WARSAW: Czech Republic skipper and midfielder Tomas Rosicky (pic) taunted Cristiano Ronaldo ahead of their quarter-final tomorrow (2:45am) claiming the Portuguese star does not defend, reported The Sun.

Ronaldo’s talent overshadows the tie and, as usual, the Portuguese pin-up divides opinion. His teammates claim he is unrivalled on a pitch while his critics dismiss him as merely the ‘12th best’ on the planet behind the Barcelona team.

Arsenal's Rosicky faced Ronaldo in many Premier League matches before the Portugal skipper quit Manchester United for Real Madrid.

“He’s a good attacker, but he doesn’t want to defend," said Rosicky.

“Sometimes you can be so good you can afford not to help the defence and just score goals. But is he the best player in the world? I don’t know if he is worthy.

“People say Portugal are the favorites but how do you recognize a big team? Especially out here, all the teams are strong and only small details will decide who wins.

“There are not five big teams then the rest of us. This will be one of our most difficult matches in the Euros but we feel we have a chance to go through even against Portugal.”

Ronaldo only started to make an impact in Euro 2012 with two goals in Sunday’s final Group B clash with Holland.

However, Czech coach Michal Bilek is urging caution against the £80million Ronaldo.

“Ronaldo is an excellent player and we will adjust our tactics to reflect that, be more defensive. Ronaldo can score 40 or 50 goals a season. To defend against him takes exceptional effort," he said.

“We must not give him any space or it is impossible to stop him. We don’t have stars, beyond perhaps Petr Cech and Rosicky, if we defeat Portugal it will be down to the team.

“Russia punished us for opening up too much. We strengthened the defence and that was the key.”


- mD