WARSAW, June 20, (AFP): Portugal have rallied around captain Cristiano Ronaldo ahead of Thursday’s Euro 2012 quarter-final against the Czech Republic here.
It will be the third meeting between the two sides in the last five championships, with each side having won one apiece — the most important belonging to the Czechs in the 1996 quarter-finals on their way to losing to Germany in the final.
Paulo Bento’s Portugal have got where they are thanks to their team ethic and after seeing Ronaldo finally click into gear in Sunday’s game against the hapless Dutch to score both goals in the 2-1 win.
They have been accused of creating a cult of personality around their 27-year-old captain but the team have circled the wagons in the face of what they see as unjustified criticism.
“The important thing is that Ronaldo is one of the most professional players I have ever come across,” said midfielder Raul Meireles.

“He gives his all at every training session.
“He is our leader and, on the pitch, there is no one who wants to win more than him.
“He scored twice in the last match; before he had drawn a blank but he had still helped us out in other ways.”
The Czech’s outstanding goalkeeper, Petr Cech, acknowledges the Portuguese are favourites for this match and says the team is made up of more than just Ronaldo.
“They are among the world’s top 10 teams. It’s a team full of personalities and outstanding players and they play very well. Against the Netherlands on Sunday, they were excellent up front,” said the Chelsea number one.
“They also have enough experienced players. The team has matured and it’s really strong.”
Although they are not amongst the overall favourites here, Cech’s club-mate Meireles believes Portugal can emulate Chelsea and shock Europe.
“Chelsea won the Champions League when nobody considered them as favourites,” he said referring to their penalty shootout win over Bayern Munich in May.
“When we began this tournament, nobody mentioned Portugal as one of the favourites. “If we manage to do the same (as Chelsea) it will be the realisation of a dream.”
They received a boost in their preparations for this match as Real Madrid centre-back Pepe resumed training on Tuesday after sitting it out on Monday with sore ankles.
Meanwhile, Czech Republic captain Tomas Rosicky resumed training on Wednesday giving some cause for optimism that he will be able to start Thursday’s Euro 2012 quarter-final against Portugal in Warsaw, the Czech football association said.

The 31-year-old playmaker — a member of the flair-filled Czech side that reached the Euro 2004 semi-finals — has been struggling with an inflamed Achilles tendon injury which kept him out of the final group match (a 1-0 win over Poland) and saw him return to Prague for treatment.
However, the Arsenal star was able to do some light training on Wednesday ahead of the squad’s departure for Warsaw later where the semi-final takes place.
“Rosicky returned to the team after two-days of treatment in Prague and underwent light training,” the association said.
“It’s still true that we will decide whether he will play or not only before the game,” national team spokesman Jaroslav Kolar said on the association website.
Rosicky suffered his latest setback during the first-half of the 2-1 win over Greece in their second group match, and while he was ably replaced by Daniel Kolar the skipper is pivotal to the side.
Rosicky’s career has been plagued by injuries, and after missing Euro 2008 he had also been a doubt for this edition after suffering a calf injury in Arsenal’s last Premier League match of the season.
The Czech captain left Wroclaw for Prague on Sunday to undergo treatment on his Achilles tendon under the supervision of a renowned Czech physiotherapist.