I still remember the day I was introduced to the world of Football. Living in India, all anyone could hear about all day was about cricket and what Sachin Tendulkar had done in a previous game. When i was five, my family and I left India and settled in Bahrain, a country with an immense love for Football. It was the year 2002 and what any kid could talk about those days were about the FIFA World Cup 2002. And that is how i came to know about this beautiful sport. And if you heard anyone talk about Football those days, there would be this one name which would always come up in the conversation. If you havent guessed it already, the name is Ronaldinho.
The way people talked about him, you could see how much they adored him. Before even i saw Ronaldinho play, he had become my favorite player. You have to admit that you can’t hate him after seeing him with that trademark smile he has on almost always. Wanting to know more about him, I started watching him play more and as my love for Football increased, so did my love for Ronaldinho.
The Brazilian was one of the few players who had a natural talent in the game and was blessed with pace, skills, technical ability and that killer finish which made him a dangerous figure in the final third.
Brazil went on to lift the cup in the World Cup 2002 and Ronaldinho played a vital role in it. He joined FC Barcelona in the summer of 2003 and it was here he experienced the most fruitful spell in his career. In his second season with Barcelona he helped them win the league title and won his first FIFA World Player of the Year. In the following season, he played a vital role for the club as they won UEFA Champions League and the La Liga title. His most remembered moment came in the El Clasico when he tore apart the Real Madrid defense with two spectacular solo goals, one of them in which he dribbled past the defenders as if they were practice cones and finished with a shot that left the goalkeeper standing still as a statue. His performance that night earned him a standing ovation from the rival fans, something only a reserved few has had the joy to experience. After a successful season with Barcelona, he earned his second FIFA World Player of the Year as well as the Ballon d’Or.
But, with all the talent which was given to him, you could say he didnt possess the one thing which was needed to stay on top of this game…and that is hard work. He didnt have the will power to improve himself. And to make things worse, his lifestyle was heavily criticized by his coaches and rightfully so. He was known as a person who loved to party. And all those late night parties resulted in him being late to training or sometimes not even reporting for training. This came to the knowledge of the public when he was in PSG but no one really gave much attention to it cause it never affected him out on the pitch. But, slowly his lifestyle caught up with him and started affecting his game and his physical condition started deteriorating. This was not taken lightly by the newly arrived coach Pep Guardiola who shipped him off to AC Milan in the summer of 2008.
His spell in Milan was received with mixed reactions. The magic he once had was gone and even though there were moments in which you could see the old “Ronnie” in him, those moments were slowly decreasing. What surprised most was that even with all the criticism, he still didn’t give up his partying lifestyle to work harder at the training. After three years with the club, his time in Europe has come to an end. He went to play for a few teams in less competitive leagues outside Europe but never succeeded in getting back his old form. He finally retired in the year 2015 after choosing to terminate his contract with Brazilian team Fluminense.
Hence came the end to the story of one of the best players of this generation. Even though the story of a talented Brazilian kid with a promising future did start well….it did not end well. His life could be the perfect example to the saying that hard work beats talent. Fans still wonder how much more they could have seen if he possessed the hardworking trait. But unlike other sportsman who have experienced fall from grace with cases in which they were embroiled with controversies like drug abuse and sex scandal, Ronaldinho’s decline was solely due to his lack of hardwork.
But, as i said before, who could hate this person after seeing him with that contagious smile. Ronaldinho still remains one of the respected and adored figure in world Football and for me, he is the person who made me fall in love with the beautiful game the world calls “Football”.
The Futbol Sage
The Futbol Sage 