Ronnie in the Twilight

Ronaldinho isn't what he used to be, but that doesn't mean he can't be great in a different way. It also might be enough to help Querataro win the Liga MX title. 

I've met Ronaldinho a few times, back when he was in LA with Barcelona, and later on with Milan. 

He's friendly, playful with press, in terms of a smile and a wave, but he doesn't like doing interviews, at least in terms of stopping to answer many questions in a mixed zone. 

Ronaldinho Arrives In Mexico, Faces Racism

In a week in which Mexico had to confront racism in the homefront after local Queretaro politician Carlos Trevino called new signing Ronaldinho an “ape”, the performance of the players on the field became almost an afterthought. 

Queretaro, to the club’s credit, swiftly denounced Trevino’s churlish statements that he made on his Facebook page, posted partly because he was angry about the traffic caused by the presentation ceremony of the Brazilian star. Though the club called for Trevino to be punished for his prejudicial commentary on social media, all that appears to have happened so far is the removal of the original post and a rather tepid apology via Twitter.

Yet much like the banana thrown at Dani Alves back in April earlier this year, the Trevino incident provoked a reaction among the public. 

Unlike the Villarreal fan who was banned for life for throwing the banana at Alves, Trevino is clearly not a supporter of the sport in any way, so his racist action was not couched in any disguise of loyalty to another club. 

The outrage expressed by many at the insult to Ronaldinho, a legend in the game, does lead me to hope that all those who do love soccer will unite against any displays of racism in the future.

Regardless of if one dislikes a sport, people should be granted their human dignity. If one does appreciate the beautiful game, then those who perform well should be respected for their abilities on the field.

Thankfully, This One Got Away

Do you remember when Ronaldinho was elite? Wait a minute, let me rephrase that, some of you might not be old enough...

Do you remember when the Galaxy was linked so heavily to Ronaldinho? Yeah, that was much more recent. Ronaldinho was the supposed third Designated Player heading the Galaxy's way in 2010 to join Landon Donovan and David Beckham. With Ronaldinho's time at AC Milan all but over in spring 2010, rumors were flying left and right that the Galaxy was interested and willing to welcome Ronaldinho with open arms.

Even RSL owner Dave Checketts hinted at one point that a major Brazilian was heading to MLS, and when the Galaxy strangely dealt away Alan Gordon to clear room on the roster, everything but the red carpet was in place for Ronaldinho's arrival.

Except, it never happened.

And Galaxy fans should be thankful it didn't.

Ronaldinho has received poor reviews during his brief tenure to Flamengo, the club that eventually won his services. The Brazilian side was the one who wound up welcoming the former World Cup winner to their team and the hope was that Ronaldinho would light up the soccer field as he had done for Barcelona and Brazil for so long.

Things have not turned out that way. Ronaldinho's skills on the soccer field have not returned to their glory, or anywhere near it, and he's been living it up off the field as well.

Had Ronaldinho joined the Galaxy, he may have become the second coming of Denilson, widely considered one of if not the worst DP in MLS history. Ronaldinho no doubt would have commanded attention and drawn interest, something that Denilson couldn't quite do, but with the way his skills have deteriorated, the Galaxy would have seen pretty quickly that their investment would have been a bad one.

Ronaldinho has joined the Galaxy

For a charity match, looks like. But see how happy he looks to be sporting a Galaxy shirt? Even if it's not the LA Galaxy, it's perhaps a sign of things to come.

World's Strongest for Sale

Though Alexi Lalas has dismissed reports that the Galaxy tried to bring in Ronaldinho as "pure speculation", Barcelona isn't counting on him anymore and he's likely to be sold. Still, he gets props as the top soccer player in this report.