UEFA Champion's League: Ronaldinho the Great

As always, the demi-god did it again. And as sleepy as I was, I watched the Milan-Barca game from start to finish. It wasn't an easy feat, mind you, since I played futsal on the same night.

A.C Milan; as a football outfit, is nowhere near weak. Even 'formidable' might be an understatement. But when Ronaldinho is on the field, Ronaldinho rules. Poor, poor Manchester United :(

The first half of the Milan-Barca game saw the home side applying the cattenacchio upon Ronaldinho. A.C Milan played brilliantly by not doing what other teams did to contain Ronaldinho; merely man-marking him. Instead, they blocked all passages to his pass. The chain-link defence. And the glory of the great fort was displayed for all to see; passes of el maestro never getting anywhere significant. But if anything, this emphasizes the greatness of Ronaldinho; by his exalted standards, merely passing the ball accurately and not doing mistakes is never enough. El maestro is on the field to produce something special. Not just to play football, but to be feared and awed by his opponents. And most importantly; to entertain the masses, as he always did (Mourinho please take note; being the special one does not just consist of boasting).

There's only one sure way of getting the ball away from Ronaldinho's feet, and that's when he decides to let go of it. Barca's goal actually reminded us of this fact. At that particular moment, for whatever reasons, the home side decided to start giving Ronaldinho a slightly more 'personal' attention rather than carry on with their cattenacchio. But not even the attention and aggression of Gattusso succeeded in wresting the ball away from el maestro's feet, and the result was devastating - a superb pass and a superb goal. And then, the smile.

I can't wait for the second leg.