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Ronaldinho exit marks end of an eraEuropean Football by Jonathan Stevenson - BBC Sport (U1987325) 16 July 2008   On a day when Barcelona spent £11.8m on new signing Alex Hleb, a visit to their official website on Wednesday might have left you thinking the Spanish giants were a club in mourning. Ronaldinho became the dominant presence in a city that took him to its heart And how. With his brilliant Brazilian as the catalyst, Rijkaard presided over one of the most successful spells in the Blaugrana's history.They did it playing a brand of football that relied on pace, passing and counter-attacking and Barca, at a time when beautiful football was becoming increasingly hard to find, were a joy to watch. Ronaldinho became not only the team's talisman, but the dominant presence in a city that took him to its heart. A second-placed finish in La Liga was followed by back-to-back titles and then the crowning glory of the team which included the likes of Deco and Samuel Eto'o - their Champions League triumph in 2006. For Ronaldinho, his personal zenith took place in the cauldron of hate reserved for Barcelona footballers that is Real Madrid's Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, on the night of EL Clasico on 19 November, 2005. For 90 minutes, Ronaldinho toyed with Real as he inspired his team to a 3-0 victory and scored two sensational solo goals - the second of which earned a standing ovation from fans of the Madrid club. It was the first time a Barcelona player had been treated with such respect in the Bernabeu since a performance from a certain Diego Armando Maradona in 1982. "I never thought I would see this, now I can die a happy man," said Radio Catalunya commentator Joaquim Maria Puyal at the time. Going into the 2006 World Cup, Ronaldinho was by far and away the best footballer in the world. Since then, the former Gremio playmaker has struggled with form and fitness and the speed of his decline meant he was left on the Barca bench several times last season even when fully fit. More worryingly, his desire to even continue playing the game was brought into question - to the extent that there were rumours he was considering retiring from football earlier on this year. But in joining AC Milan, Ronaldinho has given himself the best possible chance of reigniting his career and proving he still has the mental fortitude to play at the highest level. His move has been called a gamble for the Italians and in many ways, two years since he showcased anything like his genius best form, it is. However, if the Rossoneri get him firing on all cylinders, they have just signed a player who two years ago was seriously threatening to gatecrash Pele, Maradona et al as one of the greats of the game. Fans of football across the globe will be wishing Ronaldinho luck as he seeks to get his career back on track. On a Premier League note, it also means Manchester City, who were desperate to sign Ronaldinho but were realistically never going to get close, have a spare £25m to spend. As well as further clouding the future of Arsenal striker Emmanuel Adebayor, as Milan will not now be making a move for the Togo hitman. The reverberations of the summer's biggest transfer have only just begun. Latest 10 commentsRead members' comments or add your own
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liverpool_alex (U12722736) posted Jul 21, 2008 I am not a Barca fan, but Ronaldhino was Barca`s historic monument on the pitch. He turned the game around. He was a superstar and any Barca Fan could say that he is Barca`s best ever player. I recently saw a video on youtube of the top ten skills of Ronaldhino and it was amazing! He was brilliant!
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soccerlifer (U12568524) posted Jul 21, 2008 @ quasar 98 who wrote
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Yves_a (U9818375) posted Jul 21, 2008 liverpool_alex (U12722736) posted Jul 22, 2008 He didn't play at the end of last season...so everyone knew that he would go to AC Milan.
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RFC-CM-RFC (U9507922) posted Jul 27, 2008 "Please review the historical contribution of Cruijff at Barcelona."
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barca92 (U12801686) posted Jul 30, 2008 Johan Cruyff was the best in Barcelona's history without doubt his contribution off the field was just as important as his contribution on it.
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pembs1 (U12803501) posted Jul 30, 2008 I remember the great AC Milan teams of the past that seemed to built around Dutch players. It seems now that we will be seeing another great AC Milan side this time built around Brilliant Brazil. Ronaldinho, Kaka, Pato and I still can't help but feel that maybe even El Presidenti Ronaldo has a part to play! I'll be watching!
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renoog (U13513755) posted Feb 13, 2009 Great player, could have cemented his place in the all time hall of fame had be performed for slightly longer at his 03-06 level. He's been fairly good for Milan but nothing like the brilliant, one-man wrecking ball genius we saw for Barca (who have managed to replace him with a certain diminutive Argentinian).
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RenegadeOfFunkk (U13309025) posted Feb 15, 2009 Ronaldinho will always be a legend, was simply brilliant during his time at Barcelona. And he knocked England out the world cup Comment on this article |
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