After Cesc Fabregas squeezed his penalty off the inside of the right-hand post to send Spain into the final of Euro 2012 and send Portugal crashing out, cameras quickly zoomed in on one man, muttering to himself in utter disbelief and shock.
So close yet so far. Cristiano Ronaldo could not believe his dream was over, and he had not even been given the opportunity to take a penalty. If a picture could tell a thousand words, that moment would have been it. The moment when Ronaldo realised he was not going to win Euro 2012; he would be going home empty-handed yet again on the international stage.
Everybody believed it was his time. Ronaldo would conquer Europe with Portugal and dispel any doubts about who the best player in the world is at the moment. He could even have been bracketed among the greatest ever. There would have been a case - if Portugal had won Euro 2012.
Would Ronaldo have scored a hat-trick in the final to stamp his authority and showcase his remarkable talent at the grandest stage outside of the World Cup? Now we will never know.
Portugal did everything right on Wednesday in Donetsk. They pressed and hurried the Spanish players. They played a high-tempo game and worried the opponents' defense with Ronaldo and Nani's pace. They did everything, but score. And in soccer, if you do not put the ball in the back of the net, you are bound to be punished, especially against the world's best side. The better team does not always come out on the winning side in soccer.
Ronaldo was good, if not outstanding -- and that is only because he has set such a high standard for himself. He had his chances. One shot went just wide of Iker Casillas and the post, while he shot off target with the game at his mercy in the final moments of normal time. Every time he was on the ball, he looked genuinely threatening. Cutting outside to cross or cutting inside to take a shot, Ronaldo was the best player on the pitch. If only Nani had gotten across Casillas after a wonderful cross from Ronaldo. If only Hugo Almeida had passed to his captain, instead of taking an ambitious shot. If only.
Now the Lionel Messi comparison won't stop. Admittedly, Ronaldo did better than Messi has ever done on the international stage in Poland and Ukraine this summer. However, a semi-final run does not make a player among the greatest ever. You need to take it all the way. Like Pele did numerous times for Brazil, or like Diego Maradona, who almost single-handedly took Argentina to the World Cup title in 1986.
There were many parallels to that Maradona performance for Ronaldo in Euro 2012. Both teams were admittedly weak, although it could be said the Portuguese side were a bit more weaker than the Argentinian side. Both teams depended on their best player to inspire them to the title.
Ronaldo could have emulated the great man, had he taken Portugal to the final and won it for them.
Now the 27-year-old will have to wait two years, before he tries to write himself in the record books again. Messi will also be there, trying to banish the demons surrounding his international performances.
No team from Europe has won the World Cup in South America; Ronaldo will be desperately hoping to change that particular record when he leads Portugal, if they qualify, at the World Cup in Brazil in 2014.
