There were a few brief moments when it seemed possible that Brazilian soccer legend Ronaldinho would finish his glittering career in Australia.
It was the mid-2010s, a much simpler time for the code in this country, back when the sky was the limit: Western Sydney Wanderers had just won the AFC Champions League, the Socceroos prevailed at a home Asian Cup under Ange Postecoglou and the A-League was chugging along nicely, running off the residual fumes of the Alessandro Del Piero-Shinji Ono-Emile Heskey marquee experiment.
Tim Cahill and Ronaldinho on Wednesday.Credit: Louise Kennerley
Ronaldinho, then 36, had just terminated his 18-month contract with Brazilian outfit Fluminense after just nine appearances in two months because he felt he was no longer up to standard.
And so what does a global football legend do when they’ve made the self-assessment that they have nothing left to give? See if they can jag a deal in the A-League, of course.
Feelers were put out, and negotiations apparently had between Ronaldinho’s brother and agent Roberto de Assis and representatives of Football Federation Australia, who were keen to find him an A-League club to boost their broadcast negotiations with Fox Sports. Meanwhile, ambitious NPL clubs Wollongong Wolves and Hume City also wanted the World Cup, UEFA Champions League and Ballon d’Or winner for their respective round of 32 ties in what was then called the FFA Cup.
Nothing happened. No agreements were reached, and Ronaldinho never played again – unless you count his two stints in India’s Premier Futsal League for the Goa 5’s and Delhi Dragons. Two years later, his brother/agent confirmed he had officially retired, and that some sort of “pretty big and nice” tribute extravaganza would be held after the 2018 World Cup in Russia to honour him. That didn’t happen, either.
Ronaldinho (right) and Roque Junior celebrate Brazil’s World Cup win 2002.Credit: Getty Images
We will have to settle for Sydney being the first stop of the “Joga Bonito Tour”, in which Ronaldinho, now 44, will lead an XI of his choosing into battle on Friday night against a Graham Arnold-coached “Tim Cahill XI” of mostly retired Socceroos and at least three “content creators” at CommBank Stadium. It is a charity match without a charity. Tickets start at $60. The second and final tour stop won’t shock you, either: Gold Coast.
Promotional material promises there will be some “Brazilian legends” on Ronaldinho’s team, including one-time Chelsea flop Mineiro, the ex-Brisbane Roar super-sub Henrique, former Sao Paulo, Dinamo Moscow and Rubin Kazan defender Jean Narde – all long retired, of course – while it also teases the “skilled goalkeeping of Cassio Oliveira”. And that is actually very impressive when you consider that the former Adelaide United favourite is a diminutive left-back.
Jean Narde, or just “Jean”, is an old mate of Ronaldinho’s from back in the day who now lives in Sydney and is the reason this whole thing is happening: one day, apparently, they got to talking, Ronaldinho decided he wanted to come to Australia and meet his fans, and they figured out a way to do it, and so here they all are.
Nothing at all to do with Ronaldinho’s apparent financial challenges, after numerous run-ins with Brazil’s tax authorities resulted in some of his properties being seized. He was reportedly left with only a few dollars to his name.
On an unrelated note, tickets are still available for a “legendary experience” with Ronaldinho on Saturday, including a live auction, for just $750 a head. We’d call it a meet-and-greet, but the terms and conditions literally say: “We can’t guarantee meets and greets.”
At the launch of the Joga Bonito Tour on Wednesday – held at the glitzy, gold-plated Cirq bar on Crown Sydney’s 26th floor – reporters were told there would be strictly no one-on-one interviews, that their questions to Ronaldinho must be focused on football … oh, and he doesn’t speak English, only Portuguese.
No probing, then, of his six-month stint in the Paraguayan penal system in 2020, when he and his brother-agent were charged with using false passports to enter the country for a promotional tour not unlike this one. No updates on the progress of the Ronaldinho Soccer Coin, his personal cryptocurrency, launched in 2018.
No answers as to why he turned down Wollongong.
Tim Cahill and Ronaldinho show off their team’s jerseys for the Joga Bonito Tour.Credit: Louise Kennerley
Wearing his trademark sunglasses, backwards Kangol hat and diamond-encrusted crucifix chain, Ronaldinho eventually strolled out of the elevator, Jean and Cahill in tow. He flashed his million-dollar smile, then shook hands with former Test cricketer Brett Lee, who was also there, because why not. Out on the balcony waiting for him were 12 cameras, a handful of journalists and photographers, and then an even bigger assortment of roguish associates, colourful characters and hangers-on, all there to soak in the aura. It looked like a boxing weigh-in.
Ronaldinho talked about how happy he was to be in Sydney, where he once competed for Brazil’s under-23s at the Olympics in 2000, and giggled about the time Cahill tried to tackle him at the 2006 World Cup. Cahill thanked the tour’s sponsors and insisted this was all really about “activating the grassroots” and inspiring the next generation to “follow their dreams”. Everyone watched through their iPhones.
Twenty minutes later, he was gone, and like the defenders he used to leave behind on the pitch, those left behind on this day tried to get their heads around what had happened.
On Friday night, they will again watch through their iPhones as these retired ex-footballers turn back the clock and bask in Ronaldinho’s reflected glory, fading though it is.
That is how rare a player he was: all these years later, and he is still reducing grown men to giddy worshippers. The beautiful game, they call it.
