Slip n slide soccer brazil9/13/2023 He had some good times with Milan, and also with Atletico Mineiro in 2012 and in the early months of 2013 when, surrounded by the pace of Bernard and Diego Tardelli and the back-to-goal proficiency of centre-forward Jo, Ronaldinho sparkled for a while.īut ever since 2006, he has usually been content to be a peripheral figure, restricting his zone of operation to the left flank, occasionally ornamenting proceedings with a moment of inspiration but never grabbing the course of a game and bending it to his will. But even before 2006 was out, Lowe had noted that, back at Barcelona, Ronaldinho was looking "slow, unhappy and overweight." As befitting someone of his ability, he has come up with the odd breathtaking moment-a magical piece of control, a superbly struck set piece or a pass supplied at an angle that wrong-foots an entire defence. Since then, with not a sign of fury, it has been downhill for Ronaldinho most of the way. The illustrious pair, he continued, "transformed themselves in adversity. The team, in truth, was top heavy, but as events unfolded-and did not go to plan-he seemed to accept them with a worrying passivity.Īs the ever-astute Tostao wrote in an article for O Tempo at the time: "Ronaldinho lacks an important characteristic of Maradona and Pele-aggression." Brazil's failure in Germany was by no means entirely his fault. That 2006 World Cup, though, was the turning point in Ronaldinho's career. Before the World Cup, rounding off the 2005/06 Spanish season, Sid Lowe, World Soccer magazine's witness to the Ronaldinho years, described him as "a fantasy player who reminds you why you fell in love with the game in the first place." At the time, though, it all seemed justified and reasonable. In hindsight, such hype comes across as ludicrously funny or desperately sad. Going into the 2006 World Cup, the Brazilian media was full of claims that this would be the tournament in which Ronaldinho showed he was better than Pele. He was 25 and, in theory, about to come into his sporting prime.įor his country, he had already won the World Cup when, as part of the "Three R's" attack in 2002-Ronaldo, Rivaldo and Ronaldinho-he confirmed the promise of the gawky youngster who had claimed the FIFA U-17 World Championship five years earlier.įIFA World Player of the Year Ronaldinho, with Lionel Messi and Samuel Eto'o in 2005 Getty Who can blame them for wanting to believe? Because in his short prime, Ronaldinho was extraordinarily good, hitting heights of joyful expression that few players have ever reached.Ī decade ago, when he collected his second consecutive FIFA World Player of the Year award, there seemed no limits to what Ronaldinho could achieve in the game. But on the other hand, it is understandable they wanted to be part of the magic that is associated with the goofy star. Perhaps these fans should have been more careful with their money. In essence, they were celebrating the fact that many supporters had been effectively gulled into buying shirts with Ronaldinho's name on the back. And they had the cheek to issue a statement claiming that his time with the club had been a success, based on the achievement of marketing objectives. Just as the game seems to be destined for a 0-0 finish, a box-to-box blonde midfielder launches a stinging shot from the halfway line that squirts through the keeper’s grasp and into the bottom corner.Ĭue celebrations all round, and a trip to the showers.One of the conditions of the deal was that he had been granted a fortnight's holiday, although he had been inactive since being shown the door by Mexican club Queretaro at the end of May.īy late September, when it was clear to all that Ronaldinho was not in good enough physical shape to make an impression, Fluminense cut him loose. Suddenly, the ball breaks for the pink team in front of goal but the sexy striker can only slice her effort over the wall. Play continues as the scantily-clad women battle through the treacherous conditions in search of a goal. The referee stops the game and orders a restart before an overzealous brunette launches a tasty two-footed tackle in on an opposing player. Within five seconds, half of the ten players have hit the deck, covered in soap suds. When the match official, a portly gentleman in a grey suit, begins the game by throwing a ball onto the pitch, all hell breaks loose. Played on an inflatable pitch around 25m in length, the rules seem to be similar to 5-a-side football: the ball is always in play, goalkeepers are optional and refereeing policy is extremely liberal. Not content with merely sending women in swimsuits hurtling down a slip-n-slide, Brazilian television channel RedeTV! invented an entirely new sport to showcase some of the country’s most beautiful women.
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