Brazilian legend Ronaldinho finally hung up his dancing boots this week and will probably go on to jol and skut for the rest of his days.
I’ll miss how he always played with a smile and how he made me smile.
In a football world that nowadays seems all about playing for the next big contract, Ronaldinho seemed to only play for the joy of it.
Sports brand Nike’s entire Jogo Bonito (Play beautiful) campaign was based on his samba style of soccer.
Any trick that you can think of - the stopovers, the rabonas, the elastic - and the tricks you couldn’t imagine - the pass with the back, taking the ball past a defender with the ball on his shoulders - all came from the mind of R10.
Then, of course, there was the one advert when he got his new golden boots.
He broke them in by tapping the ball from the sideline to the D and shooting the ball off the crossbar and taking it under his control, not once, not twice, but three times before going back to the sidelines without the ball touching the ground.
Maybe it was fake. But if you watched Roni play, you’d know that anything was possible when he was on the ball.
Even Real Madrid fans applauded him when he humiliated their heroes, playing for Barcelona.
He was just that magical - with his amazing skills and the backheels, shibobos and no-look passes.
Just like Garrincha before him, he was the “Joy of the People” .
He loved the ball but he still played for the team and the mense- how else do you win league titles with Milan and Barcelona, or the Champions League, or a World Cup and the Ballon d’Or?
If you haven’t seen Ronaldinho play, use up all your data on YouTube videos of him - believe me, it’s worth it.