On Interest in football and Ronaldinho


When I was younger, I used to watch football with my brother and sisters. But my interest increasingly waned as I got older. My brother used to ask me why I am no more interested in watching games and for the longest time, I didn't know the right answer. 

Until I started seeing some Ronaldinho's clips recently. I now know precisely why my interest waned. There was an art to football back then. It was all about how great you can dribble your opponent, play with the ball and Dinho was a god in that domain. He made football a beautiful beautiful game to watch so much so that even if the match ends with 0-0, it was just a great experience to have sat through.

Now it's all about the stats. How many goals scored. Who won X and Y. Ronaldo vs Messi comparison. Plus the ever changing constraints they keep adding to the game. Love this video compilation attached. I remember practicing that right, left right again dribbling in the 30% mark.

Not sure I'd get back to being a fan but I relish having experienced the sport at the time. 

***

The first thing I did when I saw Ronaldinho's documentary on Netflix was share the news with my brother and he thanked me for the update. Dinho has been his favourite player ever despite him being a Man U fan. In fact, he has been my brother's screen lock since camera phones became a thing and has remained so to date. And not surprising because if it's about playing football, Ronaldinho sure was pure art with the sport. 

You see that thing I normally ask about 'what happens when you achieve everything you've dreamed of immediately? What will you be doing for the rest of your life?'

I wager Ronaldinho is a prime example of what happens afterwards. By the age of 26, he already won the big three of Football (FIFA World Cup and also Player of the Year awards two times, a Ballon d'Or and UEFA Champions League). The only player in football history to win what is considered the ultimate "grand slam" sextet of major international, continental, and individual trophies: FIFA World Cup (with Brazil), Copa América (with Brazil), FIFA Confederations Cup (with Brazil), UEFA Champions League (with FC Barcelona), Copa Libertadores (with Atlético Mineiro) and Ballon d'Or.

Read the previous sentence again. The only person till date.

Like his artistry was so out of this world that during a match between Real Madrid and Barcelona, he dribbled the defenders and scored two goals so beautifully at Real Madrid's home stadium that some of the fans stood up and clapped for him scoring against their own team.

They clapped because the absolute brilliance, joy, and artistry of his performance completely transcended the hatred of the rivalry. A phenomenal phenomenal talent. Even with his considerably short run, he did all of that.

So when you don't really have much to aspire to after you've done it all, and even more so, when football becomes even more and more commercialised, you fall off the wagon. I'm also not ignoring his wayward ways contributing to his decline. He partied hard which inadvertently affected his dedication to the game. And even if you're the most talented person with innate talent, if you don't practice, you're gonna get rusty.

Yes, he loved the sports but he loved life even more. Plus he just wasn't in the competition for the optics or to be the best. In fact, I read an interview he gave in 2006 at his peak where he was asked how it feels to be the best in the game. And he humbly replied, 'I'm not even the best in Barca. Lionel Messi is coming up.' And this was just months after he won Ballon d'Or. Caveat - I mean he didn't lie about Messi but still.

You just see someone that's in the game for the sheer love of it. These days, it's just a career for everyone, which in itself is not wrong. But for me, the inebriated joy that's usually been associated with football is barely there. Especially for those who don't quite have an affiliation with a club.

So back to my initial question, why are we rushing to achieve all these supposed wins without allowing ourselves the longevity to experience life and have goals to aspire to? We talk a lot about the longevity of the likes of Messi and Ronaldo but something we don't quite emphasize on is the insatiability of the human psyche. We always need something to aspire to. Something to keep striving for that may be out of reach yet. 

You even see it with Messi's career who is an undisputed GOAT but he kept honing his skills likely cos he hadn't gotten it all. He didn't clutch that FIFA world cup till 2022. Even Ronaldo is still pushing as an active player but still, the World Cup isn't in his reach yet. 

So let thIs analogy be a aspire to Maguire in this our age of social media that you're expected to have achieved everything so quickly and so soon.

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