In the immediate aftermath of the Euro 2016 final on Sunday, something in the media got my attention… and got my goat.
Why was Éder, the scorer of the winning goal for Portugal, not the biggest news in the coverage of the event?
Sure, Cristiano Ronaldo was the captain of Portugal and their leading goalscorer, but he only played for 25 minutes in Sunday’s final.
However, headlines all over the world read "Ronaldo lifted a Cup made up of effort and tears", or pictures of him holding the cup were splashed all over. This is inevitable in the world of sport and media; those who are praised the most, will forever be praised, no matter what.
It was as if the world needed to be reminded that Ronaldo was the best (whether he is better than Messi or not... that's a debate for another day). I, for one, did not expect a goal from the Guinea-Bissau born Eder. Written on my “scoresheet” were Ronaldo, Nani and the energetic Renato Sanches.
Still, I would have liked to see Éder praised until Portugal wins another big tournament, but that would be asking for too much, I think.
* Karabo Mavuso is a journalism student at Rhodes University