How hard is it to be Ronaldinho?

In this article published on FourFourTwo in january 2018, Chris Flanagan wrote: «Ronaldinho has been dancing to the beat of his own drum since the very start of his football career – a career that has been just as much about joie de vivre as joga bonito. That perhaps is the biggest reason he’s adored the world over, not just in Barcelona and Brazil, and why he inspired a generation. He wasn’t just a truly great footballer – he looked like he enjoyed being a truly great footballer, too».

Probably it’s the best definition ever to explain how Ronaldinho become first modern football icon before Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. It’s a matter of legacy, not only of cold perfection or continuità at high levels: compared to two football androids whom he passed the baton, Ronaldinho was on top of the world just for two years off five spent in Catalunya. But he was in a unique, genuine and pure way, perfectly fitting to the ideal of football like fun and entertainment: and, from this point of view, Ronaldinho was, is  and always will be, the entertainer, entertained manner and entertaining. Francesco Paolo Giordano wrote on Rivista Unidici that Ronaldinho «changed the game because he gave it a new impression. Allo f us wanted to be Ronaldinho because all of us trained for hours trying to replicate what he did on the pitch, no matter if flip-flap, sombrero or espaldinha. If we succeed, so we could say we were skilled. But for him that skillset was just his way to play football, not only an embellishment», in a fusion between useful and enjoyable, between possible and impossibile that could be only his. In a way of making absolutely credible a “crossbar challenge” became viral on YouTube trough the year in wich “viral” wasn’t a video attribute.

But Gaucho’s iconography was also a matter of style on and off the court, with a lot of aesthetic details identifiable like his most famous signature moves marking his career. Aimed at Nike since his fabulous goal against Venezuela during 1999 Copa America, Ronaldinho wore all three boots that have marked first ten years of XXI century: the “Mercurial Vapor” in his first Barca goal against Sevilla – fans roar in that occasion is still today one of the most impressive sound ever heard at Camp Nou –, the “Total  90” during last photograms of this iconic commercial, the new “Tiempo” that became “Touch of Gold” at Santiago Bernabeu when Real Madrid crowd stood up honoring blaugrana number 10 for the second time in history (first was with Diego Maradona).

That’s why Nike, after dedicated him one of the last signature boots really associated to a single player – the “r10” with vintage layout and with colorful side seams to represent family, music and happiness – honored him with a personalized clothing line based on NBA star streetwear. It’s a not casual connection: “Dinho” was first football player that legitimized his star system with a style of dressing closer to american culture. So wristbands, handband and look-like Allen Iverson hair style, XXL size shirts, (better with gigantic gold necklaces), hoodies, bandanas and snapbacks, reinterpreting hip-hop and sport fusion.

It’s an experiment not repente with other top football players. The reason is the same: today all great players are too similar each other in their “built” skillsets, and we miss someone unique of its kind, able to ignite fans imaginations. Someone for whom 90 minutes somehow did not seem enough and we could have happily watched him play football for hours just for fun. Someone like Ronaldinho that could be Ronaldinho always, whatever and wherever. Also in a paraguayan prison: today the brazilian is convinte with his brother at Agrupación Especializada de la Policía Nacional ad Asuncion due fake passports. Latest news said that he’s receiving a lot of offers to play in prison’s fusa tournament. With only one rule, set by teams captains: Ronaldinho cannot score, just make assists. Like when we were kids, when we accepted all these restrictions just having the best in our squad, watching him play football in the only way should be played.