By Leslie Tan. Pictures by Lai Jun Wei.
If it weren’t for the Beijing Olympics, the Brazilian Olympic football team wouldn’t be here to acclimatise for that event. “Blessed” with English Premier League teams that have come here for post-season football that most of us know to be just holiday football, the Brazilian players last night were playing to impress coach Dunga.
In the case of Ronaldinho, it was also the urgent matter of giving the 28-year-old as much match practice before the football competition begins in a week’s time against Belgium. With the jersey clinging unflatteringly to his frame to reveal a little too much around the middle, Ronaldinho was kept on for the whole game to get precious minutes.
If this was post-season football, like the visit of Manchester United or Liverpool in the past, the star players usually play no more than 45 minutes, then probably beg the coach to take them off so that they won’t melt in Singapore’s torrid humidity. While the full quota of seven substitutes was used by Brazil last night, there was Ronaldinho still trundling along. Trundling, because he sure wasn’t running too much.
He never really got out of second gear, preferring instead to play a passing, one-touch game rather than run at defences. The one time he did that in the second half, he got the ball all tangled up with his feet.
Of course, a half-fit Ronaldinho is better than a fully fit player whose feet can only control the ball like a ping-pong bat. With a sublime touch and back heel, Ronaldinho set up the first goal for Diego after dragging away Juma’at Jantan of Singapore. Ronaldinho also scored a second goal after the ball fell kindly for him in the 6-yard box, and with all the defenders ball watching, perhaps even subconsciously thinking, “Oh, Ronaldinho is going to score right in front of me and I get to watch! Whoopee!”, Ronaldinho had so much time he took three touches before he put it into the net. His smile after scoring perhaps revealing a trace of embarrassment that he didn’t stick it in first time.
With everyone obviously backing off and not going in with crunching tackles on the Brazilian star, Ronaldinho was given the space to just get his match fitness levels up. Certainly no member of the Singapore Selection would want to be remembered as the player who injured or, worse, broke Ronaldinho’s leg one week before the Beijing Olympics. That would be certainly be one way to become the most famous Singapore player ever.
The organisers paid a reported $2 million dollars to stage this game and obviously deemed it a bet worth making. With the 33,000-strong crowd bringing in an estimated $1 million dollars in ticket revenue, not counting sponsorship sales, and with a promotional period lasting just one week, the benefits for sponsors and organiser are not obvious, and for local Singapore football less so.
But that is not the concern of the average fan. Because of Ronaldinho, many showed up but not in enough numbers to fill the house. Even a World Player of the Year cannot persuade 55,000 Singaporeans to fill the National Stadium.
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Baihakki got Ronaldinho’s jersey. He asked for it on the pitch and Ronaldinho pointed to the dressing room.
Pato’s jersey went to a female TNP reporter who wrote a few articles about him over the past few days – it’s in TNP.
yup. I agree with this article! And I salute Ronaldinho for playing the full game.
Wonder which of the Singapore selection team member managed to get Ronaldinho’s shirt, and also Pato and Anderson’s. Any1 know who are the lucky souls?
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