“Ronaldinho didn’t have the room to play, ask his trainer,” said Blatter.
“He had too many players around him who want to be like him or think they are as good. The system didn’t work. It’s the first rule of football, like chess, that some should run and defend while others make the play.”
Spot on. A lot of people have jumped at the throat of Ronaldinho for being disappointing. Ronaldinho has been brilliant for Barcelona in the last couple of years. So how did he fail to show his magic this time?
A reason pointed out - Ronaldinho being the marked man. However, that holds true when Ronaldinho plays for Barcelona as well - even more so as he is much more dangerous than the players around him at Barca compared to Brazil. So that is definitely not the reason for his failure.
The difference between the teams - Barca has Eto’o while Brazil had Ronaldo and Adriano. Barcelona had Deco while Brazil had x,y and z. Ronaldinho is the perfect at creating chances. If you have a finisher who can utilise those chances, you score a lot of goals. Brazil didn’t seem to be working with a plan. Every one was a star but the team cohesion wasn’t there.
So every one wanted to create the chance and not leave it to 1 or 2 players. We have the issue of team selection as well. We have the issue of team selection as well. I would have played younger talents a lot more as I wrote here.
…from what I’ve seen with my own eyes, this the best team (or collection of players) ever, with a once in a generation player in Ronaldinho. And, from what I’ve read and heard in history, this team, talentwise, is up there with the all-time greats.
For me, that is the bigger reason for the disappointment over the Brazil failure more than because I am a Brazilian fan. The team had so much talent. The coaches are applauded when their teams win. So it won’t be extremist to say that the Brazilian coach Carlos Alberto Parreira missed quite a few tricks this world cup.
All the greats have had at least 1 great world cup. Many thought 2006 would be that for Ronaldinho. It wasn’t to be. 2010? It will be one of the many fascinating things to look out for four years down the line.
It is here then! The match which promises so much. The match every one - particularly the Barcelona and Arsenal fans have been waiting for.
Arsenal, in their best years in the recent past (a couple of years ago when they were winning domestic titles) were performing very miserably in Europe. It was a very good team but critics said that it could not be termed great until it won the big ones in Europe. This, the performance so far, is probably a couple of years late. It was totally unexpected that Arsenal would reach the Champions League final in the year it almost finished 5th in the English Premiership - some thing which exemplifies how it has been a crazy ride of emotions for Arsenal fans. The ride isn’t over. There is still pondering regarding Henry going to Barcelona (some thing I, as a Barcelona fan am very much over excited about). Regardless of that, the season could be perfect for Arsenal if they do manage to win the Champions League.
Dhoomk2 pointed me out to an advertisement in which kids copied a Ronaldinho ad where he keeps kicking the ball on a football pole. This one was another funny revelation to how Ronaldinho did it I thought.
There are proper defensives tackles and then there is the outstretched leg phenomena which is career threatening. Football Commentator (FC) writes:
Over the last decade I’ve noticed a dangerous trend devolving in football. More and more you see defenders attacking the offensive player’s pass by getting closer and closer to the outstretched leg. This is career ending dangerous, and difficult to police…
Often these situations arise when it’s really too late to do anything really useful defensively. Sometimes pressured to defend, players are often bad or halfhearted defenders by nature. A well executed block of a pass or tackle starts with anticipation and poses very little risk to either player using good technique. When you are late it’s often an easy out to strike at the ball as its leaving the opponents foot. This is dangerous.
In the first leg of the Barca-Milan tie, Ronaldinho experienced what FC is describing. Ronaldinho was fouled by Allesandro Nesta when there was no real hope of defending Ronaldinho. I was deeply concerned when Ronaldinho fell on the floor. The face fool of grimace from the obvious pain was a sharp contrast to the smiling face we charecterise Ronaldinho with. It was only a small moment.
Arsenal being the only English club left in the Champions League, almost every one in England is hoping for an Arsenal victory. Check out what the papers say here. One person who has more at stake than your normal fan is an anonymous Arsenal Fan. Reports The Sun:
AN ARSENAL fan splashed out £204,000 yesterday on the biggest-ever bet on the Champions League.
Immense faith in Arsenal and Thierry Henry at the face of the unpredictability of football? Speaking of Henry, he seems peeved at the numerous and repeated questions regarding his future. Henry says he needs more time. Why should tabloids question the loyalty of Henry, a passionate Arsenal player if ever there was one, if he wants to assess the situation he has on hand before making a decision?
Ludovic Giuly, like he usually does, maximised the clean Ronaldinho pass to score and gave Barcelona the crucial 1-0 lead in the 57th minute. Reports BBC:
Just before the hour mark, Ronaldinho finally stamped his class all over the contest. He picked the ball up 40 yards out, skipped past Jaap Stam and whipped an inch-perfect ball in to Giuly, who did not need to break his stride before lashing left-footed past a stranded Dida.
The first half saw Barcelona dominate possession early. However, Milan came back strong and had more chances of scoring. They could not make good of any of those chances though. A few more open chances in the second half (specially for Gildardino) meant Milan had only themselves to blame.
After starting the second half more promisingly than Barca, Milan were deflated by the Giuly strike when they should have become all the more fast footed. Perhaps the prospect of going into the Nou Camp with a goal deficit plus Barca having an away goal in their kitty put too much pressure on Milan.
Both teams hit the post once without scoring. The Ronaldinho strike had brilliance written all over it. Alas, it did not convert into a goal.The game was played very open with lots of chances making it a thrilling contest. All the focus now shifts to the Arsenal-Villareal first leg tie. For Barca fans like me, it is time to rejoice and celebrate.
Ronaldinho is the most valuable footballer commercially ahead of David Beckham and Wayne Rooney. Eto’o and Messi follow in next. So there are 3 Barcelona players in the top 5. Also, the youngsters are the new Brand ambassadors. Only Beckham is over 30 in the list. This more than any thing symbolises the new generation of footballers. There is no Zidane, Ronaldo, Figo and the likes. Beckham is likely to slide off from the top 5 soon too if he doesn’t do some thing spectacular in the World Cup.
What is amazing is how much Michael Jordan still makes via commercials. His brand name has crossed the performance barrier. He has proven so much over his career that it doesn’t matter whether he plays now or not. The Jordan brand is strong and tough to erode.
Would the Tendulkar brand be the same once he retires? Has it eroded even a bit in the recent past where his performance has suffered? What will happen of the Tiger Woods and Michael Schumacher brands once they retire? How much is the Pele brand and Muhammad Ali brand worth today?
One would imagine that erosion does take place in brand values but quality sportspersons manage to command a fair deal of money after their retirement. If there is some legend who symbolises the sport itself even years afyer his retirement, his brand value could be unaffected by recent performances and even increase once he retires.
Barca missed their chances and in the end the score line read 0-0. It is all down to the Nou Camp now. A dangerous position. Benfica won in Liverpool and would be hoping to repeat the away track record. But certainly playing at the Nou Camp will be a lot different to playing in Liverpool.
The below photograph shows one of the things I enjoy about FCB so much:
Eto’o has missed another chance and is disappointed. Ronaldinho plays the role of the guy who encourages, boosts up the team in the face of this disappointment. Ronaldinho is quite the team man - creating chances, motivating players and always smiling.
