World Cup Hasn't Dulled Ronaldinho's Appeal

Filed in archive Ronaldinho on August 8, 2006

image: si.com

Despite his disappointing World Cup, Ronaldinho is still a crowd favourite. 92,650 fans crammed into the Los Angeles Coliseum on SUnday night to see a double-bill of chivas USA vs New England Revolution, followed by the Chivas de Guadalajara vs Barcelona friendly.

Fans had to wait until the second half of the second game (or, if you like, the fourth quarter of the evenings entertainment) before Ronaldinho made an appearance, but he was greeted by a standing ovation (just for being there) and a sea of flashbulbs.

And he didn't disappoint, pulling out the usual flicks and tricks to delight the masses, and even one backheel that serruptitiously co-incided with some in-stadium fireworks.

I would hesitate to get on the bow-down-before-him bandwagon, but what wins me over about Ronaldinho isn't his flicks, his tricks, or even his cheeky grin. It's that he's effective. It was his clipped through-ball that put Eidjur Gudjohnsen clear to score for Barcelona (the new Icelandic signing hitting the post before scoring the rebound). If it was all for show it would be all for nothing, but the fact remains that Ronaldinho produces results AND is a marketing dream come true.

Chivas later equalised (just as well considering they sacrificed their opening Mexican league game to compete in this fixture) sending all 92,650 fans (the largest ever attendance for a soccer match at the LA Coliseum) home with a smile.