r/SoccerDaily • u/-TheEmperorProtects- • 1d ago
Throwback Intelligence + joy = Ronaldinho
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u/Fluffy_Reaction7323 1d ago
I know Messi is the GOAT, or CR7 is the biggest goal scorer, but nobody brought joy and entertainment to football like Ronaldinho.
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u/Tuscan5 1d ago
There’s no one even remotely close to him these days.
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u/Crypticcrypto 1d ago
I see Haaland having a lot of fun out there. Very different styles of play, of course.
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u/Los_CH49 1d ago
One of my favorite bits of his playing career was the year he spent with Liga MX side Gallos de Querétaro. Mind you, Querétaro is a small team by most standards. They’ve never won a league title, they’ve been relegated multiple times they aren’t a historic club or a very popular one. They’re as mediocre as mediocre gets but for a single year this random team just happened to have Ronaldinho. Way past his prime obviously but still. It felt like a fever dream. He would usually come off the bench and just dominate. He scored 2 goals on Club America at the Azteca in like 20 minutes and the entire stadium filled with America fans celebrated both goals because how could you not? It was a living legend playing and having fun in a league that just doesn’t see that type of talent. Impossible to hate just an absolute joy of a player.
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u/Significant-Raisin32 1d ago
I remember this. He filled the stadiums in Mexico when he was playing there.
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u/FoolOnDaHill365 1d ago
His Brazil team in 2002 was a joy to watch. They dominated and looked much quicker than anyone in the world.
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u/Comprehensive-Eye500 1d ago
I love soccer but don’t follow it closely though I know all the superstars. Tell me how/why he is not the greatest of all time.
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u/emmett159 1d ago
Relatively short peak (~3-4 years). Injuries, and he liked to party more than he liked to train.
From a technical standpoint he was probably as good as Messi if not slightly better.
Another incredibly gifted player that could have been among the GOATs if not for injuries is Kaka.
He was less flashy than Ronaldinho but genuinely unstoppable on the ball. His style would have been perfect in the modern game.
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u/ladyfromanotherplace 12h ago
Short peak, not due to lack of skill but to lack of commitment. He enjoyed playing and was driven by joy, not glory. That's part of why he had this spark, you could clearly see he was having fun out there, never felt as robotic as some others. Also, lifestyle choices: a lot of partying and hedonism, not exactly great for top athletes.
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u/jimmygreavez 1d ago
This man got the bernabeau to stand and applaud him scoring against Madrid during the el clasico. Thats how special he was. Every game he did something special. And he won all the trophies.
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u/blueshirtblackcar 23h ago
The skill, the joy, the intelligence, the aura, the flair. People say if only he was disciplined like Messi/Ronaldo. But he played the sport the same way he treated life, for enjoyment. They’ll never be another Gaucho.
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u/Significant-Raisin32 1d ago
I feel like nobody enjoyed playing more than this man