Just like you and me, Ronaldinho was born and raised somewhere. But that’s where the similarities end.
There’s no explaining how, from the point of birth until turning 18, our paths and Ronaldinho’s diverged so enormously. While we were just starting to recognize our weaker foot, Ronaldinho was terrorizing the Brasileirao with Gremio and ending the career of Brazilian World Cup-winning captain Dunga.
We loved soccer and practiced daily, but Ronaldinho loved soccer and revolutionized the game. Like Lionel Messi after him, he was possessed with the rare instinct that allowed him to react to the most subtle of defensive movements. He could dribble at a marker and just wait, staring down his defender until the slightest of tells resulted in the effortless artistry of taking the ball the other way.
Unstoppable. Uncontainable. Unfathomable. That was Ronaldinho at 18.
Even as a teenager Ronaldinho was brilliant! pic.twitter.com/zJZQmhXcKb
— 90s Football (@90sfootball) August 30, 2017
The18 Recommends For You
