MUMBAI: There was a bright spark on the horizon for the football fans who had huddled up outside an upmarket mall in Mumbai, under grey, brooding skies. Ronaldinho and his signature buck-toothed smile made a blink-and-miss public appearance in the city on Friday, as part of Premier Futsal promotions.
Even though the 36-year-old last played for Brazil in 2013 and club football in 2015, he was in his heyday a stellar proponent of the beautiful game. He was also the last of his generation of achievers for Brazil.
The South American country hasn’t quite been able to conjure the magic they did in the 2002 World Cup, where Ronaldinho scored a goal from 40 yards out against England. But Ronaldinho was adamant that Brazil are still a force to reckon with in world football.
“There were many hard moments in my time too,” said Ronaldinho during a media interaction on Friday. “My generation had hard moments when we had to qualify for World Cups, but they went over it. This generation is full of talent, and right now they’re just passing through a storm, but I’m confident that they will get through it.”
As special as he was for Brazil, Ronaldinho was the creative force behind Frank Rijkaard’s all-conquering Barcelona. The pinnacle of that came during the 2005-06 season, where Ronaldinho scored 26 goals as Barcelona won the La Liga and the Champions League title for the first time in 14 years.
Even though Ronaldinho had successful stints at Paris St Germain and AC Milan, and was also the talisman of Atletico Mineiro on his return to Brazil, he spent the peak of his career in Barcelona.
On one occasion, the Santiago Bernabeu crowd, which does not even shy from booing Real Madrid players, stood up and applauded his genius. “It was the most amazing phase of my career,” he said of the five years spent in the Catalan capital.
“But wherever I went, I always managed to win titles with the clubs I played for. But Barcelona was a bit more special since I spent more time there.”
Now the Brazilian has become more of a messenger of the game, taking it to far corners. Having played a charity match in Pakistan last week, he was involved in a promotional event in London on Thursday, and made his way to Mumbai only on Friday afternoon.
deepti@newindianexpress.com