"Special care" for Ronaldo, says Spain

Spain are going to "take special care" of Portugal's star player and captain Cristiano Ronaldo in the Euro 2012 semi-final match, says Spain's coach Vicente del Bosque.

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Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo waves to fans at Lisbon airport on his way to the Euro 2012 tournament. AFP

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Spain out to neutralise Ronaldo again

Ronaldo runs with the ball during the Denmark vs Portugal on June 13 at the Arena Lviv. AFP

Spain are going to pay special attention to Portugal's star player and captain Cristiano Ronaldo as they look to neutralise Wednesday's Euro 2012 semi-final opponents' chief threat.

"We will be taking special care of Cristiano Ronaldo," said coach Vicente del Bosque, noting that the Spanish had managed to do just that in their round of 16 success over their Iberian neighbours at the last World Cup.

On that occasion, Ronaldo was unable to turn things around as David Villa, missing from the Spanish squad through injury at Euro 2012, scored the only goal.

"It won't be an individual (marking) thing, there will be permanent help as there was two years ago," Del Bosque told Cope radio referring to the defence in general trying to keep Ronaldo quiet.

Ronaldo admitted on that occasion that the defeat had hit him hard.

"I feel wretched, completely desolate, unimaginably sad," he told Gestifute.com, the website of his agent Jorge Mendes the day after the match.

He had refused to speak to journalists after the match, saying only they should speak instead to coach Carlos Queiroz.

"I am a human being, I am suffering and I have the right to suffer alone," he said.

Del Bosque meanwhile saluted his defence for keeping him in their pocket and hopes for a repeat in Donetsk on Wednesday.

Czech midfielder Tomas Hubschman (R) vies with Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo during Portugal's Euro 2012 quarter-final match with the Czech Republic on June 21, at the National Stadium in Warsaw. AFP

"When players such as Cristiano Ronaldo are kept quiet then the credit goes to our defenders," Del Bosque said after the World Cup meeting.

Yet Ronaldo has found his form here after a slow start.

The Portuguese also can look back to a November 10 friendly success over the Spanish in their last meeting – even if Ronaldo did not score on that occasion. AFP

neutralise – to stop something from having any effect ทำให้ไม่ได้ผล
opponent – a person or team being competed against in a sports event คู่ต่อสู้
chief – main; most important หลัก,สำคัญ
threat – a person or thing that is likely to cause trouble, danger, etc
manage – to succeed in doing something สำเร็จ,จัดการได้สำเร็จ, ทำได้สำเร็จ
Iberian (peninsula) – the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar
neighbour – someone (or towns, cities, countries) who lives or is located near you  เพื่อนบ้าน
occasion – a time at which something happens ครั้ง, โอกาส
squad – a team in sports from which the players for a match are chosen ทีม
injury – physical damage done to a person or a part of their body อาการบาดเจ็บ
individual – a person considered separately rather than as part of a group บุคคล
marking – (in sports) defending against an opponent การป้องกัน
permanent – happening or existing for a long time or for all time in the future ถาวร  
defence – the players who must prevent the other team from scoring; the position of these players on the sports field  ผู้ป้องกัน
in general – including the most important aspects of something; not exact or detailed; overall โดยทั่วไป
admit – to agree that something is true, especially when you are unhappy, sorry or surprised about it  ยอมรับ
defeat – a loss in a competition ความพ่ายแพ้
wretched – feeling ill/sick or unhappy อนาถ, น่าสังเวช
desolate – very lonely and unhappy หดหู่ใจ, ไร้ความสุข
unimaginable – impossible to think of or to believe exists; impossible to imagine สุดที่จะคนึงคิด,เข้าใจยาก,คาดคิดไม่ถึง,เป็นไปไม่ได้
refuse – to say you will not do something that someone has asked you to do ปฏิเสธ
journalist – a person who writes news stories or articles for a newspaper or magazine or broadcasts them on radio or television ผู้สื่อข่าว
suffer– to be badly affected by a disease, pain, sadness, a lack of something, etc  ประสบความทุกข์
meanwhile – at the same time ในเวลาเดียวกัน
salute – to express praise of support for a person สรรเสริญ
keeping him in their pocket – keeping him under control เก็บภายใต้การควบคุม
repeat – something that happens again, i.e., which is very similar to a previous happen การกระทำซ้ำ
vie – to compete strongly with someone ลงแข่งขัน
form – how well somebody/something is performing; the fact that somebody/something is performing well  ระดับความสามารถ, ฝีมือ, ความเก่ง
friendly – a match that is not part of a competition but is played for fun or to practise skills