Look, I am no grief counselor. Yeah, I’ve worked with victims of trauma and taken some psychology classes, but I do not make myself as an expert. But even me, the average joe, can see that your relationship with Ronaldinho is really really messed up.
Did things get started too quick, too fast? Did his dazzling step-overs for Barcelona and the league/Champions league double set the bar too high? Were you disappointed with the 2006 performances in Germany? The falling out with Riijkaard? That may well be, but newsflash – time has passed. Answer me this simple question – if you loved ‘Dinho so much for so long, then why, as he stars at Milan, are you so cold?
I know I already reminded you of Dinho a few months back. But the recent hat-trick put an exclamation point on a stellar season – one which you have largely ignored. Is it because he plays in Italy? Has the facial features of Mr. Ed? The tummy of a 2002 Ronaldo? I have been chewing on this, watching you from afar, and have a few theory.
Since George Best, the sexy and dynamic winger inevitably hits the late 20′s. As his looks fade, but the sketchy late-night shenanigans do not, the media goes into cognitive dissonance. For too long, they had portrayed him as the galloping playboy, they had indulged his reckless and socially irresponsible behavior. And now it’s too late to change the plug to “be a better man!” After so much chewing, instead of swallowing the bad taste, they spit him out into a napkin when nobody is looking.
I demand ‘Dinho be released from this napkin immediately!
Unlike Best, Dinho was never a calendar model. His crime may be playing for the wrong team in the wrong league at the wrong time. But he is still playing dazzling football – so don’t be afraid to venture into the Serie A waters.
Please, give the “Dean ho” another chance. Don’t be so stubborn. He hasn’t changed…so why have you?
No related posts.
Ronaldinho was one of the first players I read about when I started my adventure into soccerdom. I bought a World Cup magazine from an airport in Italy and it had a feature on him. I remember the picture the best. Dinho sitting lazily on the beach, smiling his big horsey grin, with distant beach soccer being played behind him on the white sands of Rio.
It was a picture that showed his relaxed, on top of the world air.
He fell from grace after that.
I have always had a special place for him in my soccer addicted heart. I have always hoped for a comeback. One of immense scale, slaying dragons, dancing the samba, carrying whole teams on his back to glory and beauty.
I think I expected too much. Maybe I thought it would happen faster, or at least would appear faster, like a montage moment in a movie. Dinho megs a defender then turns like Cryuff, then bends the ball into the upper 90 to win the championship. Teammates holding him up on their shoulders. The newspaper cover spins into the screen, emblazoned with the words “He’s back!”
It has taken me time to come to terms that it won’t be like that. I think my naivety blinds me from real life.
That, and I don’t trust it. I keep thinking that as soon as someone exclaims that he hath risen again, it will all disappear like so much smoke in the san siro, fading away into obscurity and relative disappointment.
Charlie-
I think you’ve hit the nail on the head. All the hype surrounding ‘Dinho has disappeared as younger or better looking player have taken up the mantel as media darling.
Another factor is the inevitable wear and tear of age – Dinho can’t run like a young 20 something because, simply put, his no longer a young 20 something. Totti, Zizou, and other magicians turned to the trick pass to compensate for no first touch, but Dinho’s dilemma is he already had the trick pass while young – so he can only decay before our eyes, even if he’s still top flight.
Correction time!
Charley sorry about the first name.
And I meant “first step,” not “first touch.”
I don’t think Ronaldinho will ever reach the top of the sport again alongside the current best of Messi, Ronaldo, Kaka, Torres etc…
However, Ronaldinho has been steadily improving at his time at Milan and I believe he can still be a very effective player…
Mike -
I’m not so sure. I think right now, his goal total at AC Milan is better than Kaka’s at Madrid and comparable to Kaka’s at AC Milan.
My beef is that he is still a very good soccer player, adapting his game to an older body, but he lost his boyhood charm and had a falling out with the media. Big time.
But the media is a cruel mistress that can break even the greatest of men. I don’t think he ever had a clue how quickly the world would turn on him.
Zito – did you just indirectly refer to me as a mistress? I am a mister! And not one of those effeminate misters like “Mister Maker.” No, I eat nails for breakfast and lift really heavy weights on a regular basis. Really…
I saw this past summer when I went to watch AC Milan play here in the US that he was performing better. They had a terrible preseason in terms of results but I definitely felt some of the magic was back. He is a phenomenal player and was looking extremely sharp at that early stage of the season. So he is definitely back on my radar. It may take a break out performance or two in the Champions League to put him back in the minds of football fans.
This is a trend though that I notice with Brazilian players though. He has reached levels of stardom that few others have. Then it seems like it is gone as quickly as it came. Look at Ronaldo or Rivaldo as other examples. During their prime they were at the top of the game and then it seems like they disappear very quickly.
Either way he is a remarkable player is playing some really good football this season.
Great points Brandon!
What I’ve seen is a lot of Brazilian players start off with great dribbling and magical passes, then as they get old, they can’t run and dribble like before. Conversely, other plays who start off as dribblers then develop into passers, so we treat them as “developing their game” rather than “declining.”
Those Samba boys just start off too talented, poor guys. Luckily my indoor stock can only rise after a recent series of performances.