I ended up writing a lot about Ronaldinho and this game so I pushed it to after the video if you’d like the read it. I’ll just say that while it may not look like much at first the goal is – as the commentator notes -absolutely outrageous.
When we look at Barcelona now and consider them the greatest team in the world (despite being knocked out of the Champions League this week) it’s interesting to note that they’ve had two different great squads this decade. The current one is inspired by Messi and Xavi. The previous was all Ronaldinho.
For a couple of seasons, Ronaldinho was untouched as the finest player in the world. He single-handedly made Barcelona relevant again and helped add a second European Cup to the Catalan club’s coffers. Perhaps he became a victim of his own marketing and he burned out far too quickly. For four seasons between the World Cups in 2002 and 2006 he amazed and thrilled football fans.
This goal took place against Chelsea in the Champions League in the first knockout round. It was one of the most engrossing matches in Europe this past decade. Barcelona took a 2-1 lead to London and but were blitzed by three Chelsea goals in the first 10-15 minutes. Ronaldinho put Barcelona back in contention with a penalty and this spectacular goal. Chelsea eventually scored in the second half and advanced. They would lose in the semifinals to Liverpool (who went on to win the famous final in Istanbul against Milan). Barcelona would defeat Chelsea in the same round the next year en route to becoming European champions.
Having played soccer, I think hitting a baseball and playing shortstop for the New York Yankees is still the hardest thing to do in all of sports.