos Tevez and faked so convincingly with his right foot that defender Lee Carsley was left spinning like a top. Ronaldo then launched a bending left-footed shot from 25 meters (yards) that swerved so much, Goalkeeper Tim Howard didn't even dive.

There was the Jan. 30 match versus Portsmouth, when he bent a 30-meter (yard) free kick over a six-man defensive wall and left Portsmouth goalkeeper David James flabbergasted.

There was the March 29 match, when he scored perhaps his most audacious goal of the season. Ryan Giggs' corner kick hit a defender and fell at Ronaldo's feet. With his left leg ahead of his right and his left shoulder to the goal, Ronaldo nonchalantly flicked the ball with his right foot past Aston Villa goalkeeper Scott Carson.

Of course, there was the low point. After scoring the first goal in the Champions League final against Chelsea, he failed to convert his penalty kick, taking a goofy stutter step before a shot that Czech Republic goalkeeper Petr Cech was able to stop. Ronaldo was thinking it would be the worst night of his life before John Terry slipped and Giggs converted the title-winner.

This time, Cech lunged to disrupt a Ronaldo run, only to have Deco free the ball and score the opening goal. Ronaldo broke a 1-1 tie with a shot that left Cech with no chance, then fed Ricardo Quaresma after pulling Cech out of position on a 2-on-0.

This has a chance to be his Euros. Germany, the Netherlands and Spain look to be the biggest obstacles in the knockout phase. But the way he's playing, there's no stopping Ronaldo.