Captain Ronaldo leads from front for Portugal

Geneva: Any doubts about where Cristiano Ronaldo's focus would be at the start of Euro 2008 were dispelled in Portugal's 2-0 win over Turkey in their Group A opener.

Ronaldo did not score but came close at least twice and played a major role in Portugal's fine attacking performance on Saturday that underlined their status among the tournament favourites.

"Playing like that we can win the European (Championship). We scored twice, had two balls on the posts and one on the bar," Ronaldo told reporters.

Ronaldo had two chances in the first half - a close range effort that was blocked and a free kick which Turkey goalkeeper Volkan Demirel just managed to turn onto the post. In the second half his low shot from the left was well saved.

Widely tipped to be the player of the tournament, Ronaldo came to Switzerland in the middle of a tug of war between his club Manchester United and Real Madrid for his future services and doubts about his concentration on the job in hand.

Responsibility

In Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari he has, however, a no-nonsense manager who becomes the team's number 12 player so influential is he from the touchline.

"I asked Nuno Gomes to give Ronaldo the captain's armband so he'd feel more motivated and that's exactly what happened," Scolari said.

Ronaldo, moving further forward, played a captain's game for the final 20 minutes by leading from the front in Nuno Gomes's position.

"The idea was to give him a boost, increase his will so he could overcome his tiredness, make another dribble, make another pass, (maybe) make another goal," said Scolari, who praised the physical fitness and commitment of his team. The Brazilian coach needed to keep Turkey busy as much as possible in their own half towards the end and avoid letting his team fall back too deep as the opposition pressed for an equaliser.

"I've been captain many times. At a major tournament the responsibility is the same. It's always nice to play with the armband," Ronaldo said.

"I prefer to play on the wing but I can also play as a striker because I want to help the team. I try to always play for the team, to always play well," Ronaldo added in answer to those who thought his mind might be elsewhere. "The most important thing is that the team won and that, in my opinion, played well."

Scolari added, "We won the match and are 50% towards qualification. We needed six points, so 50% after one match is excellent. They showed good technical quality and impressive form - they were dynamic."