Milan vs Napoli Throwback: Ronaldinho Hits the Dance Floor

The revolving doors of the football transfer market move so fast that many might have forgotten that the once Barcelona star Ronaldinho spent a couple of seasons playing with Milan in Serie A.

The Italian top-flight has seen may top-class players come and go and, even though the Serie A is no longer the nonplus ultra of world football, it has still been able to attract quite a few big names in recent years – albeit past their prime.

Around the end of the 2000s, Milan started to become a sort of elephants’ graveyard where declining top-class players landed in an hope to regain some of their best days edge. Think of David Beckham, Fernando Torres and, of course, Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Among the first to do so was no less than Ronaldo de Assis Moreira, better known as Ronaldinho, who joined an already-numerous Brazilian colony in Milanello in the summer of 2008.

Despite his fame and his marketing appeal, the former Barcelona juggler seemed destined to be overshadowed by his fellow countrymen Kaka, who had won the Ballon d’Or the previous year, and even by young sensation Alexandre Pato – who appeared bounded to a brilliant career before injuries and attitude would take a toll on his evolution.

And still, landing Ronaldinho in Milan looked like a great move on the part of President Silvio Berlusconi, at least from a marketing point of view. The Gaucho ended up spending two seasons and a half in red-and-black, tallying 20 goals from 76 presences.

It could have gone better, but it could have also gone worse. And even though Ronaldinho probably left more vivid memories on the Milan nightlife scene than on the San Siro turf, the Brazilian was still capable of showing glimpses of his immense talent with the ball.

He could also still score some fundamental goals, like the one that tore down Napoli on November 2, 2008 and allowed the Rossoneri to go top of the table for the first time in four years.     

On that day, Ronaldinho was playing next to Kaka and behind mercurial striker Marco Borriello in Carlo Ancelotti’s famed 4-3-2-1 (the “Christmas Tree”) lineup.

The Azzurri’s coach Edoardo Reja, who two years before had brought Napoli back to Serie A after a seven-year odyssey, responded with a granitic 3-5-2 powered by an up-and-coming Marek Hamsik in midfield and a pair of Argentine strikers in Ezequiel Lavezzi and German Denis.

The man of the day, however, ended up being a semi-unknown Italian-Brazilian center back named Fabiano Santacroce. At 22-years-old, Santacroce was already a pillar in Reja’s back three and seemed to have a brilliant career ahead. He too, however, would slowly fall off the professional football radar after a few decent Serie A seasons.  

Together with his fellow defender teammates, Santacroce managed to keep Ronaldinho at bay for most of the game – so much that the Rossoneri’s first shot on target came only on 20 minutes from their captain Massimo Ambrosini.

The first half offered little to the show, but the match fate risked changing just before the break as Napoli’s Christian Maggio saw red for a tackle on Marek Jankulovski. With one man less, Reja added an additional defender in no-nonsense Salvatore Aronica, pulling out his midfield dynamo Hamsik.

Ronaldinho tried to surprise goalkeeper Gennaro Iezzo but the Napoli shot-stopper somehow managed to palm his shot away. Then, Reja also lost Santacroce to an injury and, despite his offensive couple Lavezzi – Denis continuing to fight on the front line, realized that all he had to care about was salvaging at least one point.

The Partenopei’s wall continued to hold despite Ancelotti bringing in a parade of stars in Pato and the always-useful Filippo Inzaghi. On 73 minutes, Kaka fired a shot at Iezzo’s goal but saw the goalkeeper’s right post deny him a joy.  

Ten minutes later, another episode that could bring the odds in Milan’s favor: the Rossoneri were awarded a penalty for a Michele Pazienza handball in the box. Kaka walked to the penalty spot, but saw his shot neutralized by Iezzo, who sprung to his left to win the right of telling his grandchildren that he once saved a penalty from a Ballon d’Or winner.

It seemed a game destined to end in a goalless stalemate.

But then, almost out of nowhere came Ronaldinho’s winner. It materialized from the free kick spot when there were only four minutes left. Because Ronaldinho was one of those players who could turn the tides of a game with one simple move, even from a set piece. Even though, sure, he was also helped by luck in that specific circumstance.

His free kick delivery on 86 minutes was fast, treacherous, insidious. And still, it would not have been enough to deceive Iezzo but for an unfortunate deflection from Denis. The Argentine striker pushed the ball into his own net in a clumsy attempt to clear it away from danger.

Ronaldinho celebrated with a few joyful dance steps that made the Napoli fans furious – perhaps a slightly inappropriate performance considering that the Gaucho had made it to the scoresheet only due to an unfortunate episode.   

It was not Ronaldinho’s best goal, but a terribly effective one, as it was enough to take Milan to the top of table for at least a few weeks. The Rossoneri experienced a drop of form later in the season, and the Scudetto ended in the black-and-blue side of the city, stitched to rivals Inter’s chests for the third season in a row. And neither Ronaldinho nor Kaka, who would leave Milan at the end of the season, could do anything about it.    

 

MATCH SCORECARD

November 2, 2008 – Serie A 2008-09 Round 10
MILAN – NAPOLI 1-0

SCORER: 86′ Ronaldinho