It has been a long road for Ronaldinho. Yet, the two-time FIFA World Player of the Year might be facing one of his toughest ever challenges in his second return to Brazil. The newest trial posed to Ronaldinho is to turn an apathetic Fluminense squad back into a winning club.
Ronaldinho's Move Back To Brazil
The Brazilian superstar announced his move to the club in early July. Back then, Fluminense was enjoying its best form since winning the Brazilian league in 2012. The Rio de Janeiro club held a tight grip on the second spot, just trailing Atletico Mineiro, Ronaldinho’s former club.
Interestingly enough, Fluminense’s free-fall started on the weekend after Ronaldinho’s announcement. Perhaps too excited about their new signing, who wouldn’t even play for another month, the team underestimated their opposition and fell in a disappointing loss to Vasco da Gama. At that point in 2015, Vasco was the laughingstock of Brazilian soccer. Stuck in the bottom of the standings, Vasco had only managed a pair of wins in 13 league matches before going into that derby.
After losing to Vasco, everything went downhill for Fluminense, as a long nightmare started for everyone linked to the club. Fluminense has lost 11 out of their last 14 games in the Brazilian League since. A complete 180 when compared to their red-hot start in the league, where they had only lost 2-out-of-13 matches before facing Vasco.
Despite the team’s struggle on the field, Fluminense fans still held on dearly to the hope that a talent like Ronaldinho would be able to turn things around for their club. Unfortunately for those fans, at 35 years old, Ronaldinho lacks the physical skills to carry a team on his own like he used to.
He debuted for Fluminense in August, against the club that developed him as a youngster, Gremio. In that match, Ronaldinho provided the spark of genius Fluminense needed to win. With a marvelous through ball from midfield, he engineered the crucial play in Fluminense’s 1-0 victory.
Nonetheless, that glimpse of the old Ronaldinho was brief. With a squad that struggles to maintain possession and create plays, Ronaldinho barely got any touches during the limited time he was on the field in the following seven games.
Ronaldinho's Fitness
The issue of his match fitness added more weight to the problem, as the former Barcelona and A.C. Milan playmaker was lacking the pace and stamina to make a difference playing off-the-ball. The last game Ronaldinho played before joining Fluminense was Queretaro's 3-0 win over Santos, back on June 1.
Taking those facts in account, there is a way for Fluminense to make the most of his skills even though Ronaldinho might not be in the best of shape. Ronaldinho is a player with the skillset to contribute playing in an Andrea Pirlo type role, engineering the plays from behind and creating chances for the many speedy hot prospects Fluminense has on its roster.
However, recently fired head coach Enderson Moreira didn’t see it that way, and tried to use his newest weapon as a lone striker or an advanced midfielder. The result was Ronaldinho not getting enough touches.
A New Beginning?
After parting ways with Moreira, Fluminense bet on young head coach Eduardo Baptista.
Baptista, 45, has already changed a good deal within the club. One of the changes was how to tackle the Ronaldinho issue.
While Moreira was set on trying to keep Ronaldinho on the field for as long as he could, Baptista decided on a more delicate approach. He decided to take his time and bring the player in off-the-bench, rather than hope he could perform for 90 minutes. Baptista also enforced that Ronaldinho will have to earn a spot in his starting XI.
“He (Ronaldinho) is a great player and I am a very fair guy. It’s competition. He has a strong name off-the-field, inside the field, the competition will be the same,” Baptista told ESPN Brasil after Wednesday’s 0-0 draw against Gremio. “He came in really well today (Wednesday), it’s a question of time. As soon as he gets back into form he will be back, but always by merit.”
Ronaldinho himself seems to be a fan of the approach.
“I got here and started playing two days after arriving. I didn’t have a preseason,” the playmaker told ESPN Brasil. “Now I’m training a lot to get back in form as soon as possible. Work will not be lacking.”
Now, this is where people who follow Ronaldinho’s career ask themselves: How are his off the field antics influencing his performance this time?
Surprisingly, Ronaldinho hasn’t been making that much noise outside the four lines. The superstar is focused on getting his career and team back on the right track, just check his twitter page.
Não faltará empenho e dedicação, estamos trabalhando duro! Bora buscar a vitória!! pic.twitter.com/sMHEncQNND
— Ronaldinho Gaúcho (@10Ronaldinho) September 21, 2015Ronaldinho and his teammates will have a tough challenge this weekend, as they will host Goias in a crucial matchup Saturday.
